Matters Of The Dark

Untitled Document This is the seventh career album from the Swedish power metal quintet, Tad Morose. Their first five albums were released on Black Mark Records, but the band shifted to Century Media with their 2000 release Undead which will surely help the band gain some well deserved attention from metalheads worldwide. The most impressive aspect of this album for me is the outstanding musicianship and tight production. The rhythm section keeps perfect time and provides a powerful backdrop for the ever present twin guitar work Christer Andersson and Daniel Olsson. The guys of Tad Morose are very comfortable and are more than capable with their instruments. Furthermore, they are able to bring all the pieces together to create a unified overall sound. The band has also created some huge, melodic harmony vocal lines that remind me of early Queensryche albums such as Rage For Order and The Warning. Vocalist Urban Breed shines with his rich, emotional, and highly melodic vocal delivery which is a perfect match for the upbeat powerful songs all the way to the darker groove laden tracks. Matters of the Dark is also a self produced album, but very professional sounding nonetheless. Consequently, the album sounds just like the band wants it to – crisp, tight, and powerful! The mood and tempo of this album are constantly on the change. The masterful songwriting is varied and never becomes repetitive or boring. No two songs sound exactly the same, yet the incredible melodies and excellent musicianship are evident in each and every track. Tracks such as the title track (featuring dual vocals of Lefay vocalist Charles Rytkonen) and Another Way are galloping, riff driven power metal classics, while tracks such as Reason of the Ghost feature a darker, Black Sabbath type groove to give the listener a change of pace. One of the standout tracks on the disc, Ethereal Soul features some very technical musicianship which can only be fully appreciated and absorbed after several listens. Songs like I Know Your Name and In the Shadows are mid tempo numbers that are built around infectious riffs and melodies. Tad Morose are obviously influenced by many great metal bands such as Jag Panzer, Fates Warning, Lefay, and Queensryche to name a few. However, the band never makes the fatal mistake of using the “copy-paste” method to create a song. They have merged some of the best qualities of the aforementioned bands and formed a sound that can only be described as Tad Morose. Each song is unique in its own rite and thus maintains the listener’s attention from beginning to end. Matters of the Dark is an album that will surely please fans of the bands I’ve mentioned above and fans of classic power metal in general. Constantly changing moods, incredible melodies, soaring vocals, and top notch musicianship (twin guitars – yeah!!) are bountiful on this new Tad Morose album. The only regret I have after listening to this album is the fact that I haven’t discovered this band before now.