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Moritz: About Time Too
Moritz - About Time Too CD Album Review

Moritz: About Time Too

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR
3.5/5.0

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Shadows Of A Dream Records
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 26.07.2017

The somewhat obscure, and short-lived, late Eighties UK band Moritz resurrected themselves in 2007, and then successfully released Undivided in 2010. The album was well-received in the AOR melodic rock world, but that would be my last experience with them. Away to the one off wonders bin of music history, I thought. Or not. With the arrival of this year's About Time Too, I discovered the band produced another album, SOS in 2013. Moritz apparently is hanging tough.

Moritz Band Photo

Moritz

To back up a bit, born in the late Eighties, Moritz plays classic melodic hard rock neatly packaged in an AOR wrapper. Their sound has all the proper elements of the genre: melodic and clean vocal arrangements, twin guitar harmony, sizzling guitar solos, hooks in arrangement and refrains, and a solid rhythm section delivering the groove. One additional twist can be added to the mixture. Moritz can easily drop in a metal edge to their sound. You'll find this within One More Beautiful Day, Take It On The Chin, Unwanted Man, and Run. Yet that last song finds Moritz juxtaposing heavy parts with lighter vocal segues.

Alternatively, most of the other songs turn more on AOR accessibility like Moon And Back with it's catchy chorus or Chance Of A Lifetime with its warm vocal harmonies. Then there's Own Little World which is driven largely by voice and piano, before cranking up the rock at the midpoint. Similar is the ballad Forever Is, where it's mostly voice over acoustic guitar, building then to a sharp guitar solo. Finally, Moritz gets their sweltering blues groove on with You Don't Know What Love Is, with vocalist Peter Scallan giving a passionate performance and the guitar solo kills.

In some sense, About Time Too seems fractured in musical styles as if Moritz was conflicted between hard rock heaviness and AOR friendliness. Conversely, you could call this an album of diverse and various songs with a common bond: the thread of essential and classic AOR melodic hard rock. Yet, I was left with another conundrum. As much as I enjoyed the songs, in their parts or as a whole, I can say that only a few tracks stuck with me. Which makes me wonder if About Time Too will make a return to my rotation after this review. Nevertheless, if you're a fan of Moritz, following them with some musical satisfaction, you will likely enjoy About Time Too and the AOR melodic hard rock within.



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The Bottom Line

If you're a fan of Moritz, following them with some musical satisfaction, you will likely enjoy About Time Too and the AOR melodic hard rock within.

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