MORGOTH - THE BEST OF MORGOTH 1987 - 1997 - CENTURY MEDIA
Morgoth was one of the biggest lost opportunities of the early '90s death metal movement. The band had the power, musicianship, vocal and image to become a major force in the sub-genre. Instead, the Germans crashed headfirst into wimpdom and instead of selling heaps of records went down metal history as of the worst instances of sell-out ever.
It had all started well. The band had issued two irreproachable EPs on the upstart Century Media Records and attracted praise for its talented compositions, deep growls which would have given Obituary a run for its money and a generally favourable image. The arrival of the band's first full-length Cursed in 1991 had introduced some gothic imagery and a slower pace, but the originality and aura surrounding the band had the support of both the fans and the media. All was not well in metal paradise though. The band was losing interest in metal, the members would often ludicrously observe in media interviews that they had come before Death - something which is indirectly refuted by the liner notes of this disc - and Century Media was starting to pay attention to the rest of its growing roster. It does bear mention that the label we know today as Century Media survived and prospered simply because Morgoth was selling by the bucket load in those days. The debt of gratitude went both way, however; Century Media's boss had a personal relationship with writers at Germany's Rock Hard magazine which afforded the band and label unsurpassed support. Still, no other band on the label was shifting as many units as Morgoth.
Despite the success Morgoth moved away first from death metal and eventually from heavy music and by 1996's Feel Sorry For The Fanatic it was the fanatics who were feeling sorry for the band. The band existed in rare media interviews, but everyone had moved on. The double-disc, The Best Of Morgoth, chronicles the band's development even as it mostly demonstrates that what metal fans really need is to go out and obtain the Resurrection Absurd and Eternal Fall MCDs (although appropriately most of the discs are here) and the Cursed full-length. Not that this release does not serve any other useful purpose. Disc two features the band's Pits Of Utumno demo, a couple of rare songs and the band's videos. - Ali "The Metallian"