Morgion "Cloaked by Ages, Crowned in Earth" CD
[Dark Symphonies]
The layout here immediately suggests just how amazing this record is, because it looks eerily sinister yet beautiful at the same time. All of the textures are fairly soft and abstract, colored with greens and faint pinkish oranges or something, with crisp text, tasteful band photos, etc. Very, very nice. It immediately caught my eye when I first looked at it and sucked me in, which is a huge plus. Only one paragraph of lyrics (I assume - there's no real indication of such) is included inside the booklet, suggesting more than a bit of a concept at work: "By three standards of rule, the triumvirate of woe. Cloaked in black hood, seeking the Three Swords of Nether. Honed in darkest forges, Netherian Flame. Celestial etchings upon each blade, buried in a tomb beneath a once great city, long forgotten by the heralds of time..." And now, onto the music... it's been an all-too-long five years since the mighty "Solinari" was released, but now, with a new label and a new lineup intact, the band is back and better than ever with over an hour's worth of epic doom metal. But this is the kind of doom that I love, because it's oppressive and bleak, but not derivative at all. Morgion has certainly developed their own style of playing that is fairly incomparable to most of their comrades. The constant fluctuation between atmospheric passages with lush clean or acoustic guitars, keyboards, and singing vocals with moderately paced chord progressions, thick distortion, melodic lead lines, and forceful vocal growls is a common tactic, but they handle it in an unpredictable manner that really is hard to describe with words. The synths are really tastefully employed, the textures and tones used perfectly accent the compositions and never become distracting, and they often layer the more atmospheric elements with the heavier passages, and they pull it off flawlessly. So the fact that songs routinely run as long as 10+ minutes works out fine because there's so much going on, and they weave everything together with a great deal of consideration for the big picture. And the production is spectacular! Everything sounds huge and perfectly placed. The aggressive vocal performance is among the best I've heard from any such record, but it's still mixed in with the instruments so as not to overpower. And make no mistake, the singing sounds excellent as well. All of the instruments and layers are dense but clear, so everything blends together very fluidly without losing any important details. It's really expertly handled, that's all I can say. Excellent work. If it takes fives years to yield these results, then so be it. Well worth the wait, and certainly a step closer to perfection for the band. If you were wondering where they were, get out there and pick this up right away. I'm sure that once this thing starts hitting the streets it will be as though they were never gone. (8/10)
Running time - 61:27, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: A Slow Succumbing, The Mourner's Oak, Cairn]
Dark Symphonies - http://www.darksymphonies.com

This review has been displayed 2880 times.