Morgana Lefay formed in 1986, and by 1990 their first album,
Symphony Of The Damned, was recorded.
By 1996 a total of five albums had been released, and with a
style best described as a crunchy, thrash-tinged power
metal style
(somewhat akin to
Nevermore
or perhaps
Abstrakt Algebra),
they had carved a reasonably successful career.
But the band went quiet after their 1996 release (Maleficium),
and it would be three years later until the band was heard from
again.
At that time, the duo of vocalist Charles Rytkönen and
founding guitarist Tony Eriksson announced their plans to continue
with a new lineup, but due to legal issues with their record label
Black Mark,
the name of the band was shortened to Lefay.
As Lefay, three albums were recorded, one of which was a complete
re-recording of the Symphony Of The Damned debut.
Meanwhile, the other three members of the Maleficium lineup
banded together to release an album, essentially to rid themselves
of contract obligations.
That album, simply entitled Morgana Lefay, apparently bears
very little resemblance to any previous work, owing more to
alternative/glam metal.
Lefay continued on until early 2001, when the band announced its
breakup,
but later that year they came back together to start work on new
material.
Finally, in 2004 came word that the legal issues with Black Mark
had been resolved (in fact, they resigned with them)
and thus the band formally reverted back to Morgana Lefay.
