Covenant was the band's breakthrough album due to their contract with Giant Records and its widespread exposure on MTV's Headbangers Ball, as well as the music video for 'God of Emptiness' appearing on Beavis and Butt-head.

[5] Later that same year, second guitarist Richard Brunelle was kicked out of the band due to alleged substance abuse, meaning that Covenant was recorded as just a trio.

Michael Nelson, writing for Stereogum on the album's 20th anniversary, described Azagthoth's work: "His guitars seemed to mimic surreal horrors of nature — whirlpools or wildfires — more than they did any musicians of his era.

Azagthoth, on the other hand, delivered queasy, nitrous leads that called to mind the most extreme work of free-jazz/grindcore saxophonist John Zorn.

"[5] An entry on AllMusic explains that "Guitarist Trey Azagthoth plays complicated, heavily detuned riffs, some with a lightning-fast picking style and others in a slower groove.

Drummer Pete Sandoval is one of the genre's fastest, and his jackhammer style helps complete Morbid Angel's core sound."

That's partly because the album is essentially devoid of anything resembling a traditional 'chorus,' but it's mostly due to the uppermost layers of sound — the things on which the ear and imagination immediately focus.

In an interview with Metal Hammer, David Vincent explained that they chose him to mix the album because:"We wanted a different approach and Flemming proved to be a treat to work with.

I had a dream that awoke me up in the middle of the night and I literally then on the spot wrote that song, humming my ideas into a small tape recorder.

The album's cover image shows a page from The Book of Ceremonial Magic by Arthur Edward Waite to the right, and a reproduction of "The Pact of Urbain Grandier" on the left.

In an interview with Metal Hammer, Vincent claimed that:"We wanted something that was solemn and sort of like… (he pauses) Not a rulebook per se but it had to suggest the idea of a pact, an allegiance if you will.

[5][9] They were both directed by Tony Kunewalder, and David Vincent explained in an interview that "Those were the times when labels were still living the high life and they thought nothing of spending too much money on good videos".

[13] David Vincent sees Covenant as a vital record for the band in this respect: "We got support from MTV and to tour with Black Sabbath and Motörhead in early '94 in places we had never played before while a new wave of aggressive music was coming out.

[5] Morbid Angel's following album on Giant Records sold roughly 70,000 copies, but the band were nonetheless also dropped from the label's roster.

There was also a growing tension within the community, as the "inviting mainstream" seemed willing to "give some Death Metal a try", which was in conflict with the "essentially anti-mainstream culture that gave birth to and nourished the genre.