The Morningside - Yellow (CD)

melancholic metal, BadMoodMan Music, BadMoodMan Music
533.33 Р
CD
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BMM. 076-16 x
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Новый долгожданный альбом от московских меланхоликов вновь преподносит сюрприз своим слушателям и в очередной раз доказывает, что The Morningside являются одной из самобытных групп на российской «тяжёлой» сцене. После предыдущего взрывного альбома, выдержанного в духе melodic / progressive death metal, в своё время наделавшего шума среди поклонников команды, музыканты вновь меняют направление: с одной стороны произошло возвращение к стилистике второго полноформатного альбома «Moving Crosscurrent Of Time», а, с другой, в музыке стали более ощутимы влияние progressive rock и post rock в чистом виде. Такое необычное сочетание, при сохранении неповторимого звучания и атмосферы The Morningside, и рождает «Yellow» – новую главу, новое путешествие. Особую атмосферу альбома составляет концепция, косвенно связанная с романом Курта Воннегута «Бойня номер пять». Персонаж «Yellow», сродни персонажу Воннегута, блуждает во времени и жёлтый трамвай с обложки альбома уносит его, вместе со слушателями, в путешествие, приглашая слушателей разделить его вместе с The Morningside.

Треклист:
1 To The Last Point... 06:19
2 As A Pilgrim 08:07
3 Out Of Nest 07:37
4 Missing Day 08:02
5 Depot Only 08:21
6 Clocks 04:21
7 ...Then He Walked 06:03

Артист:
The Morningside
Страна артиста:
Russia
Год альбома:
2016
Название:
Yellow
Стиль:
melancholic metal
Формат:
Compact Disk
Тип:
CD
Упаковка:
Jewel Case
Лейбл:
BadMoodMan Music
Кат. номер:
BMM. 076-16
Год издания:
2016
Штрих-код:
4 627080 610910
Страна-производитель:
Russia
Review
Dead Rhetoric
8/10
26.05.2016

Yellow is the fourth full length album by The Morningside, a progressive metal band hailing from Moscow, Russia. Labeled as ”melancholic metal”, the album draws heavily on influences such as Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Opeth and a sprinkle of 70’s rock. The death metal parts are held to a minimum on this release, and really it is only the growled parts that hint at any prior melodeath roots at all.

As most progressive metal albums, this one takes a while to grow on you. The first couple of listens didn’t exactly blow me away, due in parts to production issues (the lead guitar being too high in parts, some melodic parts that would have needed further work etc). But being a fan of the aforementioned progressive metal bands, I gave it a couple of more shots, and sure enough it grew on me.

The musicianship on the album may not be up to par with the greats of the genre, but even if the melodies come off as a bit simplistic from time to time, these guys know how to utilize the skills they possess. After all, music is not all about technical noodlery. The Morningside rely on low- to mid-tempo tracks, such as the second song ”As a Pilgrim”. The tracks are all heavy on melodies and sparsely overlaid with a harsh growl that provides a bleak black metal touch. It works quite well together with the melodic lead guitars that are present for most of the album (so present in fact, that I wish they would have used them more sparingly for a more dramatic effect). The harsh vocals provide a nice break for the listener to focus on something else than those permeating lead guitar tunes.

Tracks such as ”Missing Day” and ”Clocks” provide a nice variation with the use of acoustic guitar, strings and well performed clean vocals, not unlike those of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) himself. All in all this is a good melodic progressive metal album with some influences from doom (and I mean old school Candlemass/My Dying Bride-type doom here, not that droning hipster-doom so popular these days). Perhaps melancholic metal isn’t such a bad term for it after all.

Author: Thomas Clifford
Review
Blackened Death Metal
8/10
02.05.2016

The Morningside are a band from Russia that plays a very progressive and melodic mixture of black, doom and death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album “Yellow’ which was released by BadMoodMan Music.

Atmospheric sounding synths start off the album and a few seconds later clean playing is added onto the recording and they also add in a touch of post rock and after a couple of minutes the music gets heavier and the guitar leads start going for more of a post metal style and the songs bring in a great mixture of both clean and heavy parts.

A good majority of the tracks are very long and epic in length and on the second tracks grim black metal screams are added onto the recording and the guitar riffing brings in a great amount of doom metal elements along with a great amount of melody and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and as the album progresses melodic singing can be heard briefly and some of t he riffs bring in a touch of melodic death metal and all of the songs stick to a very slow musical direction.

The Morningside plays a musical style that takes black metal, melodic doom and death metal and mixes it in with progressive and post rock elements to create a musical style of their own, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover nature themes.

In my opinion the Morningside are a very great sounding melodic and progressive mixture of black, doom and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “As A Pilgrim” and “Clocks”.

Author: OccultBlackMetal
Review
XXL Rock

Ausgesprochen wohlklingende Musik bekommen wir von den aus Moskau stammenden “The Morningside” zu hören. Ihre Mischung aus sensiblem Postrock und melancholischem Doom ist herrlich entspannend und lädt vom ersten Takt an zum Träumen und die Seele baumeln lassen ein. Keine Ahnung, ob dieser Sound für die Band typisch ist, denn beim “Metal Archiv” werden sie als Death/Doom Band geführt, wovon man eigentlich nur beim Gesang von Igor Nikitin etwas hören kann. Und hier liegt auch die kleine Schwäche der Platte: Der Gesang, denn dieser passt meiner Meinung nach an manchen Stellen (wenn Igor zu sehr in Richtung Death Metal singt!) nicht zur sehr warmen und ruhigen Musik. Da die CD aber zum größten Teil ganz ohne Gesang auskommt, gleicht sich dieses Manko auch schnell wieder aus. Obwohl, als reines Instrumental-Album hätte mir “Yellow” noch am Allerbesten gefallen! Trotzdem ein gut gemachtes Album, melancholische “Easy Listening”-Musik für laue Frühlingsnächte, sehr schön gemacht!

Author: Christian Hemmer
Review
Metal Integral
14/20
10.05.2016

Nous avions croisé la route de ce groupe russe en 2009, à l’occasion de la sortie de son second album, l’excellent Moving Crosscurrent Of Time, bel exercice de Doom Metal mélodique et mélancolique (relire la chronique : cliquez ici. Depuis, THE MORNINGSIDE a publié un EP trois titres copieux (47 minutes au compteur!), TreeLogia (The Album As It is Not), et un album, Letters From The Empty Towns, davantage tourné vers le Death mélodique.

Comme l’indique l’illustration de la pochette, Yellow montre un autre visage de THE MORNINGSIDE, nettement plus paisible et accessible. Par rapport à ses accointances Doom et Death, la formation a amplement élagué ses penchants extrêmes au profit d’un Metal très mélodique, posé sur des tempos lents. Les mélodies sont pour l’essentiel fournies par les guitares rutilantes et porteuses de la grande tradition du Heavy Metal (avec également des passages acoustiques) ; les claviers apportent toutefois une contribution notable. Le chant clair contribue à cette évolution.

Cela dit, THE MORNINGSIDE n’a pas renié son passé sur deux points. Le premier est l’impression dominante de mélancolie. Pas une mélancolie morbide, plutôt un sentiment doux qui enrobe chaque composition. Le second est la présence sur plusieurs morceaux d’un chant plus extrême, dont les jappements haineux et gutturaux contrastent très fortement avec une instrumentation nettement plus modérée.

Tout ceci est joli, impeccablement interprété, solidement mis en son. Pourtant, il manque un je ne sais quoi de passion pour que les longues compositions captent durablement l’attention. Peut-être cette mélancolie de tout les instants, concomitance d’une grande retenue dans l’expression musicale, restreint-elle l’intensité de la musique de THE MORNINGSIDE. Il n’empêche que les amateurs de KATATONIA et ANATHEMA (dans sa formule actuelle) pourront apprécier Yellow.

Author: Alain
Review
Iye Zine
7.8/10
14.05.2016

I moscoviti The Morningside hanno alle spalle una storia già abbastanza significativa, e questo Yellow è già il loro quarto full length in circa un decennio d’attività.

Come altre realtà inizialmente dedite al death doom, anche questa band si è progressivamente spostata verso lidi prossimi al post metal, senza comunque smarrire radici che affondano solidamente nella musica del destino.
Infatti, dopo un inizio all’insegna di sonorità liquide, quasi a voler andare a creare un’ipotetica summa tra Alcest e Cure, As a Pilgrim presenta un chitarrismo efficace, dalla riconoscibile matrice “paradiselostiana”, e questo sarà fondamentalmente il leit motiv di un disco nel quale la melodia viene costantemente messa in primo piano, relegando le ruvidezze al solo screaming usato con parsimonia da Igor Nikitin.
Ottima anche Out Of Nest e decisamente di livello eccelso Depot Only, traccia che vede i The Morningside esibire con competenza e brillantezza tutte le sfumature del loro sound.
…Then He Walked chiude questo buonissimo disco esibendo i passaggi più rallentati e strettamente connessi al doom, così come lo intendiamo solitamente, ma in realtà l’operato di questi musicisti ha quale unico filo conduttore una malinconia che si manifesta in maniera lieve e cangiante.
Detto, infine, che il concept dell’album è indirettamente collegato al libro di Vonnegut “Mattatoio n.5”, non si può che apprezzare l’operato di questa band che continua, un po’ sottotraccia, a sfornare da un decennio lavori di pregevole fattura meritevoli sicuramente di una maggiore attenzione, a partire magari proprio da Yellow.

Author: Stefano Cavanna
Review
Funeral Wedding
5/5
03.05.2016

Praticamente dois anos se passaram desde seu último lançamento, que inclusive foi resenhado aqui e para mim este álbum, “Yellow” era muito aguardado, pois tenho um apreço especial pelo som desses russos e esta seria a pazada de terra final caso seguissem o caminho escolhido no álbum anterior.

E para a minha sorte este novo álbum manteve a sonoridade viajante, soturna e por vezes angustiante.

Desde a nota de abertura em “To the Last Point” até o último acorde em “… Then he Walked” este álbum nos causa sensações diversas.

Segundo o press-release do álbum, este material é um retorno ao estilo do segundo disco lançado por eles, o que na verdade não posso concordar totalmente. Aqui as guitarras estão mais viajadas, com uma pegada mais voltada ao Post-Metal e até mesmo algumas passagens mais progressivas. Muitas vezes achei até uma certa semelhança ao indefectível Agalloch da fase “Ashes Against The Grain” tanto de guitarra quanto nos vocais de Igor Nikitin. Sonoramente comparando a discografia deles, a banda apresenta um grau absurdo de evolução neste álbum.

A temática deste disco é baseada no conto “Slaughterhouse-Five” do escritor russo Kurt Vonnegut e destacar alguma faixa fica quase impossível, pois para mim este álbum já é forte candidato aos melhores do ano, mas escute “Out of Nest”, “Depot Only” ou a melodiosa “Missing Day” para comprovar.

Em todo o caso, não vale apenas uma e sim muitas audições deste disco.
Seja bem-vindo de volta The Morningside.

Author: Rodrigo Bueno
Review
Atmosfear Zine
8/10

Я слышал все альбомы московской группы THE MORNINGSIDE. Но не все они мне нравятся, хотя таланта и самобытности у группы не отнять. В 2016 году группа выпускает свой очередной альбом и вновь звучит не так как раньше. В свое время, группа активно привносила в свою музыку прогрессивный метал, еще немного и кроме него ничего бы не осталось. Нельзя сказать, что группа отказалась от этой идеи на новом альбоме. Нет, но теперь они научились более интересно вплетать прогрессивные элементы в свое меланхоличное звучание. Ну и не забудем про пост рок, которого тоже на новом альбоме изрядное количество. Можно забыть про стиль первого альбома, от дума и от дэза практически ничего не осталось. Теперь это меланхоличный металл, но все еще металл. Удачная работа.

Author: Neophyte
Review
Aristocrazia
21.11.2016

I The Morningside sono un’eterna promessa che sinora ha pubblicato album di tutto rispetto (personalmente non ho disprezzato il tentativo di cambiare rotta con il forse troppo criticato “Letters From The Empty Towns” del 2014), ma non era ancora riuscita a mostrare la propria personalità, vittima dei richiami sin troppo evidenti a realtà maestre quali Katatonia e Agalloch. Viene quindi da chiedersi se il nuovo album “Yellow” abbia smosso le acque e la risposta è sì.

Da un lato abbiamo una band che sembra volersi ravvedere, tornando sui propri passi e sfoderando una prova che si muove in territori melodic death-doom e post-rock, mostrando nuovamente il legame che riconduce ai nomi citati e una passione per il panorama musicale inglese a tutto tondo; le atmosfere di “To The Last Point…” rimandano non poco allo stile Cure, alcune sezioni chitarristiche di “As A Pilgram” tirano evidentemente in ballo i Paradise Lost, mentre nelle fasi vocali interpretate in growl-scream Igor Nikitin talvolta assume inflessioni che ricalcano lo stile carcassiano di Jeff Walker. Dall’altro è possibile registrare come la maggiore distensione e attenzione nel modus operandi compositivo, adesso più ricercato e a tratti incalzante, e l’affinamento del settore prog del suono abbiano ispirato la realizzazione di pregevoli melodie riflessive e ipnotiche, dando piena luce a una calotta atmosferica in grado di ammantare completamente l’ascoltatore. Nella musica della formazione russa convivono egregiamente grigiore, malinconia e fiochi, ma calorosi, raggi di speranza.

Guardando al proprio passato, i The Morningside hanno ripreso a marciare in direzione di un futuro che spero li possa vedere maggiormente protagonisti e credo che “Yellow” sia il miglior segnale che potessero inviarci, uno di quei dischi che appassiona e trasporta la mente in un viaggio la cui compagnia è desiderabile. Si tratta di un lavoro che ben si adatta all’ascolto sia di coloro i quali non li hanno precedentemente incrociati, magari augurando diventi spunto per ripercorrere i vari passaggi discografici sin qui pubblicati, sia per chi, come il sottoscritto, li ha supportati e stimati sino a oggi. Non sottovalutateli.

Author: Mourning
Review
Metal1.info
8.5/10
16.08.2016

Bereits beim Betrachten des herbstlichen Cover-Artworks von „Yellow“ hat man das Gefühl, dass THE MORNINGSIDE damit eine Geschichte erzählen wollen. Und tatsächlich: Die russischen Melodic-Death-/Doom-Metaller haben sich auf ihrem vierten Album von dem Roman „Slaughterhouse-Five“ von Kurt Vonnegut inspirieren lassen und erzählen in sieben vergleichsweise langen Songs eine interessante Geschichte über das Zeitreisen. Dabei sind der erste und der letzte Track gänzlich ohne Gesang und auch die anderen Nummern legen den Fokus auf die Instrumente. Doch wenn Bilder bekanntlich mehr als tausend Worte sprechen, warum dann nicht auch Musik?

Die Songs von THE MORNINGSIDE tun das jedenfalls. Der friedlich-melancholische Opener „To The Last Point…“ lässt erst mal noch nichts von der eingangs erwähnten Genre-Bezeichnung vermuten, sondern wiegt sich ganz in sanftem Post-Rock, der später in emotionalem Tremolo zum Metal anschwillt. Auch die geheimnisvollen Akustikgitarren zu Beginn von „As A Pilgrim“ sind noch kein Hinweis auf das proklamierte Genre, dann setzen jedoch hochmelodische Gitarrenläufe und kernige, kantige Screams ein und schon ist man im Death/Doom angekommen. Das will natürlich keineswegs heißen, dass sich THE MORNINGSIDE von da an faul den Genre-Gewohnheiten unterordnen.
Der Post-Rock des Eröffnungstracks begegnet uns noch einige Male, in „Missing Day“ kommen erstmals auch sanfte Cleans zum Einsatz und ab und an werden Samples wie Zuggeräusche, Regen, Uhrenticken und Fußstapfen eingesetzt, um die Geschichte lebendiger zu gestalten. Mit „Clocks“ findet sich sogar eine gänzlich klar eingesungene Ballade, die mit ihren Akustik- und Clean-Gitarren sowie einem gefühlvollen Solo ein großes Highlight darstellt. Doch auch wenn THE MORNINGSIDE etwas konventioneller zu Werke gehen, denkt man zu keiner Zeit an Worte wie „Einheitsbrei“.
Brutalität oder Düsternis sucht man hier vergebens, stattdessen ist die überaus melodiöse Musik des russischen Quartetts von einer leichten Schwermut erfüllt, die den geneigten Hörer von Anfang an emotional zu berühren vermag. Die Leadgitarren sind schlichtweg unglaublich schön anzuhören und prägen sich recht schnell ein, während die Rhythmusgitarren zwar durchaus präsent, aber nie zu aufdringlich klingen und der Musik neben den Screams doch eine gewisse Härte verleihen. Dass die Gitarren so wunderbar miteinander harmonieren, kommt umso mehr durch die Produktion zum Tragen, diese ist kristallklar und nicht im geringsten artifiziell ausgefallen.

THE MORNINGSIDE haben mit „Yellow“ also ein eindrucksvolles Album geschaffen, das auf ganzer Linie überzeugt. Emotional, aber nicht schnulzig, heavy, aber nicht brutal und modern, aber nicht glattgebügelt, so klingt die Musik der Melodic-Death/Doomer. Die Band und im Speziellen dieses Album verdienen es also zweifellos, entdeckt zu werden. Wer von den Klischees der bedienten Genres gelangweilt ist, sollte sich unbedingt einmal mit dieser Ausnahmetruppe vertraut machen, das Reinhören lohnt sich.

Author: Stephan Rajchl
Review
Doom-Metal.com
8/10
17.10.2016

‘Yellow’ sees Moscow’s most melancholy sons return with their (technically, though actually probably fifth) third full length album, the follow up to 2014’s ‘Letters from the Empty Towns’. According to The Morningside’s Bandcamp page, the concept of the album is loosely inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s WWII novel ‘Slaughterhouse Five’ in that it tells a non-linear story that meanders back in forth in time. An ambitious and lofty aim for any album, yet the musical and lyrical quality of’Yellow’ does successfully manage to pull this off.

‘To the Last Point…’ begins proceedings in suitably melancholy fashion. It’s a haunting Post-Metal instrumental track that builds a reflective atmosphere with some infectious riffing amidst sparse, melodic interludes and heavier, more frenetic passages. In addition to effectively setting a despondent atmosphere, the lack of vocals serves to develop a sense of anticipation. It’s a bit of a tease, you might say. It keeps you listening as you wonder what The Morningside will have to say for themselves when the wild vocal rumpus begins.

And begin it most certainly does. After a melodic acoustic opening, ‘As a Pilgrim’ unleashes a crunching Doom riff, and Igor Nitikin’s vocal, when it comes, is a harsh and brutal Death Metal growl. Throw in some powerful soloing from lead guitarist Sergey Chelyadinov and interestingly opaque lyrical references to ‘ice bound bots sleeping beneath the snow’, and the overall story that’Yellow’ is trying to tell really begins to take shape.

As the album progresses, the melancholy and reflective tone remains constant, while The Morningside display an impressive musical range. ‘Missing Day’ in particular is an embodiment of the best of their Post-Metal, Doom and Death Metal encompassing sound. We hear clean vocals from Igor for the first time on the album with some interesting contrasts as melodic Post-Metal morphs into relentless, thumping Doom intensity. Lyrically, it heightens the feeling of sorrowful reflection as it laments time wasted. It’s a topic that is explored further on acoustic number ‘Clocks’, with regret at missed opportunity, an inability to seize life by the horns, expressed with a dreamy whisper of ‘Patiently the clock keeps count of the years we play it safe’.

As’Yellow’ ambles its way to its plaintive conclusion, vocals are once again dispensed with for final track ‘…Then He Walked’. Again there is a Post-Metal feel, but there is certainly an iron fist of Doom beneath the velvet glove. The decision to start and end with instrumental tracks seems to bookend the album very effectively, and it is certainly a record that rewards listening to in its entirety, albeit there are also a number of tracks that work well as standalone numbers.

If sorrowful introspection is your thing,’Yellow’ is a very effective demonstration of the art. Like an autumn day, it’s sad, wistful and full of haunted memory.

Author: Nick Harkins
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