The Rock Blogger

The Morningside. The Wind, the Trees, and the Shadows of the Past. 2007. 5 stars.

This is a stunning melodic death metal album from a little known Russian band. Sounding like a cross between Agalloch and early Ulver, The Morningside blends emotional and melodic riffs with a grey woodland atmosphere and some clean acoustic flourishes. With a great emphasis on extended instrumentals, these songs are massive and progressively composed, conveying a variety of moods in its many steep peaks and valleys.

The guitar work in particular is majestic, with a crystalline production that lets each tight, wiry riff cast an icy sheen. The vocals for the most part are in the form of distant growls, which despite their melancholic tone, complement the epic musicianship beautifully. There are also some clean, sung vocals thrown in the album’s later half, as a calm, reflective voice contemplates the mystery of the wilderness, conveying cool imagery not unlike the cover above.

The Wind…, much like Agalloch’s The Mantle, strikes a perfect balance between heavy metal catharsis and lush atmospherics, carving out a niche of its own (Grey Metal?). It comes over like a cool thunderstorm, first with crashing booms, then followed by a cleansing downpour. If you are a fan of Agalloch, post-rock, or atmospheric black metal, you owe it to yourself to listen to this. It really is a masterpiece.

The Morningside - “The Wind”

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.