Morton is a band from Ukraine, and their debut album Come Read the Words Forbidden is one tasty slice of Power Metal pizza… mmmh, I'm craving pizza now :(. Anyway AFM have signed a great band here.

If you like Nocturnal Rites, Edguy or Firewind, then you will most likely enjoy Morton as well ! They are heavy, melodic and powerful. Their vocalist has great voice and range and fits the band overall sound like a glove. The rhythm section is not to be ignored, with songs literally galloping throughout the album (without having to crank up the beats per minute to their max and feeling forced). The band is really tight, and while some chorus work could have been pushed a little more, I find the overall sound very pleasing, straight metal played with passion, and the result is really delightful. The riffs are very, very powerful, definitely reminding me of Nocturnal Rites in this area, one of my all-time favorite bands by the way.It is not yet to a level where these bands can be compared, it's a debut album after all but I like what I hear so far. Nocturnal Rites had a shift in stlye from cheesy fantasy power metal to much heavier deliveries in the last 4 albums. Back to Morton with the riff on Oblivion reminds me of swiss metallers Shakra. Song writing wise the band manages to sound fresh and manages to vary their songs enough to not fall into the easy pit of repetitiveness. Alternating some fast song with more mid tempos, each song is well fleshed out and there are no filler tracks throughout the 13 songs presented here.

I do wish there were some more epic choruses, and more memorable vocal melodies. Adding this to the current Morton sound would definitely allow the band to reach a higher blend, IMHO, of Power Metal. But is it their intention or do they want to focus on heavier, less European style Power Metal is anyone's guess at this point. Only a second album will give us clues as to where the band intends to go.They definitely could become something bigger, and I can't wait to listen to their next album, to see where they are going from here. A really pleasant surprise, riff and rhythm driven Power Metal, in a category that let's face it, tends to repeat itself (not that I mind that when albums are good) for more than a decade now.