Vargvinter

Old Morgul are from Finland and this band is one of the numerous short-living examples that vanished after a demo or two; never to be seen again. «From the Dark Streams of Night» is their second one and when keeping in mind that it self-produced and certainly with no professional equipment, then the outcome can only be praised for its quality; I actually wonder how many of young bands could stand a comparison with this one; this was a rhetorical question, just in case someone is puzzled or prepares for an answer.

Anyway, «Old Morgul»'s interpretation of black metal has a touch of the Norwegian symphonic branch that was famous when OM's second demo came out; Dimmu Borgir, Troll, Old Man's Child ... the list is endless. Yet unlike these, do the keyboards play in the art of this Finnish band not a too dominant role and appear only on some occasions and as a tool to support the atmosphere (or some certain motives respectively) rather than as an instrument that is given an equal status among the others. Hence are the compositions somehow grim and dark with some sparkles of 'cheerish' keyboard phrases; which are welcome because the songs gain volume and fascination through this. The keys do rarely appear when the vocals are around and show in terms of the motives some resemblance to the guitars. These play tremolo-loaded riffs, but as the music is rather midtempo and melodic, this is not adverse to the music; in sensu to make it plain or boring. «Old Morgul» has balanced the facets of the music neatly: the interludes as well as the use of vocals and keyboards work together fine and over the whole length of the songs, the tension is kept up on a high level.

There is not really much left to be desired when it comes to the second release of «Old Morgul». Well, fifteen minutes and three songs is not really much and to have compositions of the sort that is already offered is nothing more but wishful thinking and nothing that lies in the realm of possibilities. In comparison to what a lot of artists release today or refer to as quality, then this rare demo is a gem that is worth to own, keep and listen to... again and again.

Fans of bands that have been mentioned above, of black metal with some small pieces of keyboards, should give this release a try.

So, this would be the piece once written on the Old Morgul release, but and now comes the most essential and important aspect of this review: it turned out to be a bootleg and there is no doubt about it. Whatever Old Morgul did with the old song by Morgul, the outcome of this has been enormous. The original sounds muffled and the production sucks and takes away a good deal of the atmosphere, while the bootleg has a proper one and gives the music the power it really needs to unfold its potential. By comparing 'true' and 'false', not only the shameless theft becomes obvious but also what is left to be desired off the original, i.e. Morgul's release. So, in case someone wants to explore the origins of this Norwegian band, but in a better quality then try to get Old Morgul - From the Dark Streams of Night. It is certainly worth to give it a try and the beauty of the music is able to unfold itself.

(Note: the rating on the bootleg would be: 91)