The Morningside - Moving Crosscurrent Of Time (CD) Digibook

melancholic dark metal, BadMoodMan Music, BadMoodMan Music
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Review
Pitchline Zine
6/10
09.09.2011

Hace poco os presentábamos al grupo ruso de Doom Metal The Morningside con su disco debut ‘The Wind, the Trees and the Shadows of the Past’, editado en 2007. Ahora os traemos su segundo trabajo (con algo de retraso también, ya que se editó en 2009) titulado ‘Moving Crosscurrent of Time’.

Su evolución respecto al anterior ha sido mínima. La estructura del disco es la misma: una introducción instrumental, seguida de una descarga de desolación y dolor, y un cierre a cargo de una outro también instrumental.

La época inicial de Katatonia sigue estando vigente en su trabajo y canciones como “Autumn People” suenan completamente al ‘Brave Murder Day’ de los suecos. Como se comentó en la reseña del debut, impacta bastante el contraste entre la parte instrumental, influenciada por los antes citados Katatonia y algo de Agalloch, con las voces guturales propias del Black Metal, como se puede escuchar en “Insomnia” y “Fourteen”.

El disco es bastante similar entre sí y no ofrece nada nuevo. Los pocos cambios rítmicos apenas destacan y hacen el disco bastante monótono, sonando completamente a los grupos citados anteriormente. Lo único a destacar es la penúltima canción, llamada “The Outcome (Admit One)” que se mueve por unos terrenos mucho más amenos al oído, con ese Doom con tintes góticos que recuerdan a los Rapture finlandeses, y un final que no tiene nada que ver con lo que han ofrecido hasta ahora a cargo de unas melodías progresivas hechas con teclados en formato midi.

Este “Moving Crosscurrent of Time” no ofrece nada que no hayamos escuchado y reescuchado a estas alturas, con unas clarísimas influencias a los inicios de Katatonia y a Agalloch y que gustará a los seguidores del género. Veremos si su nuevo disco, editado en 2011 (tranquilos, ¡en breve será reseñado! ) sigue el mismo patrón que han utilizado hasta ahora o se centrarán en esas nuevas influencias que nos han mostrado al final del disco. En breve saldremos de dudas.

Author: Xènia Von Ereticy
Solitude Productions 09.09.2011, 21:43
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
Solitude Productions 14.02.2011, 18:07
Review
Vibrations of Doom #50
9.8/10

When I first heard their debut "The Wind, The Trees And The Shadows Of The
Past," I thought this Russian doom styled band was interesting, but nothing
prepared me for just how much this CD would totally annihilate their previous
effort! First off, right from the get go you'll notice that much of the guitar
work is oh-so catchy and utilizing some of the highest ended guitar notes that
soar with emotion. Right off the bat I'll say that the opening "intro" (Yea,
it's called an intro; their first CD had one too, but the "Outro" is worth
mentioning. We'll do that later) had to be skipped. It starts out cool enough,
with harsh bird and rough wind sounds, and a rather ambient landscape of
synths, but the synths soon get rather annoying before the track ends. Not a
huge deal, for once 'Fourteen' kicks in as one of the best tracks on the album,
you'll be thrilled at the ride. Oftentimes the guitar work keeps you wondering
if this is REALLY a doom metal oriented band, as the slower passages oftentimes
utilize a somewhat thrash set of guitar riffs (or choppy style riffs, whatever)
to accentuate the higher ended leads. And EVERY song here is chock full of
great solo instrumentation. You'll often hear the vocals disappear for about
two thirds to half of the song, only to close it out by the track's end. And
the brilliant guitar work is all over the place. 'Autumn People' carries things
on, with nice opening lead riffs. 'Insomnia' starts the track off with sick
blackened vocals, and they're quite intense. These lead guitar riffs are
starting to sound familiar; maybe it's because they're played around the same
fret pattern or because they're so high up. This track stops midway to bring
out a semi acoustic set of instrumentation. There's some interesting double
bass drumming to end the track, once again making you wonder if this really is
doom metal! The title trackhas a few odd leads around the 3:15 mark, and again
near the end of the song, but I think it's just two notes that struck me as
odd. There's a really interesting lead solo here that blazes away for a few,
though each note is crafted in a rising crescendo that really carries the
emotion of the song to new heights. The last actual "song" is 'The Outcome,'
and this is one of the most interesting and diverse cuts, mainly because around
the 4 minute mark there's some really vicious and dark thrash riffing going on!
You totally don't expect to hear THAT by this point. And the ending of the
track SHOULD be around the 7:15 mark, except there's this amazingly magical set
of synth ambience going on along with the repeating of the lead guitar parts,
and I though, what a fabulous way to end the CD! It's trippy, almost
psychedelic and totally amazing. However, the last track is the "outro," and it
resembles more a REAL song, since it has actual SUNG vocals (yes, and this is
the ONLY place on the CD you'll find clean sung vocals) and guitar, drums, etc.
It starts out with acoustical guitar work that you SWEAR you've heard before (I
think it's an acoustical version of riffs from a previous song). True to form,
even though it's a 7 minute track, the vocals don't appear until about 2:35.
This CD quite simply blew me away, with me getting hooked on 'Fourteen' and the
other tracks soon getting repeat nods. VERY little complaining to do here
folks, and I must say that you'll be questioning whether this disc is a TRUE
representation of a great mixture of black and doom metal. One of the best doom
styled bands to come from Russia, I daresay we are going to be blown away even
more at their next offering...
Solitude Productions 17.12.2010, 14:02
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
Solitude Productions 06.12.2010, 16:24
Review
HardSounds.it
74/100
12.02.2010

Paradise Lost e Katatonia i suoi precettori, anche se "Moving Crosscurrent Of Time" sa essere in parte personale. Ancora death/doom, quindi, per i The Morningside, band russa alle prese con il suo secondo album. Un disco che guarda si con intensità ai padri del genere, ma che prova ad andare oltre tramite una maggiore insistenza melodica, assoli frequenti e lunghi, ed uno screaming che definire tipicamente black non è certo una licenza poetica. Composizioni più fluide e qualche armonizzazione in più rendono i brani assimilabili fin dal primo impatto, ed è proprio il lavoro in fase solista della sei corde a renderle tali, graffiante e preciso come quanto ispirato. Ci sono tutti i motivi per credere che i The Morningside abbiamo superato la prova della maturità, anche se una maggiore concretezza non dispiacerebbe: quando si va di ambient e di accenni new wave come nell'intro e nella coda finale la banalità si manifesta in tutta la sua baldanzosa inefficacia. Un buon disco alla fine, appetibile per chi apprezza nello specifico lo stile, meno per chi lo subisce di riflesso. Di sicuro ci sono tutte le premesse per credere che il prossimo giro possa essere quello della loro definitiva consacrazione.

Pesanti, oscuri, ma con guanti di velluto

Author: Andrea "Emo" Punzo
Solitude Productions 03.12.2010, 01:26
Review
Pavillion 666
7.5/10
23.12.2009

THE MORNINGRISE nous vient de la féderation de Russie, la patrie du doom/dark metal. Ce groupe évidement peu connu en France sort son second opus « Moving Crosscurrent Of Time », inspiré du roman de Ray Bradbury « La Foire des ténèbres », tout un programme alléchant ! Et c’est évidement sur le label doom Solitude production/bad mood man qu’il faudra compter pour épauler et produire ces artistes venus du froid.
Fans des premiers Katatonia et Agalloch, tout a été préparé pour votre gourmandise. Doté d’un design superbe dont des photographies de paysages, cet album est également suivi par une bonne production, tout commence donc bien. Musicalement, c’est du dark dans le sens global, à savoir une musique sombre et mélancolique. Beaucoup de doom, même si l’on n’est pas dans le style pur et dur, à savoir des compos que Doc gyneco auraient pu écrire un soir de fatigue. Ici le tempo est tout de même plus relevé, avec un metal alternant entre black et dark mélodique donc. Certains solos de guitare mélodiques sont tout bonnement ahurissants, c’est le point fort de l’album. Il y a quelques touches de My dying bride ici où là, croisé avec du Sirenia. Seul petit bémol, malgré ces compos réussies et plutôt fournies, une trop grande linéarité avec des rythmiques parfois redondantes tout au long de l’album. Mais voilà, quand un album est bon, on recherche toujours le coté perfectible…
Second album qui séduira donc les amateurs de dark/doom metal sans aucun doute. Par contre nous attendons encore plus de personnalité et de variations sur un prochain album pour complètement se laisser submerger par l’émotion. Une découverte très intéressante…

Author: AVALON
Solitude Productions 01.12.2010, 21:57
Review
Legacy Magazine #69
9/10

Seit 2006 aktiv, haben THE MORNINGSIDE bereits
ein Album veröffentlicht und gingen dann wieder auf
Label-Suche. Bei BadMoodMan erscheint nun „Moving
Crosscurrent Of Time“, das zweite Full-Length der vier
Moskauer. Interessant ist das Album nicht aufgrund seiner
Stilmittel, die man anderswo ausgefeilter findet, besonders
die ziemlich laut abgemischten, heiser gekrächzten bis
geknurrten Vocals nerven auf Dauer und machen die
melancholische Grundstimmung der omnipräsenten
Lead-Gitarre kaputt, die sich im zweiten Stück ‚14’ oder
in ‚Insomnia’ an vierter Stelle in Höhen schwingt, die
man sonst nur aus dem Power Metal kennt. „Moving
Crosscurrent Of Time“ bezieht seine Melancholie aus dem
Herbst, doch nicht, weil der Herbst Herbst ist, sondern weil
das Bewusstsein einer Existenz in Zyklen einfach depressiv
machen muss. Da werden neblige Novembertage und
das baldige Ende des Lebens in Beziehung gesetzt mit
Kindheitserinnerungen, der Honig auf dem Roggenbrot und
der Osterkuchen besungen. THE MORNINGSIDE erkennen:
Das Leben ist eine Bürde, und „Moving Crosscurrent Of
Time“ ist das Verlangen danach, die Zyklizität des Lebens
außer Kraft zu setzen – wie auch immer. Das Cover des
limitierten Digipacks zeigt die tief stehende Herbstsonne,
im Vordergrund einen bereits kahlen Baum und Wind,
dessen Staubpartikel gegen die Sonne sichtbar werden. Es
geht zu Ende. Bleibt die Frage: Was hören wir im nächsten
Frühjahr?

Author: JIP
Solitude Productions 27.10.2010, 21:43
Review
Deadshop
4/10
09.02.2010

THE MORNINGSIDE is coming from Russia , and this not first work of theirs as I know. I see there in Russia are tons of bands into doom, melodic, grind genres, but total lack of pure thrash/black bands… Why? Maybe because our people have other visions from others, he-he J ? Well, THE MORNINGSIDE is into melodic death/doom music, and their album is similar to hundreds of other Russian bands… Nothing extraordinary and only thing which can keep them to be listened is good record-quality. The whole stuff is made by using of such pressing death metal tune together with melodic guitars, and melancholic doom metal atmosphere during the whole album playing time. Also again about vocals, I don't like here vocals too, those melodic vocals school isn't very good I think (you know, those screams like many melodic bands use). As for musical structure itself, I can say the music is pretty listenable but with many boring tunes as well, I mean this is not HUGE pleasant to listen to the whole album just with very first time! But all in all here are positive aspects too!!! For example, I like the sound, then I like guitar work, as well as beautiful guitar solos here and there. And these things like atmosphere, good musicianship, and beautiful melodies are make them a bit stronger. So, if you'd like to have next melodic death/doom band from Russia – look for this CD.
Solitude Productions 02.09.2010, 23:08
Review
Darkcity 54\2010
4/5
Январь\Февраль 2010

Да, чёрт побери, уже и такие альбомы записывают российские группы! Вторая работа The Morningside однозначно продолжила линию дебютника, направленную на меланхоличный метап, только в этот раз вместо формулы 'поздний Opeth + Katatonia' я бы использовал 'Agallocli + Katatonia', Нельзя не отметить и некоторое усложнение аранжировок, что, впрочем, ни в коей мере не усложнило общее восприятие музыки The Momingside. Ну а поддержанию правильной атмосферы на время прослушивания альбома вновь поможет стильное оформление буклета; при этом коллекционерам я настоятельно рекомендую обратить внимание на лимитированное издание диска в формате дигибук.

Author: Ан.К.
Solitude Productions 02.09.2010, 03:42
Review
KronosMortus
8.5/10
08.01.2010

Irományom legelején leszögezném, hogy a lemez hallgatásakor egy olyan fokú művészeti remekművet véltem konstatálni a The Morningside muzsikájában, amely nagyon komoly hatással lehet azon hallgatóság számára, akik komolyabban el tudnak mélyülni a doom metál zenei világában. Nem vicc, ezt a lehető legkomolyabban írom. Tán most mindenki megnyitotta a last.fm-et, a metal archives-t de teljesen felesleges. Nem egy elfeledett híres, s nagy múltú bandáról van szó.
A The Morningside-nak ez a második albuma, sajnos legelső lemezükkel még nem volt szerencsém „találkozni” ámbár ahogy azt tudjuk, ami késik, az nem pontos. Tehát, amint írtam fentebb, ez egy olyan fokú művészi alkotás, mely talán már súrolja a My Dying Bride, és a Swallow The Sun határait, s talán nem is túlzás, ha azt írom, hogy kicsit át is lépi. No de felmerül bennünk a kérdés, hogy vajon mit is tud nekünk nyújtani ez a banda? Nos abban az ötvenkét percben amit együtt töltöttem a csapat remekműjével, komoly érzelmi hullámokat idézett bennem. Abszolúte érezhető, hogy banda minden egyes tagja képzett zenész, és hogy a számok nincsenek csak úgy összedobva. Még az intro és outro is olyan precizitással, olyan atmoszférikus világgal itatták át, amely a lemez többi nótájára is jellemző, és ez az atmoszférikus légkör rányomja pecsétjét a bandára is.
Meglepő, hogy vannak olyan témák, amik erősen experimental beütésűek. A dalokban elhintett szólók, s kiállások valami zseniálisak. Többek között a „The Autumn People”, „Insomnia” dalok során találkozhatunk ezekkel a jelzőkkel. Bár a lemez hét számos, mégis elég „sűrű”, és nagyon kellemes hallgatni. Magával ragadó hangulat, és ha az ember kezében tartja a bookletet is – ami szintén valami mesésen szép, külön dicséret érte – mintha egy mesébe csöppent volna.
A The Morningside mesél. Mesél a természetről, váltakozásáról, a folytonos körforgásról. Mintha egy zenélő regényt tartana az ember a két kezében.
Összességében, ez egy nagyon jó banda, nagyszerű muzsikával, sajátos egyedi világgal, ami igazából teljesen önmagáért beszél. Világ megváltásról ne is álmodozzunk, de kellemes kikapcsolódást tud nyújtani mindenki számára, aki kedveli a műfajt.

Author: black_wizard
Solitude Productions 01.09.2010, 04:48
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