Metal and Hard Rock Area (7,5/10p)

Across The Starlit Sky" the debut mini cd from Swedish power metal band Morifade shows a band with a most promising future! The four tracks which comprise this 19 minute teaser show a band with strong songwriting abilities, great musicianship and a sense of melody that's quite impressive. Morifade is in the Stratovarious school (with a bit of Hammerfall thrown in also) of power metal, though not a clone sounding band. Lead vocalist Christian Stinga-Borg sings in a clean, slightly gruff at times vocal style, never reaching too high into the upper registers, but good nonetheless. Morifade also posess two impressive guitarists in Fredrik and Jesper Johannson, whose dual guitar work is a highlight here. Bassist Henrik Weimedal maintains a chugging rhythm throughout the four quality songs presented here, and drummer Kim Arnell is quite capable of maintaining a solid double bass drum attack here. "Enter The Past" begins the proceedings quite well, a driving power metal track which goes from light to heavy and back again, creating very good musical tension.
A great start here, with very nice backing vocals and some impressive guitar work both acoustically and in the rhythms and dual leads from the Johannsons. A definite highlight. "Tomorrow Knows" is another impressive track, with a great guitar riff driving the song along, along with more dual leads here. I especially like the fact that the bass is clearly and prominently heard here. "Starlit Sky" is more of the same, only with a better melody and thus another highlight here. "Distant World" ends things on a high note, opening with and featuring texture from vocalist Stinga- Borg's keyboard work, who also turns in a fine performance vocally.
More fine guitar work is to be found here also, once again both acoustically and in the dual guitar work by the Johannsons. The production here is extremely good, with every instrument coming through crisp and clear in the mix. This is a solid introduction to a band who, with the release of an upcoming full length album I'm sure we'll be hearing much more of in the future.

- Keith Langerman

PRCA/Emperor Multimedia (7/10p)

Formed in 1992 as Gothic this Swedish group reformed as Morifade a short time back and signed to the newly formed Loud N' Proud Records. The music on this CD is a very robust sound. Melodic, black metal and fantasy are the three items that come to mind when hearing this 4 track EP recording. A high quality of musicmanship and production offer an uncompromising quality with strong instrumentation and vocals show this band have some real promise.

Underground Empire (8,5/10p)

Melodic Metal from Sweden. Jürgen Hegewald gave as description: "in the NOCTURNAL RITES-vein...". Great, I thought and bought the CD from the spot (what you don't take with you at Metal-markets after a few nice words). Well... MORIFADE do NOT sound like NOCTURNAL RITES at all. But still it is a good one, for a debut-EP. Many melodies, great choirs, much heart-blood and the spark that I had missed with PROJECTO and SHADOWS OF STEEL catches fire, too. For Melodic-fans that like THE SYGNET or IMPELLITTERI this mini-album is essential, but I don't want to imply that MORIFADE are even near this style. All others should let the soundwaves of "Enter The Past", "Tomorrow Knows", "Starlit Sky" and "Distant World" caress their ears and decide for themselves. No question: We will hear from MORIFADE in the future!

- The Mighty SCI

Soundscape Magazine #8

Swedish power metallers MORIFADE are another newly established quintet in the scene. Their debut MCD is nothing less than a masterpiece!!! Well crafted Power Metal with an emphasis on addictive choruses and
good vocal arrangements, which reminds me off MEMENTO MORI and METALLICA. Very melodic and yet heavier than most purveyors of the genre, MORIFADE adds a bit of a dark feeling to their music, which makes them sound a little more "actual" than say a band like HAMMERFALL, for instance. Not totally unique but great anyway... Get this!!!

- R.C.

CrossOver Network

Well, they've got the nerve. Epic metallers Morifade from Sweden named their debut mini CD 'Across the Starlit Sky', put same on their cover above a scenery of pack-ice - only to take us away to pharaonic Egypt with the lyrics of the opener 'Enter the Past'. That's what you call Corporate Identity... But I won't complain if nothing else is wrong, and indeed I don't have much to criticize except for the sound which is fairly clear but could well do with a few shovels of pressure, and except for the fact that this is just a mini of 20 minutes. The four songs offer fanciful, well-groomed and melodious metal, presented with enthusiasm by two guitarists, a bass player whose great models Steve Harris and D D Verni show through more than once, a playful
drummer who still serves the songs well, and a good (even if not upper class) singer who also contributed some keyboard parts to support mood, and who sounds like Blind Guardian frontman Hansi Kürsch in the bridge of the opener and otherwise has a typical high-rough power metal voice. Just like their label colleagues Seven, Morifade have a preference for hymn-like chorusses which cause the listener to keep all four songs well in mind, above all the lyrically moving closin track 'Distant World' (on a girl suffering from
incurable cancer, sung from the point of view of her boyfriend). Before long we will be to know if the quintet from Vikingstad is able to keep this standard over full length, as work on the longplayer Possession Of Power is already under way. Those who don't feel like waiting might as well enjoy Across the Starlit Sky as a starter.

- Roland Ludwig

Scream Magazine (4/6p)

Når svenske Morifade ramser opp sine inspirasjonskilder, så er det akkurat som å se på min personlige liste over favoritt band; Helloween, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Blind Guardian, Manowar, Angra, Savatage og Symphony X, blant mange andre. Det er derfor neppe tilfeldigt at jeg synes at <<Across the Starlit Sky>> inneholder mye bra musikk. Dessverre er dette kun et mini album, men materialet består av episk, pompøs, melodiøs heavy metal. På en måte kan man trekke paralleller med Hammerfall, selv om Hammerfall kanskje
er noe mer rett frem med sin musikk.

- Frode Øien

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