Morgana Lefay were one of the first metal bands I found through this forum as a teenager, and I've just revisited the material to remember that they're such a heavy "non-cheesy" power metal band, and their stuff still holds up. After Aberrations of The Mind I guess they disappeared.. does anyone know what they're up to nowadays??

They are playing gigs so there is still a glimmer of hope.

Seeing them on Sunday. For the first time. I am excited as fuck. LOVE their discography, Maleficium is one of my favorite albums and Charles Rytkonen is definitely one of my favorite vocalists ever.

I'll try and ask what are the plans for the future. They reunited two or three years ago, did some shows. Then Tony Eriksson (gtr, primary songwriter) left the band for a while (2017, after they were booked for fest in my hometown! That was cancelled and that sucked ass) and now he is back. Hopefully for good.

First band I saw live, and will see them again at the Stockholm Slaughter festival in april. Great great band...

They hinted a few years ago that they have been writing new material, but the chances of a new album seeing light of day are slim it seems.

Looks like they're doing Stockholm Slaughter again next year, as well.

I saw them in Headbangers Open Air, but I just couldn't quite get into them. Then again, they just performed right after Manilla Road, that's a hard band to go after.

This thread inspired me to give them a go and I'm curious as to a good album recommendation. I tried Sanctified but it didn't quite grab me.

Grand Materia was always my favorite. I'm probably due to go revisit them sometime soon - great band, very unique style.

Maleficium was and always will be my favorite. Fantastic concept album. It's a grower album. Try watching Maleficium, the videoclip. It's what got me into them.

Seventh Seal is also a great album. As is SOS. As is The Secret Doctrine. As is Grand Materia. And Sanctified will click.

(I really love Morgana Lefay!)

They seemed to be popular in the 90s pre-Hammerfall before there were a lot of PM bands to choose from (at least on decent-sized labels). That's my recollection at least.

Maleficium was really great too, yeah.

Since all their shit is on Spotify I am checking out some stuff I never heard like the 'Knowing Just As I' album. This is some great stuff. Just badass, ripping heavy metal with a great gritty, meaty guitar tone and killer Savatage-esque riffs. "Red Moon" is first rate.

Were you able to ask? Glad you got to see them!



Listen to Grand Materia. Concept album about a man finding the philosopher's stone and becoming immortal. Over time he sees everyone in his life fade away and he's left by himself, it\s my favorite album for sure.

I did actually! The answer is they are working on a new album but on "very relaxed pace". Basically, they are taking their time, doing some shows here and there in the meantime.

By the way, the live was FANTASTIC. Holy shit, Charles' voice is EXACTLY the same and he was in top form throughout the gig (1.5 hour). They ended with SOS for fuck's sake, if you recall how he enters the verse with that badass scream, well, he was 100% on the money. Obviously he has found his technique and the whole (incredible, to die for) distortion does not hurt him. We met him after and we told him (me and my equally obsessed friends) that we think he is the perfect blend of Oliva, Midnight and Chick Billy! He loved that!

I really hope to see them again. Crowd was excellent, at least at the front up to the middle, it was their first visit in Greece, so there was a lot of pent up anticipation for them and it translated to rabid headbanging and singing. If they come near you don't miss them. Especially Charles is a singer you will want to have seen live. Special.

A souvenir, you can see the setlist too. That's Tony the guitarist, me and my youngest sister. And a grotesquely unflattering picture of a dear friend with a lovely Sanctified longsleeve shirt:

Yes, more or less the same here. Somehow a bit similar to Iced Earth, before Power Metal became "True Metal" with all the 80s clichés coming back in style.

Last thing I heard was they had some rather embarrassing name dispute, with two line-ups claiming the copyrights. Then they disappeared from the spotlight and no one really cared.

^ Clearly they've got a resurgence in popularity now though. I'm pleasantly surprised how many are still fans.

The name dispute did not last long. One side released the "Morgana Lefay" album, which is shit and the other side, the one with the important people (ie Tony and Charles) went to Noise and released two fantastic albums as Lefay (three if we count the re-recording of Symphony of the Damned), which were clearly the continuation of the band's signature sound. Then, since the problem of the other lineup went away, they just reverted to the full Morgana Lefay moniker and released two more awesome albums (Grand Materia and Aberrations of the Mind).

I am not sure that there is a resurgence in popularity. I wish there was but I don't think us people here count as a reliable barometer of their popularity. The gig did alright in Greece but it wasn't packed. Problem is they are out of the spotlight and just do an occasional gig or fest here and there. It suits them, so what can you do. When they took the first big break in 2008 (?) there wasn't any particular reason why. They had no personal problems, no musical differences, no label problems, they just did not want to put in the hard work 24/7 I guess. After 9 albums it's understandable. But it is a shame because I happen to think that a discography with 9 consecutive great albums is a very, very rare thing and the world needs Lefay.

If I had to describe them it would be something like Metallica plays power/thrash with some doom and some King Diamond thrown in for good measure - with the vocals being the focal point. I really would recommend diving into their discography. So many fantastic songs to be found.

Thanks for the info.

Which 2 songs from them would you recommend as their best?

Well, I got into them with Maleficium, the song, then the album. Excellent songs in there but they work even better if you follow the story (starts with someone being tortured by the inquisition but it has a twist mid-album!), for example the song Madness, where the dude finally snaps for good in the bridge and then the final verse comes in and Charles really goes overboard in his performance. Or Final Farewell, where the daughter of the man mourns his fate and he is crazy now but remembers her eyes, that's a really powerful moment and the transition from that to Maleficium (it's the actual burning at the stake song) is monumental. Goosebumps all the way.

So, it's difficult for me to recommend only two songs... For today I would say Madness, The Source of Pain and End of Living but it's subject to change...

But to give you some range: Rooms of Sleep, Symphony of the Damned (I recommend the Lefay version), The Devil In Me or The Choice for the dooooom, Master of the Masquerade or In the Court of the Crimson King for the thrash, To Isengard which is a metal version of the Ent song found in Lord of the Rings, End of Living, the godly opener of Seventh Seal and Moonlit Night, which is a ballad that my wife had a crush on and played endlessly on repeat! I'll also throw in Creatures of the Hierarchy, which I have (also) uploaded myself and I think is a wonderful example of the Black Album meeting King Diamond. Love it.

They have a brilliant cover of Abba's Voulez Vous and another of Crimson Glory's magnum opus (Lost Reflection), which one could argue they did not need to do as the original is untouchable but it's a very good cover, a feat in itself.