Review
Heavy Music
9.5/10
17.03.2010

Москвичи The Morningside – один из лучших отечественных коллективов, вообще, по моему мнению. И всё благодаря уже даже только одному их дебютному альбому 2007-го года. Так что второй альбом я ждал с особым предвкушением. Сразу скажу, что переплюнуть дебютник ребята не смогли, но, главное, создали работу на том же высочайшем уровне! Безумно атмосферный и меланхоличный метал, который можно назвать и мелодик-думом и одновременно с этим депрессив-блэком (ибо вокал – скриминг), но, в любом случае, – это очень светлая музыка, успокаивающая, чуть ли не баюкающая, навевающая лёгкую грусть. Красивейшие просто поющие гитарные мелодии, полное отсутствие какой-либо грузящей тяжести, воздушные атмосфера и настроение, печальные осенние стихи – всё это есть на втором альбоме The Morningside. Плюс к этому, ребята полностью избавились, как мне показалось, от влияния Agalloch, зато привнесли греческо-металлическую мелодику в свою музыку. Шикарное диджибуковое оформление альбома лишь подчёркивает всю величину этого релиза – музыки, подобной которой более не сыскать на российских просторах. И, всё же, несмотря на то, что альбом чертовски хорош и красив, дебютник до сих пор мне кажется чуть более лучшим в своей невероятной лёгкости и душевности. В любом случае, группа прекрасна!

Author: Demether

Review
Tortured Soul Asylum Webzine

ust by the cover of this album I expected something more along the lines of funeral doom but I have to say covers can be deceiving at times because what i got was a more melodic doom/death metal album. This album takes the ominous tones of doom metal, the harsh vocals of death metal, and adds melodic rhythms to make a very solid sound. The songs are paced quite well and switches from hard driving mid-paced rhythms to a more melodic slower pace. Their style is in ways kinda like that of Katatonia with more harsh style of vocals. I did find this album to be quite enjoyable and very well put together even though time to time I found some of the songs where too drawn out. Overall this is a very well done album that I think fans of the darker side of metal will truly enjoy.

Author: Daniel Damnation

Review
Pest Webzine

It’s always a pleasure to listen to a Solitude Prod./Bad Mood Man release, you’re sure you get a remarkable material and The Morningside proves once again this statement. The band was formed in 2006 as a four-piece and this is their second album, both of them out on Solitude Prod. Their musical path can be labeled as Melodic Doom Death, the traditional way, a perfect gift for all diehard Doom Death fans out there. We’re treated with 7 tracks lasting for about 52 minutes of clever, entertaining and complex Doom Death. I guess I’m so excited about this release because it’s excellent guitar work: Heavy Doom guitar riffs supporting some melodic and melancholic guitar leads that introduce you to a meditative, calm atmosphere. But still, the hoarse vocals are the aggressive point here, just to make it more complex, and the stong bass and drum parts are a good addition. Despite their similarities with Katatonia, The Morningside are doing it with great passion and they succeed what’s the most important, to transmit their ideas and feelings to the listener. Good effort, really looking forward to hear some new stuff from this Russian band. thumbs up, go for it.

Author: Adrian

Review
Shapeless Zine
8/10

Dopo Raventale e Kauan, eccomi qui a parlare di un altro ritorno targato Bad Mood Man Records: si tratta dei The Morningside, formazione russa che avevo giа recensito all’epoca del loro “The Wind, The Trees And The Shadow Of The Past”. Giа allora ero rimasto particolarmente colpito dalla bontа della loro opera, che prendeva ampi spunti dai Katatonia di “Brave Murder Day”, li univa agli ottimi Agalloch e ci regalava un doom metal dalle tinte oscure e malinconiche in tre composizioni maestose (piщ una intro e una outro) intitolate appunto “The Wind”, “The Trees” e “The Shadow Of The Past”.
Bene, con questo nuovo “Moving Crosscurrent Of Time”, la band non и che faccia grandi innovazioni al proprio sound e a conti fatti nemmeno alla struttura dell’opera: i numi tutelari sono ancora Katatonia e Agalloch e nell’album troviamo ancora intro ed outro ad aprire e chiudere il CD, sebbene adesso le canzoni vere e proprie siano cinque. Anche la copertina gioca ancora su immagini naturaliste, sebbene piщ oscure e spoglie rispetto all’album precedente. A voler essere precisi in realtа ci sono due copertine di questo disco: la prima, quella che possiedo io, и una pianura dove in primo piano si vede un ramo secco abbandonato sulle rive di un laghetto, con il marrone a fare da colore dominante; l’altra invece mostra la silhouette di un albero circonfuso di luce, con toni molto piщ caldi.
Passiamo oltre, comunque, e arriviamo alla musica vera e propria che, come dicevo, non si discosta molto da quanto potete leggere anche nella precedente recensione. Diciamo che “Moving Crosscurrent Of Time” и un po’ il classico album di conferma. Non aggiunge e non toglie niente al passato, ma dato che la qualitа del lavoro и molto elevata, serve a stabilizzare lo status del gruppo e a confermare che le buonissime impressioni del primo lavoro non erano affatto un fuoco di paglia, ma l’inizio di una carriera degna di nota. Non и cosм strano, in effetti, tant’и che non a caso esiste questo luogo comune, piщ o meno fondato, del terzo album come quello della svolta: in effetti anche per i The Morningside il discorso potrebbe essere simile e in effetti un terzo lavoro ancora legato a degli stilemi giа sentiti potrebbe non essere una mossa saggia.
Comunque, bando alle ciance e pensiamo al presente. Come giа vi anticipavo si parte con una intro di circa quattro minuti che, tra il rumore del vento e il verso di un rapace, lascia spazio ad una composizione ambient. Nulla di fondamentale, comunque, dato che la vera anima del gruppo si fa sentire su “Fourteen”, un brano piuttosto corto per gli standard del gruppo (soli sei minuti) dove perт abbiamo tutte le caratteristiche del loro sound: tempi rallentati, chitarre lamentose e malinconiche che perт sanno disegnare ottime melodie e una voce in screaming a guidare il tutto. “Autumn People”, invece, и uno dei punti piщ alti con i suoi dieci minuti di durata e le sue atmosfere cangianti, capaci di ferire come di cullare, soprattutto nella seconda parte del brano. Si continua cosм con “Insomnia” e la title track, entrambe di buona fattura ma che non aggiungono molto a quanto detto finora se non per un ottimo assolo di chitarra in quest’ultima, mentre con “The Outcome (Admit One)”, la band firma un brano dinamico e cangiante, dove torna a farsi sentire il ricordo dei My Dying Bride in alcune partiture di chitarra. Molto diversa, invece, “Outro”, giocata interamente su chitarre pulite e arpeggiate: qui si fanno sentire molto di piщ i Katatonia di “Tonight’s Decision” o “Last Fair Deal Gone Done”, sia per la musica, sia per la parte vocale anch’essa pulita e molto simile a quella di Jonas Renkse. Che sia un indizio sul futuro dei The Morningside? Chi lo sa, per ora abbiamo ancora un buonissimo lavoro e quindi va bene cosм. Dico la veritа, ho apprezzato leggermente di piщ il primo album e quindi ero tentato di dare mezzo voto in meno, ma voglio premiare questi ragazzi perchи hanno saputo dare delle conferme non da poco. Ora aspettiamo la prova definitiva del terzo album.

Author: Danny Boodman

Review
Metal Review
8.3/10

Although the cover art seems strangly reminiscent of a Nevermore album, The Morningside actually deals in airy, melodic death/doom strongly influenced by Agalloch and Katatonia, as well as Finland’s lucrative death/doom scene. While listeners experienced with these genres may not hear anything terribly innovative in Moving Crosscurrent Of Time, that doesn’t change the fact that this Russian outfit is paying their homage to the greats with extremely worthwhile results.

The Morningside’s focus lies on conveying a depressing, naturalistic atmosphere through a patient, steady sense of build-up and release in songwriting. Much like the aforementioned Agalloch, The Morningside delivers their hooks in the form of sorrowful, catchy lead guitar refrains backed by misty, doomy soundscapes. “Fourteen” makes a huge opening impression following an atmospheric intro with a gorgeous array of depressive leads, while “Autumn People” solidifies the backing riffs into more of a steady march before delivering the album’s first rousing chorus (spearheaded by, surprise, more terrific lead guitar). The epic title track follows suit with an impressive trade-off of acoustic and electric passages before delivering a superbly catchy riff at the halfway point. While guitar is obviously the primary focus of The Morningside’s compositions, the band also incorporates some deft bass guitar flourishes which are given plenty of room to shine thanks to the album’s top-notch mixing job, which renders each instrument with a smooth, organic tone that perfectly suits the nature of the music at hand. There’s even a beautiful wash of ambient keyboard sounds at the end of “The Outcome (Admit One)” that somehow feels right at home with the rest of the record’s guitar-centric delivery.

While The Morningside’s instrumental palette is terrific, the vocals don’t make the transition quite as well. There’s nothing inherently bad about Igor Nikitin’s raspy growls, but they depict some of the lyrics a bit too aggressively considering their rather mopey tone, and it distracts from the overall atmosphere at times. The clean singing featured on the untitled outro track is likewise a bit shaky, but I have a feeling most listeners will forgive the flaws in the vocals considering the rewarding nature of the songs as a whole.

Some may feel that The Morningside’s sound is too reminiscent of other bands, or that the lengthy intro and outro are excessive, but fans of deathy doom metal with a melodic bent should find a great deal to be excited about in the depressive folds of Moving Crosscurrent Of Time. This outfit’s ear for songwriting and affinity for extremely memorable lead guitar compositions should stand out to anyone regardless of the apparent nature of the influences, and if the members of The Morningside can find a way to add a bit more of their own personal flair to this style they perform so well, they could find themselves standing proudly alongside the very bands they so obviously admire. As it stands, Moving Crosscurrent Of Time is a quality piece of death/doom in its own right and goes highly recommended to fans of the genre.

Author: Chris McDonald

Review
Atmosfear Magazine
10/10

Если вам понравился дебютный альбом этой московской группы, то их новый шедевр вам понравится ещё больше. И хотя музыканты продолжают гнуть линию своего предшественника, однозначно можно сказать, что “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” получился на голову выше, чем “The Wind, the Trees and the Shadows of the Past”. Материал стал более сложным для восприятия, более тяжёлым, более атмосферным… Если верить пресс-релизу, то источником вдохновения для музыкантов при написании основной части композиций, послужило известное произведение Рэя Брэдбери “Something Wicked This Way Comes”. Хм, кто знает, возможно музыка THE MORNINGSIDE вполне подошла бы в качестве звукового сопровождения к данному повествованию. Одно можно сказать, данный альбом надо слушать в осенний период, когда за окном идёт проливной дождь, и вы сидите в лесной хижине в гордом одиночестве. В другое время этот диск просто не воспринимается. CD “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” слушается на одном дыхании, но больше всего хотелось бы отметить титульную композицию, которая сразу тянет на звание мега-хит. Думаю, эту песню больше всего будут фэны требовать исполнить на бис на концертах группы, так же как фэны требуют на выступлениях группы KATATONIA исполнить их легендарный хит “Murder”. Кстати, всем поклонникам старого творчества KATATONIA, теперь с полной уверенностью можно сказать, что в России появилась достойная замена упомянутой шведской команды, и поверьте это не просто громкие слова. Думаю, находись группа THE MORNINGSIDE на каком-нибудь Peaceville Records, они бы вполне могли бы рассчитывать на международный успех. Однозначно один из лучших metal релизов, которые когда-либо выходили на постсоветском пространстве. Информация для коллекционеров: кроме обычной версии, также доступно лимитированное издание в формате шикарного digibook (всего 500 копий), а сам диск издан с золотым напылением с использованием технологии pit art. Посему советую поторопиться с приобретением.

Author: Costas

Review
The Pit of The Damned
8/10
03.10.2010

Una lunga spettrale intro apre il secondo lavoro dei moscoviti The Morningside, autori un paio d’anni fa di un interessantissimo lavoro di death doom atmosferico, “The Wind, the Trees and the Shadows of the Past”. Proprio partendo da tali sonorità decadenti, ma ancor di più dall’influsso proveniente dal mitico debut “Dance of December Souls” dei Katatonia, possiamo dedurre su quali coordinate si muove il quartetto russo. L’ensemble est europeo non tradisce assolutamente le mie aspettative, peraltro proponendo al pubblico un lussuoso digipack con un elegante booklet interno. A parte l’estetica, visto che comunque anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte, la musica poi è pura delizia per le mie orecchie e per chiunque abbia amato gli esordi dei già citati Katatonia o dei Paradise Lost. Proprio sulla base di quelle sonorità di primi anni ’90, cosi malinconiche, depressive e autolesioniste, la band sfoggia 5 pezzi (più intro e outro) di raffinata bellezza. Ad aprire ci pensa “Fourteen” e già sono le chitarre ritmiche a mettersi in mostra, spennellando qua e là tinte autunnali di un dolce tramonto di metà novembre. È immediatamente chiaro che il disco ha suggestive emozioni da trasmettere, visto il ruolo cardine che giocano i fantasiosi riffs del duo Sergey-Igor, nell’economia generale del disco: non si tratta infatti di selvagge cavalcate di furente death, bensì vellutati tocchi di pura semplice poesia, con intermezzi acustici e parti atmosferiche, capaci di colmare il dolore dei nostri cuori feriti. La terza “Autumn People” si apre come un qualsiasi pezzo estrapolato da “Shades of God” dei maestri Paradise Lost e come i maestri, anche i The Morningside dipingono desertiche lande ove non v’è traccia d’anima viva. Magnifiche l’emozioni che si sprigionano dalle note di questo disco, complici anche alcune parti ispirate agli statunitensi Agalloch, per quel loro uso di parti acustiche che donano un tocco di magia all’intero lavoro; cosi come eccellenti sono i riffs di chiara scuola “Brave Murder Day”, certamente in grado di trascinare “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” verso un successo più che meritato. Vorrei sottolineare infine che, nonostante questa mia continua citazione di band a cui i nostri si ispirano, la musica dei Morningside non è una pura e mera rilettura dei classici ma un’intensa personalizzazione di quelli che sono i dettami di un genere che, se si è in grado di suonare, può suscitare forti emozioni e i Morningside si confermano talentuosi nelle idee e abili nel’esecuzione; bravi!

Author: Francesco Scarci

Review
Metal Daze
3.5/5
01.11.2010

Rusia dejó hace tiempo de ser una sorpresa para quienes escuchamos bandas de Metal Extremo (más que nada las relacionadas con el Doom Metal) y a las claras esto que queda en consideración de todos nosotros con la llegada del segundo trabajo de los rusos THE MORNINGSIDE.
“Moving Crosscurrent Of Time” es un álbum que potencia sus cualidades melódicas en lo entramado del Dark Metal (casi olvidado en estos tiempos), construyendo caminos sinuosos entre lo que han hecho los ingleses de Paradise Lost en los 90´s y las bandas fichadas por Solitude Productions actualmente (el sello ruso en cuestión).
La tendencia hacia lo melódico se hace presente a cada paso, sobre todo en las canciones “Autumn People”, la brillante “Insomnio” y la que despide el material con algo más de potencia y pesadez antes de la “Outro” en el final (“The Outcome –Admit One”).
El cuarteto ruso extiende sus más sentidos sentimientos en casi una hora de duración, donde la melancolía se apodera de las canciones, casi penetrándolas, metiéndose en ellas como un espíritu malicioso en busca de saciar su lánguida.
“Moving Crosscurrent Of Time” es un disco oscuro, poco pretencioso, en cierto modo refinado, pero con correctas canciones y un sentido criterio a la hora de la composición.

Author: Gustavo Piccini

Review
Forgotten Path
7/10

The debut album from The Morningside “The Wind, the Trees and the Shadows of the Past” was something special, and actually opened up my eyes toward the Russian Doom Metal scene. That was more than three years ago. Today the newest release “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” is on my table and unfortunately it does not repeat the success of the first album. In general, the band became more mature, but it definitely also lost something. Maybe it’s the naivety or maybe it’s the same maturity, which kills the youthful enthusiasm.
“Moving Crosscurrent of Time” offers more than fifty minutes of total melancholy, autumnal warm and emotions. The album is too positive for my taste; it lacks more aggressiveness, negativity, which could give some darker shadows to the music. Of course, the album still has the un-light aura, but for me it carries too much warmness inside. Again I want to mention the slowness and total melancholy. For my taste, Death/Doom must have at least several fast interludes that flow with pain or hatred. This time The Morningside decided to make the listeners relax. Sure, this is still good album for the nostalgic evenings on the park paths, but the melodies of the music sound too boring. It seems that the album is done just on one note, without any activeness. Probably just the title song, “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” makes the situation better and gives the album some dynamic. The vocals are also too boring and the only thing it leads to is sleep.
Be sure to check this album out in the appropriate mood. Otherwise, it can become a big disappointment. Totally melancholic and melodic Death/Doom is not the best idea for me today, but I believe there would be other days when such monotony can even make my days better.

Author: Odium