Album Notes

The NWoBHM era was a golden age in British music. Bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard, Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Samson ruled the world.

We grew up with these guys, they taught us to play, they taught us to write music.

MORPHEUS RISING takes all the best bits of NWoBHM - twin guitars and soaring vocals; adds a splash of extra ingredients such as the darker edge of Goth bands like The Cult and The Mission; the raw energy of Classic Rock icons like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC; plus just a twist of more melodic acts such as Marillion and Magnum. We are The Next Generation... NWoBHM-TNG!!

MORPHEUS RISING - THE ORIGINAL DEMOS 2008

2008 has been quite a time for the band.

The whole project started as the Pete's brainchild, writing and recording material for the band he wanted to be in. Once there were enough songs to take it a step further, ads were placed for additional musicians and a singer/songwriter and for a long time... nothing.

All at once, or so it seemed, everything came together. Rhys McPherson answered the call for a second guitarist and Grae offered his services as singer/songwriter (albeit with the caveat that he would write the material but may not be able to perform with the band). Pete already had individuals in mind for the posts of bassist and drummer and, once Andy and Gibbo had agreed, all was set for what remained of an interesting year.

By the first rehearsal, only a few weeks later, there were already 5 or 6 tracks recorded with vocals and several others were in the pipeline. Save The Day and In The End were written and recorded very soon after Grae joined up and, despite a chest infection, were recorded in one session. Over the next couple of weeks Pete spent much of his time forwarding mixes to Grae for him to lay down guide vocals for the tracks he was working on and, in quick succession, Those Who Watch and Lord of the North were returned with complete lyrics and melodies in place. Grae quickly began talking about performing as well as writing and recording.

Several other tracks were worked on and recorded but, for one reason or another, we felt they were either unsuitable as written or needed more work before they became ready.

Over this period the band worked consistently on Fighting Man. This was, in Pete's mind, a signature track, the one which showcased what MORPHEUS RISING were about and, with such high expectations, it became something of a labour of love for Pete and a millstone for Grae. One bright afternoon in June the pair sat down at MRHQ with the existing lyric, the guide vocal mix and rewrote large parts of the lyric - the first time this had happened. The result has definitely lived up to the expectations placed upon it and is a firm favourite with all members of the band.

During this writing period Rhys left the band and, for a short period, Phil O'Dea stepped in to allow the band to continue rehearsals but the pressures of running his own business meant that Phil couldn't keep up the commitment with the band and, once again, we were looking for a guitarist.

After another period of recording and writing Damien Sweeting (Daymo) auditioned for the guitarist slot and before he'd even finished the audition had made such an impression on all the other members to be offered the slot there and then.

As Daymo joined the band we released our first single 'An Ordinary Man' in aid of HELP for HEROES. This saw the band in the public eye for the first time and reactions were positive all round. Although dramatically different from the rest of the material the band had written, it allowed listeners an easy introduction to the band and many of them have since become fans of all the material as reflected by the number who purchased the version of the single which included versions of Those Who Watch and In The End.

As the year draws to a close we find ourselves back in the writing process, reworking some of the original material and writing new additions to the already substantial set list in preparation for our continuing bid for World domination through 2009.

The tracks found here are, with the exception of the backing vocals on Those Who Watch and Lord of the North, exactly as they first appeared as Works In Progress on Pete and Grae's MySpace profiles, before there was even a name for the band!!

We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoyed writing and recording them... and play them loud!!

All the best,

Grae, Pete, Daymo, Andy and Gibbo

MORPHEUS RISING

Resurrecting British Heavy Metal

All tracks written by Harwood/Tennick (P) 2008

© 2008 WTG Records

Visit the band at:

http://www.morpheusrising.co.uk

http://www.reverbnation.com/morpheusrising