CRIMSON

Edge of Sanity,hailing from Sweden,is one of the bands headed by musical genius Dan Swano.Crimson is a masterpiece,the whole album is one long song that clocks in at a hefty 40 minutes and never once shirks on quality.This album will weave it's spell on you from the beginning.It's wonderfully structured,telling the story of a dark,alien society and its struggles with an evil queen and morbid energies.It's full of riff after great riff and alternates between nice acoustic passages,very heavy,ominous ones and complex speed riffs combined with the subtle use of keyboards.Some of the sections repeat throughout the album,which gives recognizable motifs between the unique,singularly occurring passages,giving the whole album clarity and cohesion.Every part of this album is necessary and perfect,and every vocal line is delivered with the wonderful alternating growls and clean singing of Swano.The band plays perfectly,and Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth fame makes a guest appearance,contributing some vocals and lead guitar. One of the best progressive death metal albums ever recorded,and a must have for progressive metal fans.I don't give albums 5 stars often,but to give this album any less would be a crime.5 stars.