2011 is marked with the return of one of the most important bands in Italy's Hard Rock and Metal scene and the release of their latest album "Rose Of Jericho". Well I guess that you already have understood that I am referring to Morgana that are back in action for good.
The fact is that the main spirit behind Morgana -the vocalist / main composer Roberta Delaude- was never quite out of music. One way or another she found a way to spread her talent around. I am not only referring to the various bands and projects she was into the 80s, I am also adding her personal releases during the 90s -remember the Rock Steady Beat EP back in 94?- plus the Morgana re issue series through the 00s and finally this brand new release that re presents Morgana of today.
There are many bands and artists worldwide that keep their name alive only based on a cult status that was built on their fan-base through the years thanks on the -now- rare records they have released in the past, or similar facts like reunions etc. What about music? Well Morgana could easily follow this way, but instead of that Roberta chooses to reform the band from scratch -gathering some ultra talented musicians from Italy's Prog Death Metallers Sadist- and produce a brand new album that represents Morgana of today.
"Rose Of Jericho" is an excellent album based on Hard Rock material that is enforced with dark melodies and a melancholic -and sometimes angry- mood. Let's point to some specific tunes of the album. Let's see... Well I would for sure pick up "Love Me The Way I Am" which is definitely in a 70s dark and heavy mood -check out the great background keyboards-. "Golden Hours" is one of the album's most powerful compositions, outstanding main guitar themes, plus a dark atmosphere, a song not to be missed. Digging more inside the album we would discover two new versions of Morgana's classic "Lady Winter". The first version presented in here brings the song to a different dimension, it is even darker, it is still heavy and it is approached by a total different way compared to tis classic Power Metal form, there are some modern touches here and there in this version that complete the puzzle. The version fits perfectly into the general musical background of the record and after all a good song is a good song and "Lady Winter" is still an outstanding tune. Listen to the guitar on the song's chorus -that represents some features of the classic version- and you will get my point. The second version of the song included in the current album is a magnificent acoustic version. Speaking of acoustic stuff in my mind comes the acoustic interlude f the song "I Will Not Turn Back" which another powerful yet melodic tune that re presents the talent of this band and is probably the best composition of the album. Take an extra listening of the main lead guitar part of this tune, it is really explosive.
Morgana in this album manages to balance the dark and atmospheric parts of their music with their outstanding and powerful Hard Rock moments. Upon all these there Roberta Delaude's voice
which is still very characteristic, in other words this voice was, is and will be Morgana's big trademark. Have in mind that Roberta is not only based to the color of her voice, she provides the band's tunes with some magnificent vocal melodies. So the good songs included in here become even better :)
Check out Morgan'as returning through this great album. You will not regret it for sure.
http://www.morganadelaude.com/
http://www.nadirmusic.net/
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου