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For some reason this was not what I expected when I bought this album. Nevertheless, I am very happy with how it turned out. Morphia is from the Netherlands and plays a very original brand of doom. Not all is slow here, as there are some mid-tempo parts now and then. But overall, there is a slow and somber feel. The music here is very heavy. The instrument playing is very good. They also mix in a lot of keyboards which add tons of emotion to the songs. A lot of times, especially in the title track and in "The Day I Died", the keys sound strikingly similar to Saviour Machine (which is a good thing). I hear slight influences from a few bands but overall it sound very original. A Saviour Machine fan who also likes death vocals should get into this, as well as fans of Paramaecium, Ashen Mortality, and even GROMS. My favorite songs would have to be "Desire", "The Day I Died", and "Ithinielle". All of the tracks are very good, but these 3 end the album in terrific fashion. The vocals are very well done. Deep deathly growls and a few black shrieks here and there. There are also a lot of spoken vocals. They are all well done, except the one in the middle of the title track where the Netherlands accent gets really annoying. Thankfully, it is very short. In fact, that is probably the only thing I didn't like about this album. The lyrics are somewhat abstract. They seem to have a theme about a man dying of AIDS. Excuse my igorance, but in "Thor's Symphony" who is Thor and why do the trees bow deep before his presence??? And in "Ithinielle" who is "Ithinielle, queen of thy people. Supreme of the stars"???? They lost me here. The production is not perfect, but good enough to allow for an enjoyable listen. Cross Rhythms sold out of this CD, so I don't know if they'll get anymore in. You might try the link to Morphia's website in the link section. Overall, some very quality doom that will get played a lot by this reviewer. (Review by Matt)
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