MUSIC REVIEW: Coventhrall - “Legacy of Morfuidra”
Ahh, Coventhrall… if you’ve been in need of some classic power metal with soaring vocals and a super cheesy sci-fi story arc, then look no further than this album! Coventhrall have been dropping singles to tease their upcoming concept album, “Legacy of Morfuidra,” for about a year now. Well, the album’s release is finally upon us on March 15th, 2024, via Inverse Records, so I was pleased to have a promo show up in advance so I could give it a spin! After all, we all know that I love me a good concept album!
Now, I don’t actually have any history with this band from before these singles started dropping in 2023, but I do remember that when I moved to Finland in 2009, Sami “Colonel Texas” Ilvonen was the karaoke host from the Heavy Corner bar, which hosted heavy karaoke on Thursdays and Fridays, so I’ve heard him do some truly amazing things: Nightwish’s “Sleeping Sun” in half-Tarja Turunen, half-Marko Hietala style; Amorphis’ “Black Winter Day’”; and I think you could have heard him once upon a time singing Bruce Dickinson’s “Tears of the Dragon” on one of those shows like The Voice (I forget which one). Needless to say, he’s a spectacular and diverse singer, who particularly shines with high, power metal notes and effortless vibrato. Was I surprised to hear him doing a space opera? A bit, but a lot of the old metal guys in Finland are secret geeks (shh, don’t tell on them), after all.
Now, “Legacy of Morfuidra” is a storied concept album set around Morfuidra, a planet, which comes under attack by the space pirate Scavens (okay, seriously guys, you can’t say you’re not geeks, that’s an old Warhammer term for the ratfolk). The Morfuidran government enlists the help of a young hero to wield their ancient weapons and tech in order to become their Avatar, who will go seek the help of the Galactic Emperor (or at least his daughter, Princess Celeste) and the elite military fighter pilots of Nova Burst to save them from enslavement by their imperialistic invaders.
If you’re looking for some classic power metal, this album is an easy recommendation. “Prologue,” unsurprisingly, is an orchestral intro track, slow, ambient, and mysterious, working well to lure the listener in to give their story a listen. As the album kicks off properly in “Morfuidra,” we are immediately given some of those extremely gritty, technical, and high powered metal vocals that Sami Ilvonen became legendary for in the late ‘00s. More power and speed gets injected into the sound by “Dreadnought,” with those crushing speed-metal drums. “In These Halls” opens on a grungy sound with a hefty low-end, complete with sirens, before the guitars set in and lead the story towards the verses. It further boasts noteworthy use of organs and some insane vibratto in Sami’s vocal parts. I also enjoy the more garage rock style of the sound—they could have made it much more polished, but this gives it an appropriately ‘90s vibe that suits it, making it sound like a secret album from decades past that you just happened to have missed.
“Avatar” has a spacey, apprehensive synth intro that has a nice build-up, with a new character singing in the verses. This could be a bit hit-or-miss for people, as the singer is doing a great job but the English sounds like ‘90s European power metal vocalists who don’t speak English very often. This one introduces some group choirs, with the Narrator unsurprisingly standing out amongst them. One must wonder if Sami is a fan of a lot of Bruce Dickinson’s solo work, as “Space Race” is the name of a solo Dickinson song as well, albeit from his unusual, alternative album. Soundwise, it could be more different, bouncing between speed-metal-mode and a sci-fi metal groove.
Tapio Wilska’s contributions to “Galactic Empire” really brought me back to Nightwish’s “Wishmaster,” which also features Wilska on some spoken-word parts—very nostalgic for classic Finnish metal! These deep parts are juxtaposed nicely with some very high vocals from the Narrator. This is probably an album highlight for me, with some of the most varied vocal parts and most exciting drama. Then, “Empress in the Making” finally brings out Tanja Kemppainen, in the role of the Galactic Emperor’s daughter, Princess Celeste. In this track, we find out that the Avatar and Princess will be able to scrape together enough to hire the Nova Burst. It took a while for me to remember where I knew Tanja’s name from and it seems she was the singer for Lullacry back in the day—another blast of awesome nostalgia! This track has speed metal force mixed with intense orchestrations, but takes it a bit easier in the verses, allowing the story some space.
“Nova Burst” remains my favorite song on the album, largely because it’s catchy as absolute fuck, plus the vocal lines from the Nova Burst are funny as hell as they communicate in formation. There’s something really classic Finnish metal in the simple, straightforward, a wee bit Finglish, but effective lyrics that reminds me of the good old days of ‘90s and early ‘00s power metal in Finland.
The album hits its climax with “Battle in the Morfuidran Expanse,” which is a chaotic piece with guitar solos and cross-talk from the pilots (including the Avatar and Celeste) as they go into battle against the Dreadnought. Opening on a very intense note that nicely depicts a space battle, with some ripping guitars, it teases a speed metal sound as it progresses. Then, despite being the end of the album, there’s a bit of an ominous sound to the final dramatic arc in “Victory,” as they celebrate their success while mourning their dead. This track builds up its own surprisingly intense climax, capped with some church choir vocals, as it reaches its peak and eventually fades out, but maintains an almost ominous-sounding sadness as victories on such scales also come with loss.
Several people have enthusiastically leapt on the idea of me someday starting a fantasy and sci-fi -centric record label and if I was ever so inclined to do such a thing, I’d certainly sign these guys! The combination of fun comic book artwork and entertaining sci-fi stories, classic Finnish power metal sounds, and a bunch of little things that create a fond nostalgia for the ‘90s and ‘00s make this a really enjoyable album. The diversity of vocals is very much in-keeping with how Ayreon often does it (though not with Arjen Lucassen’s budget), while the guitar solos and general musical performance draws from a lot of classic Finnish metal. This album could have easily been released 10 or 20 years ago, but suffice to say, I’m glad that it’s finally out now! Highly recommended for fans of classic power and speed metal, who don’t want those genres to be too melodic or polished… this album finds a sweet balance therein!
Tracklist
Prologue
Morfuidra
Dreadnought
In These Halls
Avatar
Space Race
Galactic Empire
Empress in the Making
Nova Burst
Battle in the Morfuidran Expanse
Victory
Lineup
Coventhrall are:
Sami Ilvonen - vocals
Toni Bite - guitars
Jukka Hoffrén - bass, keyboards, guitars
Kimmo Korhonen - guitar solos
Janne Ojala - drums
Voice Cast:
Sami Ilvonen as the Narrator
Tuomas Nieminen as the Avatar
Tapio Wilksa as the Galactic Emperor
Tanja Kemppainen as Princess Celeste
Sami Halaka as Nova Burst’s Drone
Aleksi Parivianen as Nova Burst’s Ghost
Markku Kuikka as Nova Burst’s Mace
Christian Palin as Nova Burst’s Fire-Bat
Enjoy Bear’s writing? Consider joining her mailing list to keep up-to-date!
