Morrisound Recording

recording studio · Temple Terrace 1985 to 2014; Sulphur Springs, Tampa from 2018

Founded

1981

City

Temple Terrace 1985 to 2014; Sulphur Springs, Tampa from 2018

Hub region

Tampa Bay

Status as of 5 September 2026

active; Hillsborough County historical marker unveiled 16 May 2025

Connections

56 edges, 55 distinct neighbors · betweenness 0.150 (rank 3 of 371) · people and production 0.005 (rank 58)

Confidence

High · sources: [W] [MSA] [HCM] [HMD] [WUS] [BBM] [CLM] [WMA] [GEH] [JPMS] [LDF] (register)

The studio that made the place. Jim and Tom Morris found it in June 1981 as a mobile eight track rig, move into a purpose built facility at 12111 North 56th Street in November 1985, and record Savatage, Nasty Savage and Crimson Glory before a Xecutioner demo brings death metal through the door. Between Leprosy (1988) and the late 1990s the room, with Scott Burns on the console, produces the core catalog of Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Atheist, Cynic, Nocturnus, Massacre, Six Feet Under and Monstrosity, and the fly in albums of Sepultura, Napalm Death, Suffocation, Gorguts, Pestilence, Cancer, Loudblast, Terrorizer, Atrocity, Exhorder, Demolition Hammer and Kreator. The 56th Street building is sold to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra organization in 2014 and the studio reopens in a 1920s bank in Sulphur Springs in 2018. The county marker text says that twenty five of the top thirty selling death metal albums as of 2022 were recorded here.

Connections

People and personnel

• founderTom Morris1981 to present
• founderJim Morris1981 to present
• staffScott BurnsNight assistant, engineer from Leprosy, producer from Slowly We Rot1985 to 1997; part time to 2005
• staffMark Prator1991 to 1995; 2026

Recording credits

• recorded hereNapalm DeathHarmony Corruption (Scott Burns), April and May1990
• recorded hereKreatorRenewal (Tom Morris and Kreator; Mark Prator and Brian Benscoter engineering)1992
• recorded hereSavatageSirens (Dan Johnson; Jim Morris engineer)1983
• recorded hereNasty SavageNasty Savage, Indulgence, Abstract Reality, Penetration Point (Jim Morris)1985 to 1989
• recorded hereCrimson GloryCrimson Glory; Transcendence (Jim and Tom Morris)1986, 1988
• recorded hereMorbid AngelAltars of Madness (Tom Morris), Blessed Are the Sick, Covenant, Domination (Bill Kennedy), Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, Gateways to Annihilation (Jim Morris)1988 to 2000
• recorded hereDeathLeprosy (Dan Johnson, Scott Burns), Spiritual Healing, Human, Individual Thought Patterns (Scott Burns), Symbolic, The Sound of Perseverance (Jim Morris)1988 to 1998
• recorded hereAtheistPiece of Time; Unquestionable Presence (Scott Burns)1988, 1991
• recorded hereMassacreFrom Beyond (Colin Richardson; Scott Burns engineer)1991
• recorded hereHellwitchSyzygial Miscreancy (Scott Burns engineer)1990
• recorded hereIced EarthNight of the Stormrider, Burnt Offerings (Tom Morris), The Dark Saga onward (Jim Morris)1991 to 2011
• recorded hereSepulturaArise (Sepultura and Scott Burns; Andy Wallace mix)1990 to 1991
• recorded hereAtrocityHallucinations (Scott Burns, Tom Morris, Markus Staiger)1990
• recorded hereBrutalityScreams of Anguish (Jim Morris)1992
• recorded hereTerrorizerWorld Downfall, three days (Scott Burns engineer; David Vincent credited producer)1989
• recorded herePestilenceTestimony of the Ancients (Scott Burns), March and April1991
• recorded hereExhorderSlaughter in the Vatican (Scott Burns)1990
• recorded hereDemolition HammerTortured Existence (Scott Burns)1990
• recorded hereLoudblastDisincarnate (Scott Burns engineer)1991
• recorded hereCynicFocus (Scott Burns), over three visits delayed by Hurricane Andrew1993
• recorded hereNocturnusThe Key; Thresholds (Tom Morris)1990, 1992
• recorded hereMalevolent CreationThe Ten Commandments (Scott Burns)1990
• recorded hereKamelotEternity, Dominion, Siege Perilous (Jim Morris)1995 to 1998
• recorded hereObituarySlowly We Rot, Cause of Death, The End Complete, World Demise (Scott Burns); Frozen in Time mixed and mastered 20051989 to 1994
• recorded hereCannibal CorpseEaten Back to Life, Butchered at Birth, Tomb of the Mutilated, The Bleeding, Vile (Scott Burns), Gallery of Suicide (Jim Morris)1990 to 1998
• recorded hereAssückAnticapital1991
• recorded hereAcheronRites of the Black Mass, with a second studio1992
• recorded hereSuffocationEffigy of the Forgotten; Pierced from Within (Scott Burns)1991, 1995
• recorded hereCancerDeath Shall Rise (Scott Burns), February1991
• recorded hereDeicideDeicide, Legion, Once upon the Cross, Serpents of the Light (Scott Burns), Insineratehymn (Jim Morris), In Torment in Hell, Scars of the Crucifix (Neil Kernon), The Stench of Redemption (Steve Asheim)1990 to 2006
• recorded hereGorgutsConsidered Dead (Scott Burns)1991
• recorded hereMonstrosityImperial Doom (Jim Morris), Millennium (Scott Burns), Screams from Beneath the Surface (Jim Morris)1991, 1996, 2026
• recorded hereResurrectionEmbalmed Existence (Scott Burns)1992
• recorded hereSolsticeSolstice (Scott Burns engineer)1992
• recorded hereDisincarnateDemo bonus tracks only; the album is made in Wales and Liverpool with Colin Richardson1992
• recorded hereSix Feet UnderHaunted (Scott Burns); Warpath (Bill Metoyer)1995, 1997
• recorded hereControl DeniedThe Fragile Art of Existence (Jim Morris)1999
• recorded hereDiabolicSupreme Evil mastered only (Jim Morris)1998
• recorded hereTriviumAscendancy, in part (Jason Suecof and Matt Heafy)2005

Labels, festivals, tours, collaborations

• collaborationRoadrunner RecordsThe Conner roster routed to Scott Burns1989 to 1995
• collaborationSunlight StudioThe two studios the genre's two sounds are named for1989
• collaborationMetal Blade RecordsNasty Savage, Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under1985 to 1998
• collaborationSavatageThe Trans-Siberian Orchestra organization buys the 56th Street building2014
• collaborationEarache RecordsFour Earache sessions: Altars of Madness, World Downfall, Harmony Corruption, From Beyond1988 to 1991
• collaborationNuclear BlastAtrocity, Monstrosity, Brutality, Resurrection1990 to 1993
• collaborationNas NuvensBeneath the Remains tracked in Rio, mixed in Tampa1988
• collaborationSonic RanchCannibal Corpse's first album away1999
• collaborationAudiohammer StudiosAscendancy and the Monstrosity album split between them2005, 2026
• collaborationRed Room RecordersFrozen in Time tracked at one, mixed at the other2005
• collaborationMana Recording StudiosThe second generation studio; the album that leaves Morrisound goes to Mana2005
• collaborationTampa Bay Museum of MetalThe studio's history in the exhibition2025 to 2026
• collaborationHillsborough County historical markerUnveiled 16 May 2025 at the 56th Street site2025