MORTON - Horror of Daniel Wagner

MORTON

Album: Horror of Daniel Wagner

Genre: Progressive Powermetal

Release Date: March 30th, 2022

Country: Ukraine

Label: Self-Released

Good things take their time, and in case of MORTON, which originally started back in 2009 as a project by Ukrainian singer and multi-instrumentalist Max Morton before turning into a full band later, their second album was nearly 10 years in the works. Now “Horror of Daniel Wagner” came out on March 30th, 2022, and the beautiful, mystical cover artwork sparked my interest at once. The concept behind takes us on a protagonist's journey all the way through the purgatory into forgiveness. Nevertheless, there’s still enough room for imagination, as most of the songs tell their self-dependent stories.

“Sinful Heart” starts with some gloomy spoken words before the music opens into the main part, quickly convincing with a full, well-balanced sound. All musicians act as a strong unit with an infectious joy in their playing, building a solid basis for the vocals that caught me from the beginning. Max Morton has a wonderful voice with an impressive range, laying down beautiful melodies to lead the listener through the album. “Carry On (Her Silent Quarters)” is a rocking tune with some KAMELOT vibe in between, the following “Fake God” comes along groovy and straight-forward. Next up is “Find Me”, which is an awesome ballad, getting its magic through the vocals. And as topping of the cake, each song got a mesmerizing guitar solo, flowing into the music naturally.

From now on, things get darker, and I love that change as it brings the album to the next level: “Confinement for the Blind” is a short interlude setting the mood for the title track, which offers a huge dynamic thanks to the pushing drumming and heavy guitar work, but alternating with a beautiful chorus and a gloomy middle part. The creativity in their song-writing here is amazing, and this is clearly one of my favorites.

“No Fear of Hight” is a catchy song inviting to sing along, followed by “Escapist”, which lifts up tempo again. “Future’s Predetermined” is another highlight for me because of its huge power during the verse, and it again shines a light on Max' impressive vocal range. Over the last songs, things get brighter again, leading to the final “Grand Awakening”. Even though they lose a bit of the high tension towards the end, the songs are still accessible and harmonic.

With "Horror of Daniel Wagner", MORTON offer a diverse record, that might appeal to fans of progressive, power as well as symphonic metal. There's much love for the detail in here, from the stunning cover artwork to the variety in their song-writing and the well-balanced sound, which makes obvious that it took a while to put this album together. The band convince with their excellent musicianship, and the expressive vocals give each song the right emotion. All-together a great listen, check it out if you haven't done yet \m/

Written by Katha