Review Summary: Morgana Lefay pay homage to Metallica and Pantera.
When I say they’re paying homage to a few of the greatest metal bands ever, pick any song and it’s blatantly obvious. I could sit here all day bashing this band for how unoriginal they are, but in the end it wouldn’t mean squat because fact is this album has some serious riffage and baddassery of the vintage variety. The forceful rhythms of
Sanctified get your foot thumping from the git-go and are reluctant to quit; if you somehow find your brain intact from lack of thrashing and headbanging to some of these riffs- have someone check you into the ER ‘cause you’ve got problems, son.
Complete with ballads and all (“
Why?”, “
Sorrow Calls”),
Sanctified does one hell of a job ripping off all the metal titans of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Morgana Lefay basically steal their playbooks and add a pinch of their own ingenuity to create an album that’s remarkably familiar in style, yet intriguing enough to keep the listener guessing. Sadly, the first track, "
Out In The Silence", is a weak album opener, especially in comparison to other songs on here that simply destroy. Included in the track are some eerie noises similar to the intro of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” which is neat I guess, but honestly I wouldn’t even fiddle around with this average song; just skip it.
“
Mad Messiah” starts off with some pussy-sounding clean playing; but before you can even think, “oh great, another cheesy gay minor tonality piece” the band smashes in with a Dimebag(RIP)-inspired riff that immediately slays you in classic Darrell fashion. Hell, the riff is even reminiscent of Pantera’s “A New Level”, and that is no criticism. “
Time Is God (Master of Eternity)” starts near-identically and then proceeds to slay equally as hard except now in
…And Justice For All-mode. I can literally picture the Metallica boys thrashing this s*** live back in '89.
This entire album is a mangled web of riffs, solos, and other headbang-inducing phenomena. I can’t even figure out how to describe the vocals; this guy utilizes the powerful, grandiose style typical of the era but also has an ultra-unique sound that you’ve just got to hear firsthand to understand. Maybe I’m building up
Sanctified better than it is, I don’t know. But either way if you want riffs, listen to: “
Shadows Of God”, “
Where Insanity Rules”, and “
Time Is God” for starters.
If it didn’t sound even slightly promising yet, Lefay have a strange, warped sense of humor too; on the closing track “
Gil-Gad (The Sanctified)”, there’s a piece with an acoustic guitar and a spoken passage on top of a dark, sustained chord for about 3 minutes that’s intended to sound evil and neurotic; then following a couple minutes of silence the song kicks back in as an upbeat rock anthem featuring drunks laughing, and a Jamaican verse. It’s completely retarded, makes no sense, and in other words….is a fantastic closer to an album that is otherwise serious-in-nature.
All in all,
Sanctified is enjoyable for what it is- basically a band mimicking trademark styles that have already been proven successful. It shall get a 3.5 because it lacks innovation and relevance factor, but rest-assured some of these songs are actually quite good and may have secured their place on legendary metal records had the legends themselves written them. Furthermore, if you listen to
Sanctified and can’t find any of the riffs or rhythms to be pleasing, then you’re probably a brosteppin’ douche who still needs mom to tie your shoes.
Recommended Tracks:
“Time Is God (Master Of Eternity)”
“Sorrow Calls”
“To Isengard”
“Mad Messiah”
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