Morgul – Lost In Shadows Grey

If I were to say one thing about the record label Darkness Shall Rise, it would be that they have an almost uncanny ability to find, acquire the rights to, and re-release somehow overlooked gems from the nineties – Particularly that of Second Wave Black Metal bands which, as a fan of the genre, I wholeheartedly enjoy.
The latest example of them drenching through the past to find yet another somewhat overlooked gem is the 1997 release Lost In Shadows Grey from one-man act Morgul – Their first Full-length release ever from back in the day. And while it might not have garnered the overall recognition that many of his kinsmen and contemporaries have (such as Mayhem, Burzum and Emperor in particular who seems destined to be remembered as the de facto faces of the genre and hence having their early releases reprinted over and over again), this record nevertheless heavily impressed me and by no means deserves to once again being dragged back into the spotlight any less than any of the before-mentioned bands.
Granted, I have not been able to compare the record to its original release since I had no means of getting a hold of it – However, a rough comparison to an older upload on YouTube between the two seems to indicate that the record label have strived to keep it as authentic as possible, not cleaning up the sound nor removing any of the static that helped add to the atmosphere of these albums. A nice touch, which I appreciate. But enough dancing around the proverbial porridge, what about the sound itself?
Well, truth be told, it is pretty much what you would expect from a mid-nineties Black Metal fare. Simple, repeating riffs, drums for days and shrieking growls dominating as the vocals. This is clearly a single persons vision and efforts put on full display, focusing on what abilities they have and merging them together to great effect. Simple. Angry. Gritty. And all the more effective as a result.
Granted, the overall approach and execution is not nearly as ‘polished’ (for a lack of better word) than the comparable releases from his kinsmen mentioned earlier which is probably one of the reasons why their releases are remembered more fondly overall. But that hardly means Lost In Shadows Grey is any slouch. Five tracks, forty-one minutes of pure nostalgia, aimed straight at the old-school fans as well as newer fans who were not around or for whatever reason not able to get the release the first time around.

Do bear in mind that since this is a re-release (despite being new for me), I am keeping the score somewhat lower than I otherwise would since it offers literally nothing new to the table – Add another twenty points to the score, had this been a brand new release or version of the album.

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