The Metal Observer (9/10p)

For me the debut "Possession Of Power" still is one of the best Power Metal-albums I know, even though only a very limited number of Metalheads even has heard of this band.After the demise of their old label Loud'n'Proud the Swedish youngsters have signed with Hammerheart, which are continuously broadening their spectrum. But anyway, MORIFADE have reached a really serious label with good distribution, they really deserve it. What do MORIFADE play? Epic, symphonic Power Metal with a few light progressive influences, which can be neglected. Do they play something original? Only in a limited way, but they have their own touch, not least thanks to singer Stefan Pettersson. Do they play it good? Hell yeah!!! OK, declared Power Metal-not-fans won't be converted by them either, but that would be a little too much to ask. Supported by former TAD MOROSE-keyboarder Frippe Eriksson they still play the already mentioned symphonic Power Metal with keyboard-support in the year 2002, but they are as far apart from the Italian clones of the same style-description as they can be within the borders of the genre. Contrary to them, everything sounds organic, harmonic, full of life, they manage to add some atmosphere to the songs, by clever variation of tempo, the inclusion of elements and melodylines, which are not that usual for Power Metal. They just sound fresh and have a hand for very catchy melodies and good songs and like mentioned Stefan Pettersson sounds pretty original, too. What could you ask for more? "Lost Within A Shade", "Rising Higher", "Reborn", the ballad "Revive For A While", "Whispering Voices" and "In Martyria" should be proof enough of the vast potential of this band. I have to add to "In Martyria" that the keyboards might sound a little cheesy at the beginning, but this song more than any other one is catchy as hell! Not fully reaching "Possession Of Power", so "Imaginarium" still is a great Power Metal-album, a must for all genre-fans!

- Alex

Level 11 (8/10p)

I've always liked Morifade. They have a soft side that not many powermetalbands have. Mostly I think it is Stefan Peterssons voice making this magic kind of sound. Morifade is one of few bands you really can tell after 3 seconds it's them! In some way I think they are related to Rhapsody, but lighter. Not that majestic, and with this powerful choirs and orchestration, but still close to be as good as the Italians. This new record is the best Morifade have done so far, and in the song -Reborn- Petersson makes his best vocal performance ever. The attack in the chorus is so good! The band's gettin' better and better, and to all powermetal fans I just say - Check this one out, and don't forget to jump to track number 10, listen to the vocals. Sounds great...

- Teddy Jonasson

Tidningen Nolltretton (3/5p)

I och med sitt nya alster så markerar bandet Morifade sitt ställningstagande ytteligare- att bli ett väletablerat band. Nya skivan "Imaginarium" är tight och träffsäker rakt igenom vilket ger ett helkaklat intryck. Själva genren har ju inte så mycket bredd at spela på så att säga, men att Morifade trycker på gränserna och vill utvecklas är skönt för öronen. Morifade har bytt skivbolag och detta verkar ha gynnat dessa spelemän. Bara det att ha en postadress där det står "Vikingstad, Sweden" borde ju få vem som helst grön av avund. (Jaså?/Henke) Dessa positiva intryck till trots, de mistlurar som ljuder i både tid och otid kan kännas en aningen för mycket vilket drar ner skivan till ett mer nyanserat betyg. Summa summarum är att skivan är bra i lagom ordinerade doser. För mer information så kan jag rekommendera ett besök på Morifades hemsida som är proppad med bra information och annat smått och gott. Gå in på www.morifade.com.

- Marcus Lundin

Sweden Rock Magazine (8/10p)

Efter EP:n "Across the Starlit Sky" som kom 1998 hoppades jag mycket på Morifade. På den tiden lirade östgötarna episk men ganska ruffig power metal med BLIND GUARDIAN- referenser. Raspröstade vokalisten Christian Stinga-Borg ersattes med silkesstämman Stefan Petersson och det i kombination med den tokmjäkiga produktionen gjorde att första fullängdaren "Possession of Power" från året därpå inte imponerade nämnvärt på mig. Talangen fanns där men det lät helt enkelt för tunt. På nya "Imaginarium" spelar killarna fortfarande extremt trallig power metal utan några som helst ansatser till aggression och farlighet men skillnaden mot sist är att både produktionen (signerad Andy La Rocque) och sångaren håller betydligt högre klass och klarar att bära upp den i övrigt mycket finurliga och välkomponerade musiken.
Om du gillar catchy och trallig metal med episk touch och stor variation är detta kanske det mest självklara köpet hittills i år.

- Martin Forssman

Vampire Magazine

Morifade advertises itself as a new approach to melodic power metal… together with producer Andy La Roque
(King Diamond) they have recorded their fourth CD (and second full length CD) Imaginarium, their debut on Hammerheart. This album could be interesting to fans of Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica and those kind of bands, and to people who normally like melodic rock, just sometimes want to try it a little faster & heavier.
Neoclassical guitar riffs and solos, high clean tone voice and not too heavy, and just not as bombastic as
their german/italian counterparts. Sometimes I feel an atmosphere that you also can hear on the American/Swedish melodic rock albums, perhaps due to the harmony vocals. The band kicks off with Lost Within A Shade, and somehow you immediately recognize them as a Swedish band (unlike Stratovarius & Sonata Arctica who are of course from Finland). There is nothing wrong with the musical skills of this band, far from that, just the compositions miss something, that undescribable “feeling”. On the faster songs Morifade sounds good (lead guitar work excels), but on the slower songs it becomes kind of indolent; songs can’t catch or even hold my attention. It is far from bad, it is just a bit standard and predictable. I tried/played this album several times, but I just can’t get a more positive review. People who are really into this sort of music (melodic heavy metal) and prefer albums with a good a transparent sound (La Rocque did his job well) should try this one out, perhaps they will be more enthusiastic about this band.

- John

Metal Italia (4/5p)

Finally the sweden band Morifade comes out with its second release "Imaginarium", after the big delay due to the problems they had with cds mastering (the album saw the light as a promo then acquired by Hammerheart Records). These guys from Vikingstad - being on the scene since 1992 - break out with this album after a silence lasted about two years also because of the unexpected split up with their prevoius
label Loud'N'Proud following the recording of the last mini-cd "Cast a Spell". The very first difference I became aware of between "Imaginarium" and "Possesion Of Power" - the full lenght album preceding this one that last year I could listen to - is a whole heavier sound, but its strenght lies not merely on this point; the flawless production by Andy La Roque (King Diamond), who already worked with Morifade for "Cast a Spell", is great; so the guitarworking on countless riffs and solos, the arrangements, choirs, and - last but non least
- the powerful and engaging voice of Stefan Petersson. The symphonic-power metal of this band is now mature and charged by plenty of energy, a peculiar characteristic of musicians who evidently know what they do. The alternation between the fast songs and the slower ones is also good balanced and gives us a tracklist never boring.....even if in my advice it should have been a little bit harder and faster - with this little last bunch of energy this album would have conquered the highest score, and it would have become maybe one between the first albums in my personal playlist. Anyway, with this new album Morifade show again them-selves as a must in the symphonic-power metal scene, and also a good purchase for the ones that are not too much crazy about it.

- Big One

Quintessence

Morifade are a Swedish band who performs epic, symphonic power metal. "Imaginarium" is their second full length record and at te same time their first record on Hammerheart Records. You can easily compare Morifade with bands like Rhapsody or Labyrinth, however they lack in the bombastic parts those mentioned bands are famous for (no choirs and orchestra’s). Therefore I think that a band like Nocturnal Rites is a more adequate band to compare them with. To be honest I’m not too big of a fan of this kind of melodic power metal, because it’s a bit to clean for me. However I can tell you for sure that Morifade is a band that stands above most other ones, when concerning the quality of the music. Why? They don’t sound like those heaps of Italian clones who pop up everywhere, the music is more metal oriented in general and last but certainly not least they have a great vocalist who knows to use and control his voice. So if you’re a fan of this melodic power metal, I guess this comes close to a "must buy" album. By the way, last part to mention, this record is produced by Andy La Rocque (King Diamond, Death).

- André

Metal-Guide.Com (8/10)

This month Hammerheart had a big surprise for us, since we have never heard a band in the style of Morifade from them. Morifade exist for quite some time, from 1992 to be more exact, although they were under a different name. The band has one full length and two MCDs in their career, and the first time we heard anything from the band was through the Keepers of Jericho, a tribute to Helloween. This time, the band is in a new label, but has kept all the good elements that characterized their music. First of all they are playing Power Metal, and since they are from Sweden, you can understand that there is enough melody along with strong musicianship in their music. Plus nice vocals, excellent choirs and catchy refrains, enough Symphonic elements in their music, and also enough nice ideas in the songs, so to take them out of the Helloween-wannabes stream. The ideas in the songs are all well worked, so the result is an album with only a few less good moments, and enjoyable music. The production is also very good, and helps the music very much. If you like your Power Metal Melodic, then this album is for you.

- Metal-Guide.Com

Powerplay (Sound: 8/10, Songs: 7/10, Genre: 6/10)

It all started off so well. The opening track on this album, "Lost Within A Shade" is simply the best slice of melodic, progressive power metal since the last Kamelot album: a mixture of a blistering power chord feast with some clever progressive elements and all topped off with a hook that many bands can only dream of.
Morifade from Sweden are on album number two and with a twin guitar attack and keyboard adding extra depth, we are off to a blinding start. The progressive leanings and the varying tempos of the final track also impress. Elsewhere we are firmly stuck in the more symphonic and folksy power metal field occupied by the likes of Rhapsody and Blind Guardian with a couple of power metal numbers in the mould of Gamma Ray, Helloween and Accept. Nothing much wrong with any of the tracks but it's all been done better before. And after the stunning opening, I'm afraid it all falls a bit flat. The production from King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque is just as you would expect from the man who twiddled the knobs on the recent Evergrey opus and the musicianship throughout is top notch. The power chord, hook-laden metal of a couple of other tracks again suggests something special could be on the way. But overall, like the recent Falconer and Stormwind albums, this is good in parts but just partly good in others. Now, if Morifade have the courage to get away from what everyone else is doing, and take their clear ability to create some top notch power metal but with their own progressive tendencies, we could be talking something special. A whole album to the quality of that opening track would really give Kamelot a run for their money. Go on, be brave next time.

- Andy Read

Intromental Webzine (5/5p)

YEEEAAAHAAA finally an album to completion, perfect to the very end of the entire album, what an enjoyment!! Morifade is a Swedish band founded back to year 1992 under the name “Gothic” and started by playing cover material, but decided to write their own material. In 1996 they got a deal with Loud N’ Proud Records. Morifade recorded a MCD “Across the Starlit Sky” in 1997 and released it in 1998. After that another two albums were recorded; “ Possession Of Power” in 1999 and “Cast a Spell” in the year 2000. After some major difficulties with their previous record label they decided to shop their CD and got a deal with Hammerheart Records for the release of “Imaginarium” which was produced by Andy La Rocque (King Diamond, Death and 90% of Swedish heavy metal bands nowadays). In between Morifade have had a lot of changes in their line up, but read more about that in the interview that you’ll find on these pages real soon. As I mentioned earlier this is a perfect album, but nevertheless you have to get use to the singing of Stefan Petersson, who definitely not is a bad singer, just a bit different. The album is a mixture of Progressive, Power, Melodic and Symphonic metal, and yes it sounds like a strange mixture and rather impossible - but believe me, if there is one band who can do it, then it is Morifade!!! In the opening song, “Lost within a shade”, you can feel the tension and symphonic elements of Rhapsody the choirs of Symphony X, and the raw beat of Stratovarius. And so on with the rest of the songs - always uniting different elements with each other, into one great blend. “Imaginarium” is without a doubt one of the best albums in the year 2002 - if not THE best. The band has a high level of musicianship, especially the drummer Kim Arnell - my goodness he almost feel in every part there is slight change, and he does it to perfection. One to be mentioned as well, is the keyboarder Fredrik Eriksson (ex. Tad Morose), as he brings an extra dimension to the music. In the song “Nevermore” he definitely fulfil the song. And let us not forget the guitarist, who provides us with one great riff after the other, and bless us with his perfect solos and great harmonic riffs. For every fan of the original, interesting and powerful metal, do not fail to get this album it is worth every last penny.

- Benjamin

Tartarean Desire (7,5/10p)

There are four types of bands: first the top of the mountain bands who have found a real original sound that makes them leaders in the musical evolution, second the bands who have failed to find a unique sound but still make music of high quality, third bands who only fit as background music and last but also least the bands who make utter crap. The young Swedes of Morifade are lucky to find themselves in the second group.
They have all the trademarks of a typical power metal band - sharp riffs, the right amount of classical and neo-classical influences and catchy choruses as well as high pitched vocals. The band is actually celebrating its tenth year in existence this year (2002) but it is only now that they have been given the chance to make a real career on the metal scene since they have signed with the Dutch Hammerheart Records after having left their former label Loud 'n' Proud Records, a label that has done nothing but holding back the bands, not on purpose but because of financial problems. If you know this band from before you may want to know that they have now been joined by two new members namely the guitarist Robin Arnell (ex-Fatal Glory) and
keyboard player Fredrik Eriksson (ex-Tad Morose) who both seem to fit in very well with the rest of the band. Hammerheart usually don't sign power metal bands but this is a quality band that should appeal to most fans of the genre. Stand-out tracks: "Rising Higher", "Nevermore", "Dark Images".

- Vincent

Eternal Terror (4,5/6p)

Sweden has raised many great power metal bands the last years and Morifade is one of the bands that belongs to the top. Imaginarium is the 4th CD from this band if you take the 2 MCD's Across the Starlit Sky & Cast A Spell into consideration. Imaginarium is melodic symphonic power metal. A little like Hammerfall but with a more aggressive guitarsound. Songs like Lost Within A Shade & Rising Higher should attract every fan of power metal. The album is produced by Andy La Rocque (King Diamond & Death) and recorded in Los Angered Studio. Absoulutely worth checking out.

- Rune

Metalcentral (9/10p)

Med hjälp av Andy La Rocque "King Diamond" bakom mixer bordet, så är Morifade tillbaka med sin andra
fullängdare "Imaginarium". Förändringar har skett sen deras kritiker rosade platta "Possession of power" släpptes -99. Med Andy La Rocque, och med ett nytt skivbolag i ryggen "Hammerheart Records" så har Morifade skapat en kanon platta, kanske en av årets bästa tycker jag personligen. Soundet är lite tyngre och mörkare, och produktionen är betydligt proffsigare & maffigare än deras första fullängdare. Även låtarna och texterna känns lite djupare, och det traditionella fantasy konceptet, som är ganska vanligt bland metalbanden i dag har hamnat i bakrunden den här gången. Lite medlemsbyten har också skett, Kim Anells bror Robin har tillkommit på elgitarr, & Fredrik "Frippe" Eriksson finner vi på keyboard, som tidigare spelade ett bra tag med Morifade & var med på deras mini-cd "Cast a spell". Sen har dom större körararrangemangen fallit bort, vilket inte blev sämre för det, Morifade själva sköter körerna nu, och det gör dom riktigt bra! Stefan Peterssons röst är också mäktigare & bättre än någonsin på "Imaginarium". Han har ett brett sångregister, och visar upp det med stor variation på den här skivan, som samtidigt bjuder på sköna tempoväxlingar, underbara melodier & refränger som fastnar på hjärnan, det tillsammans med sång av hög klass. Det är lite mer Heavy metal över den här skivan, och allt känns proffsigare med "Imaginarium" än deras tidigare verk. Att Morifade har lyckats skapa ett eget sound gör dom mycket speciella tycker jag, för i dag är det lätt att hamna i facket som Helloweenkloner, men det har Morifade lyckats undkomma. Skivan inleder med låten "Lost within a shade" som är en trallvänlig powermetal låt, men favorit låten är ändå "The enemy within" med Stefans viskande röst i början, som sen övergår till högre toner mot en klockren refräng som sitter där den ska, det tillsammans med sköna ner och uppåtgående tempoväxlingar. Sista låten "Whispering voices" är även den en klar favorit på skivan, sången under refrängen är grymt skön. Låtmaterialet på skivan håller bra klass, och har bra variation. Som sagt, lite förändringar har skett, men bara till det bättre. Det är ett gäng duktiga musiker det här, och jag tror dom kan gå väldigt långt.

- Johan Lundqvist

Metal Gateway (8/10p)

Here it is, the second and last work of the swedish band Morifade. Taking it with their first long play, Possession of Power, you can apreciate a great sound change, more professional than that album from 99, in which you could see an excited band with good future coming; in addition to a musical evolution, in which it seems to be two or three albums between each other. This is their second work and you can see a band, defined as symphonic power metal with a progressive touch, with a great career ahead. In this new record we can find from speedy and catchy songs like Rising Higher or In Martyria, to epic ballads like Revive For A While. If there is something that makes characteristic this band it is their vocalist Stefan Petersson, with a very special voice, in Reborn you can appreciate his quality as a singer. Special remark for the choirs, made by the band themselves, hard and direct, more heavys than choirs of other bands like Rhapsody. At the end we have Whispering Voices with fast and hard riffs and keyboards ending with, as its name says, some whispering voices. An Album that will not defraud any freak of good Power.

- Alberto García Sola

Strutter'Zine (9/10p)

'Imaginarium' is the second full-length CD of the Swedish melodic Progressive Power Metalband MORIFADE who are signed to the Dutch label HAMMERHEART RECORDS (a label that is mainly focused on Black Metal).
The new CD of MORIFADE is quite a masterpiece within the Prog/Power Metal genre, and the music is very much comparable to bands like STRATOVARIUS, ANGRA, AT VANCE, BLIND GUARDIAN, and also VANDENPLAS and even early EUROPE. The production is very impressive, and all the included songs are quite sensational, so you can easily say that this MORIFADE CD is a high quality release and therefore a must to fans of melodic Prog/Power Metal. Hard to pick out favourite tracks, because all 11 tracks are a pleasure to listen to, but definite highlights on 'Imaginarium' are "Lost within a shade" (perfect melodic Prog/Power Metal with hooks, bridges and a catchy chorus, like AT VANCE), "Rising higher" (VANDENPLAS meets AT VANCE), "The enemy within" (best song!), "Dark images" (great melodic rocker a la early EUROPE), "Revive for awhile" (lovely epic prog folkish melodic rockballad), "Whispering voices" (very much classy prog metal a la VANDENPLAS) and the ANGRA orientated songs "The secrecy" and "Reborn". Concluded I can easily mention that this album is one of the highlights in the prog/power metal genre at the moment, so get yourself a copy a.s.a.p.!

- Gabor Kleinbloesem

Urkraft Webzine (7/10p)

First impressions last they say and my first glance at the cover of Morifade's latest effort will stay with me.
This is how a cover painting should look!!! Absolutely stunning - a real eye-catcher! Hrmhrm, well now let's
get to the important stuff - la musica. Even if it's not impressing as the cover, the music holds its ground very well. I never really liked their previous releases as I found them far to mundane and bleak, but now Morifade seem to have found their own style. Whereas the earlier stuff leaned towards power metal "Imaginarium" draws its strenght from more punch-in-the-face based heavy metal (ala Priest, Maiden etc). And it sounds damn good at times. The album doesn't hold up to standard all the way through in my opinion but it is still a heavy metal album worth to spend some of your well-earned cash on. If you enjoy real heavy metal you just can't escape liking songs such as "Lost Within A Shade" or "Reborn". Will surely get some air-play on my stereo this summer!

- Stefan Lejon

Joe Metal.com (8/10)

Morifade qualifies as one my sacred cows since everything they have done in the past has delighted me thus I have become a proponent of their musical vision. The band’s uniqueness in my eyes can be summed up in two points: 1) the outstanding and personal style of the lead vocals, 2) a distinctive approach to all their musical compositions that allows melodic, symphonic, epic, folksy, neo-classical and progressive elements to flow into and out to create their own fresh sound. Now some metalheads will complain that they are not heavy enough and they might be right to an extent in that they do not play hard, fast and heavy on every song. On the positive side of the ledger has to be the listenability of this CD, some albums are so intense or hard that they require some effort to get through them but not this one-you could listen to it over and over.
Morifade’s releases have leaned away from being just collections of songs but sweeping musical experiences that take the listener away with different feels and textures that demand your attention. With that high standard set by the prior releases, my concern was, could the boys do it again? DAMN RIGHT! This has to be their most mature release to date and they do not disappoint. One track could be classified as boring (Nevermore) and another a bit too radio friendly (In Martyria) but otherwise the material has its own legs. Just a word for Morifade’s past fans, I found this cd a bit slower than their past work. Given the band’s personnel troubles and label issues we are all lucky they even did another release. Nevertheless given the crystal clear production the listener has a true treat in store on this disc. Imaginarium does not qualify as the best CD of the year but it makes an excellent addition to my collection, as it should be for you too!

- Ernie Manzo

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