Band: The Morning After
Album title: You Can’t Hurt Steel
Label: Rising Records
Distributor: SPV - CNR
Release date: 06/07/2009
Release: CD

Hailing from the South East of England (Essex, actually), this Modern Heavy Metal quartet formed during 2005 with a line-up still comprising lead singer/ guitarist Sam Robinson, guitarist Phil Maher, bassist/ second vocalist Jay Bude, and drummer Reece Bude…all of whom shared an unbridled passion for ’80s NWoBHM. Still, they wanted to veer away from the usual clichés of love songs and the tribulations of life (themes used fàr to often to their taste), and in stead sought their refuge in Sci-Fi and Apocalyptic Fiction to create their horror lyricism…wanting people to get a picture in their minds of the story they were telling in their songs.

The band’s intentional ‘over-the-top’-ness (choir sections, inward screams, powerful drums, screaming/whaling dual guitar solos, occasional use of medieval acoustic guitar, stadion worthy sing-aling tunes) was first put on a music carrier in 2007 with the EP Bring The Horror (which one of my info sources mentions would’ve already gotten distribution through Rising Records – however, the label’s website risingrecords.org doesn’t say anything about that)…all 3 tracks of which (“Crush, Kill, Destroy”, “Glitter And Bombs”, and “Sometime After Dark”) can also now be found on the band’s full-length debut!

Although based in Progressive NWoBHM, the band brings a modern touch to their music through additional (frequent) growled vocals and screams. The resulting mixture is also frequently given keyboard additions (credits for which are not given)…and that not only in intros…which highen the “horror” factor of the overall music that litle bit more! On top of it all, Sam has this very nice…slightly nasal, slightly hoarse…signature voice, which certainly sets the band apart! End conclusion? If you’re not drawn in by the nice Progressive but melodic guitar runs, the twin solos, the sing-along verses, or the expressive way with which the guys bring their little tales, then maybe your attention might be caught by small bits from elsewhere (for instance: in the latter part of “Crash, Kill, Destroy”, the boys “stole” the sentence “The chances of anything coming from Mars” from the Jeff Wayne’s 1978 “soundtrack” album War Of The Worlds – a huge project featuring lots of known Pop singers…including Justin Hayward, David Essec, and also Phil Lynott of that age…and Richard Burton narrating, and a perfect reference point for the soundtrackishness of TMA’s music ; the band also included subtle references to the members’ musical influences in a couple of other songs: the song title of “Sometimes After Dark” evidently referring to Iron Maiden, the phrase “Something wicked this way comes” in the opening of “Hell And High Water” most possibly having a connection with Iced Earth’s 1998 album). With most of the album on the heavy side, the guys dó show a more sensitive side to themselves with the balladesque “The Heart Of The Young” (in which a lot of the keyboard is played in piano mood to enhance that ballad feeling – a track which has a such sound that the likes of Journey and Toto would be proud to call it their own).

Check out some of the band’s music at myspace.com/themorningafterrock (please note that cover song “Gladiators” is nót featured on the album – anyone knowing which band originally did that song, please let me know something, okay?). I know, it’s only three songs posted there (including the cover), but they’re enough to give you a very representative image of the band indeed! By the way, a video for “Sometime After Dark” (another creative “steal”) should soon be out there! At this moment, the band only has a couple of shows planned for June, and a “tour” (they’re separate dates, really…some of which happen to follow each other) with The Defiled in July…all in the UK! Anyway, the chances of TMA coming to Mars…euhm…Europe (and specifically Belgium) are definitely bigger than a million to one! I mean, this kind of band just won’t be stopped, you know…they dó have thàt kind of quality! Gee man, definitely a winner…and an addition to my nomination list for “Best Newcomer Heavy Metal Band Of 2009”!

98/100

Tony.