Morgul Bio

The very depths of Norway, a controversial musical melting pot and grim territory - Räde on the countryside surrounding Oslo, to be more specific - gave birth to a special band named Morgul in the turn of the years 1990/1991. Morgul recorded two demo-tapes ("Vargvinter" & "In Gowns Flowing Wide"), which were just spread in the underground, but nevertheless easily managed to get them a deal with Napalm Records. The two-piece band consisting of drummer Hex and mainman Jack D Ripper on guitars, bass and vocal-duties released two albums ("Lost In Shadows Grey" & "Parody Of The Masses") that opposed to some other acts around that time convinced with their undenyable musical values and not due to image-bound reasons. Especially the latest album, "Parody Of The Masses", brilliantly recorded at Abyss Studios in Sweden by Mikael Hedlund from Hypocrisy, raised huge interest for Morgul within the underground and soon the media mentioned them to be THE hidden treasure within the black metal scene as well as a clever alternative for those who thought that Dimmu Borgir sound too polished. In the year of 1999 Morgul signed to Century Media Records and started working on new material that saw the band breaking the boundaries of a somewhat overcrowded black metal genre and came up with a more varied and personal sound. Prior to the recordings of the new album "The Horror Grandeur" the two dark souls involved in the project parted ways due to personal reasons, leaving Jack D Ripper as sole responsable person for Morgul's music from now on. Never denying the early influences gained from bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer, Celtic Frost and Possessed as well as respect for current black metal leaders like Emperor and Cradle Of Filth, Morgul manage to step into a new musical ground with their new compositions. Without any doubt, the dense atmosphere on "The Horror Grandeur" has a lot in common with gloomy soundtracks and dark classical aggrengements. Still, Jack's interest for cold industrial music in the vein of Field Of The Nephilim or Rob Zombie as well as his preference for the eery edge to traditionally russian or hungarian folk-compositions make the album to a surprisingly original adventure between the best of the two worlds of black/death metal and industrial sound-collages. The seven featured songs will easily drift you away into a flattering of emotions starting on moody keyboard-parts, followed by super-intense black metal-blastings which then lead you to wicked passages with lamented vocals in the best atmospheric tradition of Celtic Frost's masterpiece "Into The Pandemonium". Sometimes they are even supported by violins and end up in really catchy metal-riffing with hateful walls of vocals. Indeed, there is not a single boring and cliché moment here. "The Horror Grandeur" musically portraits the twisted and morbid lyrical concept of the horrified inner-state of a man who lives in a haunted mansion that once was the scenery for a dramatic suicide. Last but not least, the album is highlighted by a majestic production executed by Terje Refsnes at Soundsuite Studios (Tristania, Theater Of Tragedy, Gehenna, etc.) that truly adds to the deep intensity of this dark musical trip in seven chapters, which will easily lead you into the mood to actually feel the pain and horror. Sweet dreams...