Morgoth, another band named after J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic tales. The band, however, didn't have anything to do with the Middle-Earth or hobbits, but they sing about bad and foul things, keeping their feet tightly in the real world.

Morgoth started as a death metal outfit. But just like their labelmates Tiamat and Samael, along the way they drifted, they mutated quite fast into something else. On 'Feel Sorry for the Fanatic', Morgoth are following footsteps of Killing Joke and Prong. It was a big part of the band's sound already on 'Odium' (1993), and now the death metal influence is gone. The music is based on the rhythm, and the guitars are more like paintbrushes (loads of open-stringed stuff), and a lot of disharmonics are used. I personally like some Killing Joke and Prong albums, but this one has no possibility to enter that scanty crowd. First of all, the songs are nothing special. Only two first songs and the last one stick better in my mind, others being boring or stream of consciousness that I can't relate to. The album is filled with samey material, without much anything sticking out. Then there's this god-awful "techno" track '...And It's Amazing Consequences'... Just total waste of my time. There's a lot of electronics in the songs, being mainly okay or good. This kind of music needs punchy production and Dirk Draeger created it for the band in Woodhouse Studios, Germany.

The vocals are straight shouting for a big part. 'Last Laugh' has some great low singing. The song itself is most atmospheric and probably a highlight of this album. But the vocals, then... They are simple, shouty and in vein of Killing Joke and Prong, again! I mean the music remind me very strongly of those two bands, especially Killing Joke and their later outputs.

Not total bollocks, but I can't find but a couple of more interesting songs here. You should give it a try, if those two mentioned bands are your faves. The band disbanded shortly after this album, blaming the old fans who did not want to follow the band's new direction. Yeah, right...

Rating: 4+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/29/2002 18:32