MORGUL BLADE brandish power chords and swords like a swarm of Nazgûl from the Keep of Barad-Dur itself. Their second full-length album is titled “Heavy Metal Wraiths” and releases on CD, vinyl and digital formats on 26th April 2024 via No Remorse Records.
MORGUL BLADE’s new album delivers righteous headbanging anthems. Songs like the title track and “Beneath the Black Sails” lean into their love of Tolkien lore, with the arena rock attitude inspired by Dokken and the Scorpions. Other tracks like “Frostwyrm Calvary” attack with the ice cold speed of classic black metal. More ambitious yet are “Razor Sharp” and “Neither Cross Nor Crown,” which speak to the band’s working class attitude and disdain for zealotry. “Heavy Metal Wraiths” is an instant classic blackened epic heavy metal album.
MORGUL BLADE’s 2021 debut “Fell Sorcery Abounds” quickly gained Album of The Year mentions throughout the metal world. Following its release, the band solidified its line up with the addition of guitarist Sister Midnight and bassist Jimmy Viola. In March 2023, MORGUL BLADE toured the United States, culminating with a ferocious performance at Hell’s Heroes Festival in Houston, TX. MORGUL BLADE will celebrate their album release on 26 April with a performance at Keep It True Festival in Germany.
“Heavy Metal Wraiths” was engineered, mixed and mastered by Will Mellor at Red Water Recording. Album cover by James Bousema. Photos by Dante Torrieri.

Review

Eagle Strike is the first track on the album and the intro is a blend of big building cymbals and jittering melodic licks. It starts of promising and as the track continues we get a thick and chunky mouthful of smooth rhythm guitars. It has some fast parts but the track is not anything special.

Beneath the Black Sails feels like a menacing ship heading out across the seas. Its tone is dark and sinister and Lord Klaufs raspy vocals only add to the shroud that looms. The skies are black and demons eyes break through teh clouds. What is more interesting is how the song mixes up the haunting heavy metal tones with some cross overs into other genres. It has a slight black metal feel and then add in the blast beat pummels at moments its an interesting but unusual track.

Heavy Metal Wraiths picks things up as the winds start to get violent. A big double kick section opens the song and we are introduced to some melodic riffing ideas that sing softly. It plays with tempos which will keep listeners engaged. Theres even some smashes of metal that sound like something from a blacksmith.

Frostwyrm Cavalry we return to that crossover into black metal territory with a big dose of drumming thunder to start. But that only seems to be for a moment at the start and later on as the track mostly lays into hard and heavy metal riffage throughout. Again the song plays on tempos and big open chords and retains a sad and unsettling undertone

Widow’s Lament awakens with a huge drone as if a ritual was happening in a massive cave. Beautiful vocal lines sing out into the void and it always feel like people in a mediative state trying to connect with their spiritual side. At just over a minute and a half its an interesting choice for a mid way number.

Spider God is up next and we get more speed and more evilness delivered by the bucket load. Blasts of thrashing drum patterns combined with even more bloodthirsty vocal lines are flowing in this song. Like the previous songs it’s playful on ideas and if you love to head band is certainly one of those numbers that will offer that chance

Harmonies warmly welcome us to Razor Sharp before we thrown into a whirlwind of ripping guitar riffs and booming bass lines. The one thing that Morgul Blade certainly do know how to do is throw different genres into a blender and make the perfect mix. Out of the many bands I have listened to it is not often I have come across a band that splices heavy metal with blast beats and the darkness you would expect from black metal. Another hammering song.

A Welcoming Hearth unexpectedly opens with multiple synth patterns weaving in and out of the mix. Rolling bass notes then are added on top. To be honest I have no idea what the point of this track was.

I love the intro to Neither Cross Nor Crown. It feels like you have entered the home of the devil himself. You almost feel like you are cautiously walking through the caverns surrounded by bellowing smoke and jets of fire. Its eerie heavy metal and the double kick section with the fiery riffs melted to the top are one of the best sections in the track. To be this is probably one of the stronger and more interesting tracks on the album.

Finally The Last in a Line of Kings is another very short track. Its a mix of strings, lowfi keys and big bold brass in the background. Again I am not sure what this adds to the album.

Conclusion

Considering this is the first proper time listening to the band I really can not put my finger on how I feel about the music. They have really cool stuff going on blending genres and adding those raspy vocals to their sound. I like that idea and I never thought that heavy metal mixed with blast beats and demonic vocals would work but it does.

On the flip side some of the tracks didn’t really do much for me. And while there were some great ideas do not get me wrong, the tracks simply didn’t do enough to impress me as a first time listener. The three tracks that were really short felt unfinished and perhaps even unnecessary.

So in conclusion it is a solid effort but there is a little fat that could have been trimmed to make it better. Still worth a listen though!

TheNwothm Score: 7/10