morose

Undead [CD on Demand]
$13.99
The stars all seemed to be in perfect alignment for Sweden's Tad Morose when they released their 2000 album Undead. They had a powerful new vocalist in Urban Breed, who joined the band with their 1997 release A Mended Rhyme, they moved from Black Mark to major label (at least in the metal world) Century Media, and the power metal scene was experiencing a revival in popularity.

How did Tad Morose capitalize on these developments? By taking their sound to a higher plateau and releasing what at the time was their best album. The vaguely doomy progressive metal sound of earlier Tad Morose albums was replaced with an aggressive, slightly dark, slightly progressive, power metal style that drew heavily from Iron Maiden and Savatage. Coming at a time when so many other power metal bands were doing their best to sound exactly like Helloween, this dynamic style set Tad Morose apart from the pack.

Undead is very heavy, very melodic, and full of hard charging metal anthems. The songs Another Time Around and Corporate Masters are probably the best tracks on Undead, but there really isn't a weak moment. Christer "Krunt" Andersson is a fantastic guitarist, and he proves here that his talents definitely shine in a power metal setting. Urban Breed's vocal performance is the perfect counterpart to Andersson's thunderous riffs. This is where he began to establish himself as one of the best vocalists in metal.

I enthusiastically recommend Undead to all power metal fans, especially those looking for something that doesn't always follow the formulaic approach. It should especially appeal to fans of Savatage, Brainstorm, Symphorce, Thunderstone, and to a lesser extent Evergrey. The best part is that as good as this album is, the band got even better with their next two releases.

Jeeves the Matchmaker
$0.99

MK Morse CSM840SC Metal Devil 8-Inch 40 Tooth Steel Cutting Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor
$94.74
This is an excellent blade. The quality of the workmanship is excellent and the quality of the cut is excellent. I've used this blade exclusively on 1/4 inch steel plate without any problems.

A Mended Rhyme
$15.98
1997's A Mended Rhyme was the third full-length from Swedish progressive power metal band Tad Morose, and the first to feature new vocalist Urban Breed (yeah, apparently that's his real name). We've seen time and time again how a new singer can breathe new life into a band, and this is no exception.

Adding a singer of Urban Breed's caliber (closest comparisons - Zak Stevens and Andy Franck) to Tad Morose took the band's technically proficient, somewhat grim, melodic (they are Swedish after all) power metal and augmented it with a very powerful, very versatile vocal presence. The songs on A Mended Rhyme have more of a Dream Theater-ish technical vibe, and aren't as catchy as what would come on later albums, and the album suffers from less than stellar production (listen to this prior to spinning Undead and the difference in quality is striking), but it stands as a great example when Tad Morose started to really become a force in power metal.

A Mended Rhyme is an important album in Tad Morose's history, and is one that all Tad Morose Fans should own, even if it doesn't quite measure up to the albums that followed.

PS - Of course Urban Breed has since left Tad Morose, going on to (briefly) front the band Bloodbound. His last album, Modus Vivendi (easily the band's best work) is the last Tad Morose album to date.