MORGAN REID - Terran

MORGAN REID

Album: Terran

Genre: Instrumental Progmetal

Release Date: November 25th, 2022

Country: Germany

Label: Self-Released

Band Links: WEBSITE / BANDCAMP / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

A good friend recently came up with the term „NWOGGH – New Wave of Global Guitar Heroes”, which is actually very fitting for a fastly growing group of young, skilled musicians showing up over the past years. When I heard the first song by Canadian shredder, composer and producer MORGAN REID, who moved to Europe at the age of 18 and meanwhile settled down in Germany, this description came to mind immediately. While he already earned his spurs during multiple guitar competitions as well as by joining the band Bloodshot Dawn for their previous album and tour, he also worked on his first solo record, which is called “Terran” and will be out on November 25th, 2022.

There’s another interesting aspect of his work, as he’s also a passionate dancer, yoga enthusiast and martial artist, and he melts these talents in the video for “Goliath Online”, showing his versatility in all fields. I'm fascinated by the couple's incredibly smooth, yet expressive movements, and how their choreo fits to a musical style which wouldn't be nessecarily connected together.

The description of their dancing also works for his guitar playing, as the rhythmic is pushing, the riffs heavy and powerful, but the fast runs are performed melodious and wonderfully smooth over the dark background orchestation. His compositions are varied and mostly up-tempo, with some playful interludes, the appearance of cello or piano changes mood every now and then, offering moments to rest. Sometimes, he loses his thread in my ears, like in "Bending Lights", when things get a bit out of the flow, but he always manages to come back on track pretty soon. My favorite songs would be mighty "Goliath Online", the marvelous "Terran" and the powerful "Intrinsic Code".

Thematically, the album takes us on a journey to an alternate version of earth, where we look deeper at what plagues humanity, like the struggle for glory in modern day society, the hypocrisy on the road to peace, or the indifference and selfish nature of those in power.

All-together, Morgan Reid introduces himself as a solo artist in an impressive way. "Terran" is a mighty sounding record with loads of highly technical yet melodious shredding, but also some different elements. By melting the music with his other passions, he adds a fascinating, new component for me. Sometimes, there's a bit too much youthful impetuosity in his writing, but he grabs my attention most of the time with his fantastic playing skills and powerful, yet varied songs. If you're into guitar-driven, instrumental music, this might be right up your alley :-)

Written by Katha