Review: Crimson Glory- S/t

Country: USA
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Release Year: 1986
Label: Roadrunner Records
Format: LP, CD, Tape
Buy it from: Amazon.com | NoRemorse Records


When I decided to write for this precious gem, I found myself facing a tough question. “What to be written and what to be left for thy imagination?” about this outstanding piece of extraterrestrial music.

Coming out from Sarasota, Florida, and not from a parallel universe as you might think when you first hear these tunes, the debut album of this legendary band sieged the fortress of eternal feelings of every metal lover in the known universe. Five masked men, deliver through their skills, something more than quality music. Through their lyrical performance and the unbelievable high-pitched vocals, symptoms of nervous breakdown are observed and a significant number of disorders in one's eternal world are witnessed.

But let’s get it started. Once you get your hands on the CD or the LP, you find yourself staring at the cover artwork. A stainless-steeled mask is reflecting the band’s logo and its surrounding roses. That’s where you say “that’s gonna be weird”. Well, you’re partly right…

Opening song: Valhalla. And you’re there! From the very first second of the album you get conquered by flawless guitars coming out of one of the greatest guitars-twin on this planet, Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson; power metal at its glory.
Then comes one lady who breaths fire, the Dragon Lady with headbanging rhythms, screaming guitars, a “Dragon Invasion” by one single lady; simple and complicated as that.
Heart of steel is on the line. It is a song that’s more than a song. It is a song that’s motivating, something to give you strength, to make you invincible, to give you a heart of steel. Words can’t describe the magnificence of this monument of steel.

Coming next from the depths of Hell is the Azrael. A mystified intro, a magic whisper, and BOOM! Ice-Cutting guitars, pounding drums and a doomed bassline, combined together to bring you the “ángel de la muerte”. A combination of darkness and light causes heat transfer through convection, inside your body. Your heartbeat rate is increased just to get ready for the next one… Mayday! You needed to be warmed up because this one requires tons of headbanging. Speed Metal I could say.
…And here comes the Queen of the Masquerade. Bow to Her majesty! Vocal-oriented anthem with the companion of, guess what, gorgeous guitars (for once again).

Just before the end, follow the Holy Angels of War. This patrol from the Heavens, with their sharpened swords, are here to defend against evil, ride through the valley of shadows of death, and fight the demons that come out of the final track of the record.
Lost reflection. Confessions, psychological outburst, gloomy scenario build in a locked attic, a mirror, and a childhood full of clawing on a locked door. It is a terror not to be lived. A nightmare! The moment at 3:03 is, in my humble opinion, the greatest outburst of feelings that have ever existed in a song.

Long live the memory of the Huge and Titan Midnight! May you rest in peace my friend. Thank you for all the moments, joyful or not, that you were there with your voice. You’ll NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!
In conclusion, this is ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVER ALBUMS.

Michalis "Starchild" Benakis