Artist: Morgal
Country: Finland
Label: Werewolf Records
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed the over the top ferocity and speed on Morgal’s ‘Nightmare Lord’, the band’s debut full-length released in 2021 on Werewolf Records. Since that recording, two members including vocalist Lord Warmoon left, and since I really appreciate the other bands that he’s in, I had some reservations about how the newest Morgal would turn out. But those fears turn out to be totally unjustified, as ‘The Seventh Circle’ is another ripper of a record.
The shuffle in personel, with second guitar player Killhammer and new bass player and vocalist Tomb Nekrofiler joining the fold, has not led to any grand changes in the Morgal sound. To such an extent that I am still more than pleased with the description of “somewhere like Impaled Nazarene on ‘Nihil’ or ‘Rapture’ meets typical late 90’s Swedish Black Metal such as Swordmaster and Mörk Gryning combined with a strong dose of Heavy, Speed and Thrash Metal played at double speed” that I gave their music earlier. That is not to say that ‘The Seventh Circle’ is a direct copy of ‘Nightmare Lord’. For one there is the more spitting vocal style of Tomb Nekrofiler. But also the mix is slightly less overpowering, giving more way to the guitar melodies. It feels as if new guitar player Killhammer and orginal member Crusher are more aligned than in the previous line-up, piling up whammy bar escalations, layers of melodies and even twin guitar harmonies. Take for instance ‘Goddess of Death’, a song that’s blistering in pace but contains pretty impressive harmonic melodies and a quite melancholic aura. Perhaps an even more appropriate description this time around would be that ‘The Seventh Circle’ has the ferocity and unchained spirit of second half of the nineties Impaled Nazarene, yet with the musical prowess and melancholy of Dissection embedded into it. It keeps that rather unique identity of Morgal, one with blistering pace and a deep Black Metal connection yet the melodiousness of Heavy Metal.
Even though Morgal infuses their Black Metal with Thrash, Speed and Heavy Metal elements, they do not sound like the likes of Deströyer 666, Nifelheim, Cruel Force or Deathhammer. This is truly a Black Metal band in intensity, aesthetics and conviction. I’m impressed with how deranged and extreme the band sounds, yet still manage to seamlessly weave an impressive amount of atmosphere and melody. So while initially I may have been sceptic about how the line-up changes would impact the band, in hindsight I can only conclude that I was completely wrong. As a matter of fact, I would easily label ‘The Seventh Circle’ as the best release by the band.
