Biography
Power metal emerged during the 1970s as an aggressive yet melodic strain of heavy metal, exemplified by headbangers such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Helloween, King Diamond, and Queensrÿche, before attaining its greatest commercial success in the following decade. Fresh ensembles in the style kept appearing throughout the 1990s and 2000s, above all across Europe, though participants also surfaced in the United States and Latin America. Morifade belong to the same post-eighties cohort as Rhapsody, Evergrey, Symphony X, and Iron Savior: outfits that remained untouched by the alternative metal currents of those later decades. The Swedish group originated in 1992, drawing its core inspiration exclusively from acts that had surfaced in the 1970s and early 1980s. Consequently the Scandinavians display no trace of hip-hop, industrial music, techno, grunge, or any other idiom that later shaped alternative metal. Their headbanger touchstones encompass Judas Priest, Queensrÿche, King Diamond, Iron Maiden, and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal explosion of the late 1970s and early 1980s, while additional influence arrived from 1970s progressive rock stalwarts including Rush, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis, and Yes. Like numerous fellow power metal acts, Morifade recognize that force and musical sophistication need not conflict, producing work that is simultaneously loud, forceful, and intense while remaining melodic and intricate.
Lineup adjustments marked the band’s trajectory from the outset. Originally called Gothic, Morifade began with a quartet comprising Fredrik Johansson on lead vocals plus electric and acoustic guitar, Jesper Johansson on electric and acoustic guitar, Henrik Weimedal on bass, and Kim Arnell on drums and percussion. A fifth member arrived in 1996 when Christian Stinga-Borg assumed lead vocals, leaving Fredrik Johansson to concentrate on guitar duties. Stinga-Borg’s three-year tenure concluded in 1999, at which point Stefan Petersson stepped in as the new frontman. The same year also brought keyboardist Fredrik “Frippe” Eriksson, previously of Tad Morose, and former Nephenzy guitarist Adrian Kanebäck, while Fredrik Johansson departed. Kanebäck’s exit in 2001 opened the door for Kim Arnell’s younger brother, Robin Arnell, to join. Although active since 1992, Morifade issued no recordings until the late 1990s. Their debut EP, Across the Starlit Sky, was tracked in 1997 and 1998; the first full-length album, Possession of Power, appeared in 1999. Those releases were succeeded by the EP Cast a Spell in 2000 and the second full-length album, Imaginarium, in 2002. In 2003 the Swedes completed their third full-length effort, Domination, a conceptually driven, science-fiction-themed recording loosely derived from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984. Following several postponements, Candlelight issued Domination in the United States during March 2004.
Lineup adjustments marked the band’s trajectory from the outset. Originally called Gothic, Morifade began with a quartet comprising Fredrik Johansson on lead vocals plus electric and acoustic guitar, Jesper Johansson on electric and acoustic guitar, Henrik Weimedal on bass, and Kim Arnell on drums and percussion. A fifth member arrived in 1996 when Christian Stinga-Borg assumed lead vocals, leaving Fredrik Johansson to concentrate on guitar duties. Stinga-Borg’s three-year tenure concluded in 1999, at which point Stefan Petersson stepped in as the new frontman. The same year also brought keyboardist Fredrik “Frippe” Eriksson, previously of Tad Morose, and former Nephenzy guitarist Adrian Kanebäck, while Fredrik Johansson departed. Kanebäck’s exit in 2001 opened the door for Kim Arnell’s younger brother, Robin Arnell, to join. Although active since 1992, Morifade issued no recordings until the late 1990s. Their debut EP, Across the Starlit Sky, was tracked in 1997 and 1998; the first full-length album, Possession of Power, appeared in 1999. Those releases were succeeded by the EP Cast a Spell in 2000 and the second full-length album, Imaginarium, in 2002. In 2003 the Swedes completed their third full-length effort, Domination, a conceptually driven, science-fiction-themed recording loosely derived from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984. Following several postponements, Candlelight issued Domination in the United States during March 2004.
Albums
Singles
