iArtist: Crimson Glory
Title: “Transcendence” (reissue/remaster)
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Release Date: 4/15/2008
Genre: Progressive Metal
Rating: 5/5
If there was ever an album that I was dying to find a remaster done for then it would most certainly be Crimson Glory’s sophomore release “Transcendence”. Originally released by Roadrunner Records in 1988 this album is nothing less than a Progressive Metal masterpiece from beginning to end, and when Metal Mind Productions announced their plans on reissuing it I was very excited to say the least. The Florida band had been impressing fans of Progressive Metal for a couple of years now with an intense musical and visual presentation that began with their self titled debut album “Crimson Glory”. The band sported big hair and instruments and wore silver masks to conceal their faces but beyond the imagery we found out just how good they could play and it made the debut one of the strongest of its kind for the day. “Transcendence” takes us to the next logical step as the bands explorations into the realms that they first presented us with on their self-titled album grow ever more interesting and involved. The album, while musically along the same lines as their first (thought perhaps a little more locked in and melodic), found one major change in their visuals. As the early photos demonstrate, the band wore full face silver masks and only singer Midnight had his mouth exposed in order to sing with more ease than having it covered. By the time “Transcendence” was released the band had discovered that performing with faces covered was quite hot and difficult to do so they would move to donning half face masks that were very reminiscent of something out of the Phantom of the Opera. Each of these new masks was slightly different from each other and with it I felt that it added new levels of drama to them as opposed to taking any of it away. Thinking back on the original album I remembered that I never owned this release on vinyl and instead had only been able to find it on cassette tape back in the day and according to research it had never been on CD until around 2001.
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Artist: Crimson Glory
Title: “Crimson Glory” (reissue/remaster)
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Release Date: 4/15/2008
Genre: Progressive Metal
Rating: 4/5
Originally released by Roadrunner Records in 1986, the self-titled debut of Sarasota Florida’s Crimson Glory is a welcome addition to any Progressive Metal fans music library. Now made available as a special limited edition reissue/remaster from Metal Mind Productions, those who have longed for such a release to see the light of day will be really happy and those who had only heard of the band in references from others can see just what made them so special in the first place. Crimson Glory was a band who combined powerful melodies and technical musical ability with soaring lead and harmony vocals along with an image that would be as impressive as it was imposing in the visual sense. Sporting full-face silver masks with the exception of the singer whose mouth was exposed, the band was an intriguing mystery on the live stage and like KISS was never photographed without their signature masks. Musically they call us back to a time when Progressive Metal was still in its formative years and should you be a fan that focused on early Queensryche and Fates Warning then you would definitely be on board for the kind of presentation that Crimson Glory brought to the table. Their debut release was self-titled and this worked with a name as impressive and standout as theirs was. They offered up an intricate level of playing ability which was not as common in the bigger Rock scene of the day as Glam Rock was in full swing and when Crimson Glory first came on the scene many of the popular bands were carbon copies of the band who did the same exact thing before them and so on etc. Instead Crimson Glory chose to be different and sing about subjects which were far deeper than a soap opera meant for the Sunset Strip. We find this in tracks like “Valhalla” and “Dragon Lady” where the group takes us to different worlds full of mysticism and atmosphere. Fronted by the mysterious lead singer Midnight, we walk through realms of shadows and time and look forward to each adventure.
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Artist: Crimson Glory
Title: “Astronomica” (Deluxe Edition)
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Release Date: 11/30/2006
Genre: Melodic Power Metal
Rating: 4/5
The masks had gone away with the album “Strange And Beautiful” and the sun had risen on their former singer Midnight, who decided to leave the group just after its release. They would replace him with Wade Black – a powerful vocalist in his own right, who would bring an excellent level of intensity to the group at the same time. Drummer Dana Burnell was also gone and in his place was Steve “Doctor Killdrums” Wacholz (who many know from Savatage). Despite these changes Crimson Glory was able to remain a supremely powerful Melodic Metal force albeit a more refined and determined one. No gimmicks and costumes just incredible levels of Metal and musical expression. From the original lineup only Jackson, Drenning and Lords remained and they would surely not let the band fall by the wayside with mere membership changes. With Astromonica the band would show that they were far more than image and instead proficient players. Black’s growling voice and intense presence raised the level of aggression in the band and provided them with a little more edge than they had in the past. Songs like “War Of The Worlds” and “Lucifer’s Hammer” would present their fans with a Crimson Glory that was back and determined to take no prisoners.
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