MORGANA LEFAY - I need guidance!

[edgeofthorns]

This band has been mentioned a lot over the years on this forum, plus I've overheard talk about them during past festivals. I sampled their disc from 96' titled Maleficium and I very much liked what I heard. The lead vocalist reminds me a lot of Jon Oliva.

With that said, for those of you that have followed the band over the years, I need some guidance on exploring their catalog. Have their been major lineup changes? What discs to avoid? etc....

Thanks in advance!

~Brian~

 

[ALowerDeep]

Grand Materia is by far their best with The Seventh Seal (Levay) and SOS (Sevay) behind that. To get a good idea of their older material check out Past Present Future, which give a decent representation of songs from the early catalog.

 

[DEATHZILLA]

Morgana Lefay is in my top 2 fave bands of all time. 9 studio releases under their belt. They were on Black Mark records back in the early 90's and put out the following cd's Knowing just as eye, The Secret Doctrine, Sanctified,and Maleficium. The core of the band left and went to noise records and they put out 2 cds under the name "Lefay" the titles of the cds under lefay was The Seventh Seal, S.O.S and re-recorded Symphony Of The Damned wich was their very first recording but was originaly an indie. They then got back onto Black mark records and Put out Grand Marteria and Aberations of the mind. For you being a Savatage fan listen to Sanctified, The Seventh Seal, SOS, Grand Marteria you should be pleased. This band is a must they need to play Prog10!

 

[ALowerDeep]

Deathzilla, I would agree with you on ML playing Progpower if I could be assured they would play NOTHING from their newest disk. It was horrible in my opinion and makes me very worried about the future recordings. Sounded like they decided it was time to try and cash in on the "hot topic" styles and just didn't suit them at all.

 

[Perditions Ghost]

One of my favorite bands as well. I'd love to see them on the ProgPower stage. But, unlike ALowerDeep, I find nothing wrong with Aberrations of the Mind. I think it's a decent album - not their best but not horrible IMO either.

If you've already listened to Maleficium...check out Sanctified and Grand Materia. My personal favorite is the re-recording of Symphony of the Damned (under the shortened name Lefay), though.

However, avoid the self titled MORGANA LEFAY album. After the core of the band left Black Mark to continue for three albums under the LEFAY name, a member or two who had not left Black Mark reformed the band and released an album that has NO similarities to their style, and isn't counted as an official Morgana Lefay release.

 

[PM1metal1]

I'd say Maleficium, The Secret Doctrine and Sanctified are their top 3 cds. I, too, would avoid the newer stuff for the moment as it's a noticeable "modern sound" although it's still ML in there.

 

[The Fiddler]

I'm a big fan of this band, and the only disc I'm truly disappointed with is, unfortunately, their most recent - "Aberrations of the Mind." It just sounds sloppy and quickly thrown together as a whole, which is very uncharacteristic of them. I can't even listen to the whole thing through. It was a big letdown after "Grand Materia." The biggest thing "Aberrations of the Mind" has going for it is the continued tradition of awesome cover art. I'm glad I seen them twice at Chicago Powerfest.

 

[booB]

This band has been mentioned a lot over the years on this forum, plus I've overheard talk about them during past festivals. I sampled their disc from 96' titled Maleficium and I very much liked what I heard. The lead vocalist reminds me a lot of Jon Oliva.

With that said, for those of you that have followed the band over the years, I need some guidance on exploring their catalog. Have their been major lineup changes? What discs to avoid? etc....

Thanks in advance!

~Brian~

Considering they're my "favorite band" now, and that one of my other "favorite bands" is Savatage, I think I'm qualified to tell you what to listen to. And, let me assure you that NO Morgana Lefay studio album is worth skipping, as they are all good. If you liked Maleficium a lot (my second favorite album ever, after Edge of Thorns, BTW), I would suggest Grand Materia next, because it has a similar epic feel. Their thrashier/heavier discs are Sanctified, Aberrations of the Mind, and Knowing Just As I. Their more "traditional metal" (or dark power metal) discs would be The Secret Doctrine, SOS, and Symphony of the Damned. Then, there's The Seventh Seal, which blends all of their styles, adds some more, and somehow becomes their doomiest album.

Don't skip the compilation album Past Present Future, because there is some amazing previously unreleased stuff on there, including covers of Crimson Glory's "Lost Reflection" and Abba's "Voulez-Vous", which are incredible. DO, however, skip Fata Morgana because it doesn't have anything new on it (it was just a cash-in by Black Mark Records). Also, DO skip the s/t Morgana Lefay album, which was a cash-in attempt by three members who left the band after Maleficium (this was when the remaining two members had to temporarily change their name to Lefay). This is not a true Morgana Lefay album.

Deathzilla, I would agree with you on ML playing Progpower if I could be assured they would play NOTHING from their newest disk. It was horrible in my opinion and makes me very worried about the future recordings. Sounded like they decided it was time to try and cash in on the "hot topic" styles and just didn't suit them at all.

Sorry, but BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS. I can understand some listeners being bummed because it doesn't have any ballads... but just because it's heavier than their average output doesn't make it a sellout album. If you listen -- REALLY listen -- the same melodies they were using on Grand Materia, going all the way back to The Seventh Seal, are still there; they've just tried a few new concepts here and there. I admit that it took a while to click with me, but when it did, I started listening to it on repeat.

 

[Perditions Ghost]

Sorry, but BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS. I can understand some listeners being bummed because it doesn't have any ballads... but just because it's heavier than their average output doesn't make it a sellout album. If you listen -- REALLY listen -- the same melodies they were using on Grand Materia, going all the way back to The Seventh Seal, are still there; they've just tried a few new concepts here and there. I admit that it took a while to click with me, but when it did, I started listening to it on repeat.

WOO! So I'm NOT the only ML fan who liked the album

 

[Rider of Theli]

WOO! So I'm NOT the only ML fan who liked the album

no, you're not.

I happened to like it too, after dreading to hear it according to reviews I had read. But I hear nothing wrong with it, other than it drags a little toward the end. But it starts off like any other classic MLF album - melting faces! It certainly does not belong in a Hot Topic bin. I really do not understand that comparison.

EoT - you can't go wrong with the advice you've been offered here. My personal faves are the later releases of S.O.S. and Grand Materia. But some of those earlier albums are great too - Maleficium and The Secret Doctrine.

The re-recording of Symphony of the Damned is a MUST HAVE simply for the great cover tunes - Twisted Sister's Captain Howdy and Nazareth's Crazy , plus more.

Good stuff and long overdue for a ProgPower appearance.

 

[booB]

I should clarify their discography a bit, just in case you have trouble tracking some of their stuff down.

Original vinyl demo, which you'll probably never see a copy of in your life :

Symphony of the Damned

Released under the name Morgana Lefay, by Black Mark Records:

Knowing Just As I
The Secret Doctrine
Sanctified
Past Present Future (ballads comp. with some unreleased stuff)
Maleficium
Fata Morgana (heavier songs comp. with NO unreleased stuff)

Released under the name Lefay, by Century Media:

The Seventh Seal
Symphony of the Damned (re-recording, with some new covers added)
SOS

Released under the name Morgana Lefay, when the band went back to Black Mark Records:

Grand Materia
Aberrations of the Mind

I, too, would love to see them play ProgPower USA. I think they got sort of an unforeseen raw deal the last time they played Chicago Powerfest... they headlined the show, but this meant that they had to go on right after the much more popular Nocturnal Rites, which was the band that most people showed up for and left right after. The place emptied out like PPUSA did for Rage. That didn't hamper my enjoyment of the show, but I would have liked to see the NR crowd get their asses kicked by ML.

 

[Magius]

Sorry, but BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS. I can understand some listeners being bummed because it doesn't have any ballads... but just because it's heavier than their average output doesn't make it a sellout album. If you listen -- REALLY listen -- the same melodies they were using on Grand Materia, going all the way back to The Seventh Seal, are still there; they've just tried a few new concepts here and there. I admit that it took a while to click with me, but when it did, I started listening to it on repeat.

"Aberrations" is easily in my top 5 of last year. booB's breakdown is about as complete as you're going to get anywhere.

 

[sh0kr0k]

I'm definitely a fan of Morgana Lefay, to put it mildly, and would love to see them at ProgPower! I'm on the fence about Aberrations of the Mind but Maleficium and Grand Materia are basically 'perfect albums' in my humble opinion, so they're kinda hard to top.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Thanks everyone, especially to Boob! I'll take your recommendations and hit their catalog. From what I can tell, I definitley think I'll dig this band.

~Brian~

 

[TwstDrSteph]

Ooooh, did someone mention Morgana Lefay?

They have been one of my favorite bands since about 1995. Boob did a great job outlining their discography, and I also feel that you can't really go wrong with any of the releases (except that bizarro S/T release on Black Mark which isn't really a ML album). IMHO, Charles Rytkonen is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal. I think the comparison to Jon Oliva is accurate, mostly with regard to the way that Jon and Charles can vocally portray different "characters" as they are singing.

I really like "Abberations of the Mind," even though the sound is somewhat different than what they had done in the past. Would like to hear some of those tracks live someday, so...

Morgana Lefay for ProgPower X!

Steph

 

[booB]

Morgana Lefay for ProgPower X!

I didn't know you were into this band. What else don't I know about you??

 

[batmura]

Morgana Lefay is a great band. Besides the already mentioned Maleficium and S.O.S., which are both great in their own way, I think The Seventh Seal is their darkest and most unique body of work.

I've always thought the re-released version of Symphony of the Damned would have been much better without those god-awful cover tunes. They totally distract from the cohesiveness of the CD.

I've never heard Grand Materia or their new one. Out of those two, which one's more essential guys? booB!..

 

[booB]

I've always thought the re-released version of Symphony of the Damned would have been much better without those god-awful cover tunes. They totally distract from the cohesiveness of the CD.

You're nuts; those are awesome covers! But, I guess that's why God invented the "Skip" button.

I've never heard Grand Materia or their new one. Out of those two, which one's more essential guys? booB!..

Grand Materia!!!

 

[sh0kr0k]

I didn't know you were into this band. What else don't I know about you??

How did you not know?

I've never heard Grand Materia or their new one. Out of those two, which one's more essential guys? booB!..

Grand Materia.

 

[TwstDrSteph]

I didn't know you were into this band. What else don't I know about you??

You probably don't know that I am also a Savatage fan.

@batmura: If I had to choose, I'd say Grand Materia is more "essential" than Abberations. If you are interested in both, I'd suggest listening to GM first, especially if you like concept albums (GM is, Abberations is not).

Steph