Lefay: Symphony of the damned

(1999, Noise)


    Tracklist:
  1. The whore of Babylon
  2. Symphony of the damned
  3. Fatal illusions
  4. Last rites
  5. Lullaby
  6. The secret doctrine
  7. Tequila
  8. Catacombs
  9. War without end
  10. Crazy (Bonus)
  11. Captain howdy (Bonus)
  12. Strange way (Bonus)
  13. Cocaine (Bonus)
Band members:
Charles Rytkönen - Vocals
Tony Eriksson - Guitars
Peter Grehn - Guitars
Micke Åsentorp - Bass guitar
Robin Engström - Drums

    Rating:
    What is this, a second album in the same year as the first, you may think. Well, everything isn't what it looks like. This isn't a totally new produced album, but a new re-recorded version of Morgana Lefay's very first album "Symphony of the damned", originally from 1990, that was only printed in like 500 copies. Therefor, not many people had heard that album. So the band Lefay (old Morgana Lefay) decided to enter the studio and record it once again, but this time with better production and stuff.
    For you who don't know jack about what Morgana Lefay or Lefay is: they were/are one of Sweden's best metal bands, and they have a sound of their own, not many bands sound like this today. In the early days it was a hybrid of trash and melodic power metal, you could say it is still, except that they've dropped a major bit of the trash side. But as this is the older Morgana Lefay material, many songs on this cd are kinda trashy, with much variation though.
    I realised when I put on this cd, but maybe even long before that, that I had heard at least one these songs, in the original version. Because that song ("Symphony of the damned") actually appears on the Morgana Lefay compilation album "Past present future" and I thought it was a new one or something, but obviously it wasn't. So now I get to hear it again in a totally new version, although very close to the original.
    Most of the songs here hold a high standard, mainly track 1-6, 8-9 but track 13, "Cocaine" I have to admit is pretty cool also although very spaced-out.
    Though 3 of the 4 bonus tracks, which I believe are covers all of them, weren't very pleasant surprises at all, not even "Captain howdy" which is a great track from Twisted Sister's "Stay hungry" album, didn't ring that well in my ears (ok they play it very well but Charles doesn't succeed doing the vocals at all).
    I think this cd had been better if they'd skipped the bonus tracks, with exception for "Cocaine". Though it's still a great album, you really should get it if you liked Morgana Lefay.





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