LEFAY |
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Many familiar with the scene will already be aware of this Swedish Metal stalwart's recent name change. Having dealt with unpleasant legal battles, label changes and finally personnel departures, the seal surely has broken from the past and out of the depths of the former "Morgana Lefay" arrives simply "Lefay," retooled, revamped and perhaps stronger than ever. Released a decade after their original offering, "The Seventh Seal" offers no apologies or alternatives to what previously came to be expected and nary a quick sneer back to a troublesome past. The new release is solid and sealed till the end, sporadically inviting with orchestration, yet misleading no one into the realms of Gothic despair. Rather think of a darker mid-paced Gamma Ray for comparison and pay special attention to superior rankings of "The Seventh Seal," "The Boon He Gives," "Moonlit Night" and "Harga" though there's little room for air to escape amongst the rest, they're freshness retained throughout. 'The Seventh Seal' is released by Modern Music Records GmbH. Kurfürstenstraße 23, 10785 Berlin. Germany. Website : http://www.noiserecords.com/ Review by Vinnie Apicella. |
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SOS
Lefay |
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Ah, the gods of metal are smiling upon me once again, when the new Lefay-SOS, showed up in my mail. First, I must be straightforward with all of ya. I've always been a Lefay-a-holic(So in other worlds long sleepless nights have keep me up thinking about this CD). That's enough of the chit chat, lets get on to the review. Well this is Lefay's 8th release(Six studio albums,Two greatest hits) and if you've heard Lefays' albums before, you would know that they play a heavy power metal that borders on thrash. The vocalist,Charles Rytkonen, has often been referred to as being a Jon Oliva clone (savatage,duh). Well, if you ask me, he is a mixture of Oliva and Sebastian Bach on amphetamines. I mean listening to this guy is an amazing experience,at times he has the most mellow,somber voice and at other times he reminds me of Bobby Ellsworth with his crazy man rantings. Charles, seems to only get better with each release and on this album there is no exception. When it comes to the music on this album. It seems that they have a more urgency in the songs. Maybe its a little faster, maybe a little heavier(maybe I'm just nit-picking). In the older albums the songs seemed to breathe a little more, the music seemed to build more and more. Older songs used to start with a acoustic guitar or a slower intro, where as the songs on this CD seems to concentrate more on the riff. From the get go, the heavy riff kicks in and continues throughout the song. This opus contains riffs that would knock down skyscrapers. I immediately began to think about how the three new members sound more comfortable then they did on the "Seventh Sign" CD. The solos seem better,the melody seems better and the songs keep your attention a little bit more. I've listened to this CD about 25x's in the past few days and I think that after I'm finished with this review, I'm gonna go back to it. If some one asked me,"what's your fave song on the album "I would have to say all of them. Standouts are "Cimmerian Dream (smokin),What Dreams Forbode (klassic) and The Quest For Reality (Sounds like a song form Slayers-Reign in Blood). Also of note is that the is a conceptual album, which deals with the pain Jesus has to go through as he walks the earth again. You really have to pay attention to the CD to realize that its a concept album because the album notes or the band doesn't mention a thing about it. Hell, this album doesn't even include the names of the members of Lefay. In closing, all I can say is that you need this album!!!!! Please, embrace these boys before they disappear the way of many great bands. I highly recommend this album to any fan of old Metallica, Iced Earth, Nevermore and most of the great 80's thrash bands (Paradox, Realm, Powermad, etc......) I've almost run out of ways to describe "Amazing" when it comes to reference to Lefay. Now, I wait for Lefay uber-twins Tad Morose for their latest masterpiece.
Released by Noise Records Review by Leif Konstantatos |