Artist: Crimson Glory
Label: Spitfire
Release Date: 10/19/99
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Title: Astronomica Artist: Crimson Glory Label: Spitfire Release Date: 10/19/99 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
These guys are still around? Hells yes, and they have a brand new slab of high screechin' power metal that they want to thrust down your throat. When I was told that this album would be this week's assignment, I had a feeling my colleagues had a curl to their lips, as they thought that Abyss would most definitely slag it - I mean c'mon a washed up power metal band? I have a feeling they were awaiting a merciless onslaught, and I'm somewhat sorry that I must disappoint them. Don't get me wrong, power metal is cheesy by definition. Now before I get a whole bunch of emails from devoted power rockers telling me how closed-minded I am, let me explain that cheesy is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, take a killer band like Maiden, look at them in their spandex years, singing of mythology and time travel, and tell me there is no cheese factor involved. What we must do, if we want to be somewhat selective, is to separate the finely aged Vermont-style cheddar type of cheese from the Velveeta. And cheesy persists throughout the metal genres (except of course black metal, because corpsepaint and black robes are soooo scary) so let's take it for what it is and get to the music.
"Listen to them twice and try not to sing along, fuck, you might as well try to eat just one Lay's." These guys are neither washed up nor old, if this album is anything to go by. Their strongest point (which has to be the focus of any power metal outfit if they want to be successful, in my opinion) is their strong grasp of melody. The majority of these songs get you singing along with them after just a few listens. But be forewarned, trying to actually sing along with their lead vocalist, Wade Black, may not be such a healthy thing for your vocal chords. This boy has a range on him, I tell you what! Many of my friends who are in love with this genre compare him to Halford, but, in all honesty, I tend to think more of the vocal stylings from Slaughter, and even Cinderella, in the higher parts. Now due to the generally agreed upon lameness of these bands, many may think this is meant as a cut, but that's not the case, it is just for a sincere frame of reference.
The weakest parts of this album are the power ballads (of course), and the few on here are successful in varying degrees. They have the standard honey dripping, acoustic accompanied, soulful vocals that eventually switch in to electric guitars come chorus time (as if halfway through the song they remembered "Hey, we're a metal band"). "Edge of Forever" is the less successful of these, being far from offending (sounds a little like some Skid Row), but nothing to get excited about. "The Other Side of Midnight" is much more interesting even if the first half kind of annoys me, and "Cydonia" is quite beautiful, but reeks of marketability. Where this album really hits the mark are the more uptempo tracks, "New World Machine" and the title track. This is where power metal shines; in its ability to be anthemic. Listen to them twice and try not to sing along, fuck, you might as well try to eat just one Lay's. The musicianship is quite competent, but refrains from trying to force you into being impressed, which is quite a good thing. It's as if they know that the vocals are the main focus of this band. My only real complaint is the vocals can be a little too piercing at times. I mean, let's face it, there's only a certain range in which it's comfortable for humans to listen to sound, and Mr. Black is much closer to that edge than most. While it's a definite asset, and is used well in some areas, it can become tiring over the course of the whole album. But hell, that means I'll just listen to it a few songs at a time, because this one is worth the pain.
Death's Review:
In the mid-to-late eighties, there were several post-Priest / post-Queensryche thrash-era "power metal bands with high pitched vocalists" looking for their niche in the musical landscape. Bands like Agent Steel, Realm, and perhaps even Fates Warning battled for our attention, but one of the most high profile and commercially ambitious of these groups was a Florida outfit known as Crimson Glory. Vocalist Midnight was the singer of choice for many underground afficionados back then, and their 1989 release Transcendence is considered a classic to this day. Surely, it wasn't until 1992's Atlantic Records misfire Strange and Beautiful that fans of this style generally stopped paying attetion.
Fast forward seven years -- news of an imminent Crimson Glory reformation hits the metal wires. Interesting, I think, but like the forthcoming new Agent Steel record, the reunion is presumptively less important without the presence of Midnight, the vocalist the band was primarily famous for in the first place. With so much metal and so little time, it took me a month or two to finally sit down and focus on the new Crimson Glory release, Astronomica. When I finally did, I was blown away. I'm sorry I waited so long.
"When I finally sat down and focused on the new Crimson Glory release, I was blown away. I'm sorry I waited so long." Leaving aside the band's past, Astronomica stands on its own two feet by filling a relative void in the current metal scene. The album's ten tracks constitute a collection of technically proficient, intelligent and complex music fronted by a masterful vocal gymnast, all the while held together with memorable songwriting and a commercial-pop sensibility that actually works within the power metal context. Since "the dark days of metal" in the early-to-mid nineties forced acts to solidify a core audience on either one side of the "catchiness" fence or the other, the hook-laden metal album with dark but potentially radio-friendly METAL ballads has become an unfortuante byproduct of the decade's musical cleansing. Bands could no longer afford to straddle the fence: you were either a hardcore metal band, totally eschewing the mainstream and spitting in the face of commercial sensibility, or you turned grunge or electronic hip-hop or something and shed your metallic skin. Crimson Glory has done neither, and, as a result, listening to Astronomica turns out to a be a refreshing and brilliant reunion that should not be ignored.
Taking nothing from the returning Drenning / Lords songwriting team, or the surprising return of former Savatage drummer Doc Killdrums, much of Astronomica's success can be attributed to the incredible performance of new vocalist Wade Black. At times extremely Halfordian (or is that more of a Ripper Owens type voice? Hard to separate the two sometimes!), at others sounding more like Ray Alder from Fates Warning, still other times invoking a touch of Layne Stayley or even Udo Dirkschnider, all sweetened a bit with a poppier sound like the guy from Slaughter or perhaps Great White, Black has delivered one of the last great metal vocal performances of the twentieth century. An incredible amalgamation of varied styles wrapped within a consistently focused and tight metallic presentation, Black's performance does more than mere justice to the hallowed Crimson Glory name: it ascends the legacy to heretofore unscaled heights.
The album opens with the powerful and straightforward instrumental "March to Glory." The sampled historical speeches and cautionary warnings interspersed throughout set the stage for the balance of the record nicely, and the harmonized guitar march which drives the instrumentation solidifies the album's power-metal sound early.
"Drenning's solo just plain rips like the best solos do: you wish you had just busted out with that one yourself." Blending right into "War of the Worlds," kicked off by the first and possibly most-intense Wade Black scream of record, the heaviest moment of Astronomica is immediately upon us. For some, this song is the peak. For me, it is actually standard-issue enough to render it one of the record's weaker moments. If I want thrashiness, Crimson Glory is not where I'm really looking. "New World Machine," comes closer to the album's brilliance. A simple harmonized guitar line drives a pulsating rythym, led by Lords' talented bass (appearing notably high in the mix for a metal record). But it is Black's Halford-meets-Dirkschnider delivery, particularly toward the end of the track, which demands repeated listens at high volumes after heavy drinking. The guy smokes.
Then comes one of the album's highlights: "Astronomica." Without regrad to the often silly space-alien lyrics (e.g., "Stretched beyond the limits, Out into the unknown, No words that I can give it, Except 'my mind is blown.' ") the dynamics and utter groove of this track are absolutely brilliant. I want to hear this riff over and over again. Drenning's solo here just plain rips like the best solos do: you wish you had just busted out with that one yourself. But once again, Black steals the show. Great vocal dynamics and emoting shine throughout the song. Regardless of the ultimate path of the reunited Crimson Glory, Wade Black should be noticed.
Track five is the first true power ballad of the record, "The Edge of Forever." This is the type of dark, wistful, yet catchy power ballad perhaps invented with Priest and "Beyond the Realms of Death," butchered incessantly by later-era bands like the Scorpions and ultimately effectively killed by bands like Slaughter and other MTV glam favorites. But when these songs were done right, like some of Testament's pre-Demonic work, Savatage's concept-closing moments or even Pantera's "Cemetary Gates," the metallic power ballad can achieve a passion and drama that can't always be summoned as easily by other types of song structures. "The Edge of Forever," and to a lesser extent the sugar-sweet album closer "Cydonia,"" gracefully achieve this lost art, and their doing so is much appreciated, at least by this listener.
"Touch the Sun" is a middle-eastern harmonic-minor riff-fest that reminds one of Ripper Owens or Ray Alder fronting 2112-era Rush. "Lucifer's Hammer" is a bit heavier than the rest, and shows off some of Black's more Halford-esque moments, perhaps from say the Fight-era. Listening to him bellow "Slam down my hammer!!" still sends chills down my spine twenty listens in. "The Other Side of Midnight" begins with a very quiet and introspective vocal, where Black gets to display drama on the scale of Warrel Dane or early Tate. The song really serves as an instrumental bed for Black's dynamic mental deterioration until it breaks down and tapers off into early Alice Cooper style dementia. Sick.
"Keep an eye on Black's career. "Cyber-Christ" likely only hints at what he is capable of." "Cyber-Christ" starts out incredibly heavy, and quickly flattens out into early Alice in Chains down and dirty blues. Of course, this morphs almost instantly into inspired high-pitched Halfordian bellowing. These combinations are utterly amazing displays. I have never heard anything from Black prior to this, but perhaps he is only getting started with this record, perhaps he is only beginning to get comfortable with the band or what he can do in a big-time recording studio. If so, keep an eye on his career. "Cyber-Christ" likely only hints at what he is capable of.
"Cydonia" is kind of a strange closer, as it is surely one of Astronomica's most commercial tracks. The hook is so sweet you can't rip it from your head if you tried. But its haunting beauty in many ways is the perfect ending to this strange little gem of a record. How Mr. Drenning decided that this kind of record could fly in 1999 is not really all that important. The fact that he did is good enough for me. Bravo.
Hel's Review:
Overall, I have to say this is a very strong album. Definitely talented musicians plus big variety equals good record. How good would be the question to address...
The introduction, "March to Glory," would be a mood-setting beginning if I weren't constantly wondering if my phone was ringing. And it just somehow seems overdone. I try to imagine soliders marching and I see Nazis a 'la "Hogans Heroes." Sheesh.
"As a general rule, I like metal bands that sing about aliens." Each song has its own distinct identity. The vocalist lends strongly to this feel. For instance, one song he'll sound just like King Diamond, the next Geoff Tate. Frequently, these differing vocal styles will occur within the same song. Add in the distinct tone and mood created by these talented musicians and you've got a lot of variety.
As a general rule, I like metal bands that sing about aliens. It's something different and lends itself easily to metal. Unfortunately, Crimson Glory goes over the edge with the ultra-extended bonus track of alien sighting reports. I'm not really sure how long it goes on for, but it's really much longer than I can stand.
So the beginning and end are really what I have taken points off for. Both are overdone in their own special way. And I gotta knock one skull off for each of these transgressions.
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