CRIMSON GLORY

"Crimson Glory" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Crimson Glory. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in October 1986. Crimson Glory was formed in 1979 under the Pierced Arrow monicker but changed their name to Beowulf in 1982, before finally settling on the Crimson Glory monicker in 1983. While not all five members had been part of the early lineups of the band, Crimson Glory were in 1986 already quite an experienced act...

...and that is audible while listening to the album, which features high level musicianship on all posts. Stylistically the music is melodic US power metal and artists like early Queensrÿche and early Fates Warning are valid references. That means powerful heavy metal riffing, blistering solos and melodic lead themes, a pounding organic rhythm section, and the extremely high pitched vocals by Midnight in front. He is an incredibly skilled vocalist with great power and a commanding delivery, and while his helium screams are usually what people mention he does deliver really convincing and more raw mid- range vocals too. Not enough great things can be said about his performance here. He certainly is a vocalist extraordinaire (just take a listen to his performance on tracks like "Heart Of Steel" and "Mayday" for a display of his incredible skills). The rest of the band follow suit though and the instrumental performances on the album are also of incredibly high class.

The material featured on the 8 track, 38:51 minutes long album is well written and quite catchy US power/heavy metal tracks. Crimson Glory are often linked to the early 80s progressive metal scene, but it´s not often they leave the classic vers/chorus formula. Not that it matters though, because they master that formula to perfection. Another strength of the album is the great energy that is present in the music and the good balance between melody and rawness. The album features a powerful and well sounding production too, and upon conclusion it´s a very strong debut album by Crimson Glory. When the quality is as high as it is here, it´s simply wrong using the word promising to describe the album (which is often a word used about debut albums). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)