Lefay | The Noise Years | Dissonance Productions

Release Date: May 23^rd, 2025

Format: CD Box Set

Genre: Power Metal

Country: Sweden

Lefay carries a long and tangled story, something typical for Swedish heavy metal circles where bands dissolve, reform, rename themselves, then swing back again. The roots go back to 1986 under the name Damage, later Morgana Lefay, a band that pushed into darker corners of power metal long before it was fashionable. After legal trouble over the Morgana Lefay name, singer Charles Rytkönen and guitarist Tony Eriksson kept the flame alive as Lefay, joined by drummer Robin Engström. These three albums, originally released through Noise Records, capture that era before the Morgana Lefay name returned to them in 2004. Their style pulls threads from heavy metal, doom and power metal, with echoes of Candlemass, Savatage and Nevermore appearing here and there, always filtered through their own gloomy Swedish temperament.

This box set gathers “The Seventh Seal”, “S.O.S.” and the 1999 re-recording of “Symphony Of The Damned”. Hearing the albums together creates a clear portrait of Lefay in their strongest and most driven phase. “The Seventh Seal” strikes as the most atmospheric of the three, full of that shadowy heaviness the band were known for. The songwriting leans toward brooding, almost theatrical storytelling, delivered through Rytkönen’s distinct voice that always carries a dramatic edge. The band move between churning riffs and more open, melodic passages with steady assurance, never rushing, never drifting. It remains a fan favourite for good reason.

“S.O.S.” arrives with a heavier spine, the guitars more aggressive and the themes darker. It has a rawer temperature compared to its predecessor, giving it an undercurrent of tension. The songs bite harder and the general tone feels harsher, yet the melodic instincts are still present in the right places. It stands as the most direct document of their attitude during this period, a snapshot of a band pushing themselves without polishing the roughness out of their work.

The updated version of “Symphony Of The Damned”, originally released in its first form in 1990, closes the set. The band approached the material with respect, strengthening the production while keeping the dramatic character of the early songs intact. The bonus cover tracks at the end add a playful twist, showing what the band could do when stepping outside their usual world. The entire third disc functions as a bridge between eras, placing their earliest ideas alongside the voice and tone they had developed a decade later.

This collection is not simply a repack. It brings together a chapter of the band’s history that often sat in the shadow of the Morgana Lefay name. Hearing these three albums side by side shows how unified their vision was, even across different releases. The included liner notes and interview with Rytkönen add useful context for anyone who wants the bigger story, although the music itself already paints a strong picture.

Score: 7.5