Moonlight Agony - Echoes Of A Nightmare

*=Staff's pick	Into Darkness Icy Plains* Echoes Of A Nightmare Ceremony* Equilibrium* Ghost Moonlight Horizon* Vanished*

Genre	Prog./Power Metal	Chitral Samapala	Vocals
Tracks	8	Kalle Landin	Guitar
Runningtime	44 Min.	Rikard Petersson	Guitar
Label	Massacre	Christofer Starnefalk	Bass
Release	27 Sept. 2004	Robert Willstedt	Drums
Country	Sweden	Martin Mellström	Keyboards
Similar artists	Lost Horizon, Kamelot, Gamma Ray

I am still lying on the floor gasping for air wondering what the hell it was that ran me over. The newcomers Moonlight Agony made my jaw drop to the floor by delight and admiration to this wonderful metal that was filling my head. Already on their debut, this Swedish band sound as they are almost a to perfection complete band with some awesome playing and a very skilled and mature songwriting. I just love these surprises when a band comes out of nowhere and delivers such a high-class album.

I'm not quite sure how to categorise the music from this band, but the basis is fast paced melodic, and occasionally dark, power metal spiced up with symphonic elements, some folk inspired tones, aggressive and heavy riffing, and an amount of progressive elements. Moonlight Agony can in some sense be compared with Lost Horizon because of certain structures of the songs but that does not give you the full truth. When I listen to this, I can also draw comparisons to the sound of Morifade, the folk inspired melody lines of Falconer, amazing melodic breaks of Dream Theater calibre and also very much of fast paced Gamma Ray.

Echoes Of A Nightmare is produced by Tom Englund of Evergrey fame, and he also appears in one of the tracks with his guitar, namely the fast and heavy track Ceremony where vocalist Chitral Somapala really gets to sing out and show his great voice. Carina Englund, Tom's wife that usually turns up on some of Evergrey's songs, is helping out with the vocals in Icy Plains that can be described as speedy version of the Kamelot sound. Her voice together with Chitral in this heavy melodic music surely makes a lasting impression. As I continue listening I can draw out more bands that clearly have served as influences to Moonlight Agony. The ambience in some of the tracks seems to be gathered from more extreme acts like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth, still with an on-going fast paced power metal feel though.

Parts that falls to my great delight are those where they play quick as hell and contain catchy and melodic refrains, just like Kai Hansen and Gamma Ray when they are at their most cheerful and speedy mood. Although how enthusiastic I might sound here, there are things that can be improved. There is a lot of fast pace and heavy blistering riffs but more detailed work on the guitars could have done this to a perfect album, but now there is a lack of guitar leads and solos. But on the other hand Martin Mellström on keyboards fills that void most of the times. The way he handles the keys is superb, and he along with vocalist Chitral make the biggest impacts on me.

I seriously can't remember when I last heard a debut album that was as great as this one. I will probably have to search many years back in time just to come even close. And how the hell can you come from nowhere and do something amazing like this? The only thing that's left for me to do is to say thank you Moonlight Agony and lift my hat in admiration.