Tad Morose: A Mended Rhyme (1997)

Several years ago, I checked out an album by Swedish power metal band Tad Morose called Modus Vivendi.  Simply put, I loved it.  I have always had a difficult time finding new, decent power metal bands.  Obviously there are the well-known leaders in the genre, groups like Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica and others, but as a whole, the genre can be difficult to find other bands that are not too cheesy and overwrought.  So it was a welcome discovery to find Tad Morose.  Unfortunately, it took until just recently for me to find another album by the band.

Unfortunately, this album just is not doing it for me at this time.  I am hoping that this album is just taking some time to sink in.  There are definitely elements to this album that I love, but there are some things that I do not care for as well.  It is an earlier album in Tad Morose's discography and it is possible the band was still finding themselves.  It was their third album and it is apparently a transition album as it is the first one with Urban Breed on vocals and the riffs are generally heavier.  So maybe it is just an album where the ideas were there but the execution was not.

Let's start with the things that I love.  Breed's vocals are incredible.  He has a stunning, melodic voice that can hit some high notes and then can take a harder, gruffer edge as well.  The keyboard melodies are also quite impressive and the songs that rely on them for the primary melodic lines are generally the better songs on the album, such as opener "Circuit Vision" and the title track.  And finally, I really appreciate the song "Goddess of Chaos" which is directly about Alien, my favorite movie of all time.

And now for the primary thing I do not care for.  The heavier riffs are not terribly interesting most of the time.  Tad Morose does not break any new ground, which is fine, but most of the riffs here are rather pedestrian.  They cover that well with the use of keyboards and Breed's vocals, but there are times ("But Angels Shine") where there is nothing concealing the unoriginal riffing.

So there are good moments and bad moments, but the truth is that this is a bit of an uneven release.  It pales in comparison to Modus Vivendi.  It is possible that it will grow on me as I have liked it more and more with each successive listen.