History & Biography This band was formed in Kungsbacka in Sweden in September of 1999 as Thorin. This band played heavy metal cover versions. Robert Willstedt, who was later the drummer, sang and played guitar. The name was changed to Moonlight Sonata in 2000. Martin Mellström joined to sing, but was relegated to the keyboards. Christian Karlsson was the next singer. A demo called Dust emerged two years later under the act’s permanent name. A self-titled demo and a recording called Echoes of A Nightmare, which was also the group’s debut record in 2004, followed this. This album constituted a one story. After singer Simon Hermansson (who had re-recorded the vocals for the demo) and in August of 2003 readying for the debut album Sri Lankan singer Chitral Somapala was recruited. Intromental Management was working with the band now. The company had brought in Somapala. Moonlight Agony performed at the Axefeast festival in Gothenburg and went on a mini tour of Denmark with Doro. Somapala left the act due to “geographic distances.”
Moonlight Agony's second album was called Silent Waters and was recorded at Division One Studio near Gothenburg again with engineer Arnold Lindberg, but this time for the fledgling Dockyard 1 Records. The emergence of a third record was delayed as the band was again searching for a new singer.
The band’s website was hacked by “The Russian Ghost Crew” in 2014.
Reviews MOONLIGHT AGONY - ECHOES OF A NIGHTMARE - MASSACRE/NIGHTMARE
Sweden's Moonlight Agony has issued its first album Echoes Of A Nightmare on, why of course, Nightmare Records and to these ears the band bears hallmarks better associated with German or Finnish bands. The band plays an orchestral music based upon Classical and folk sounds with less emphasis on riffs than melody and rhythm. There are several distinct elements within the band's sound, but the overall mix sounds like the mutant child of Blind Guardian, Freedom Call and Sonata Arctica. The vocals occupy both the mid and high ranges and are favoured by the mix. Guitar solos and the bass are suppressed in favour of the singing and the keyboards. The album's finest song is the album's closer Vanished., yet overall this is recommended to symphony fans and not to metal enthusiasts. - Ali "The Metallian"
MOONLIGHT AGONY - SILENT WATERS - DOCKYARD 1 
Leaving Solitude starts off and the first impression is of the band occupying a space between Evergrey, Dream Theatre and Sonata Arctica. You Betrayed Me includes higher tempo moments, but often falls back into the slow, generic progressive mold. Soulless is ineffective for the effects around the guitars and vocals hinder it. Through The Desert Storm is a dark, almost borderline gothic song. The Dark Era is a very simple song that is neither boring nor exceptional. I’m Alive features a piano intro and as its title suggests tries to be uplifting amidst gloom. Room 101 is more commercial musically. Different Stories offers more tempo and excitement. The Blood Red Sails is again less effective and often unoriginal. Solemn Waters features female vocals by Sara Kvist, but otherwise it’s a close match to what preceded it. - Anna Tergel
Interviews
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