Review by Adam on October 7, 2004.

Morifade's Domi<>Nation is a concept album built around the ideas of two novels: George Orwell's "1984" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World." The music which is credited on their website as being semi-progressive might be a fairly adequate way of describing their sound, however, I'll play it safe and call them power metal instead.

What immediately caught my attention while listening to Domi<>Nation was the absence of a full on power ballad. Much to my delight, the music remains punchy and aggressive for the majority of the album. As far as the production goes, the sound is very clear and full making this their best sounding release to date.

One thing I just cannot seem to get out of my mind is how much the vocalist looks like he could have fronted a 70s southern rock band. That aside, he fits in very well with the band's sound and does a bang up job handling the singing duties. The cheese comes in heavy doses, especially on tracks like 'Words I Never Speak' and 'Erase,' but its enjoyable cheese nonetheless.

This digi-pack addition comes complete with five extra tracks (four of which come from 2000's Cast a Spell EP) and a video for 'Lost Within a Shade.' This clocks Domi<>Nation in at over an hour giving the listener the ultimate power metal fan test. If you can sit through this album the whole way through and still long for more, then consider yourself power metal royalty. I almost didn't make it out alive.

Domi<>Nation does wander into the land of monotony after a while. However, what makes it work in Morifade's favor when it is all said and done is the fact that the band always seems to have another ace to pull out of their sleeve before the listener is able to lose interest completely. There is some obvious filler that could have been left off, but for the most part, this is a good album that should have the hardiest of power metal fans singing eternal praises.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Originality: 6
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10