STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL

Well, it's the 90's (1991 to be exact), and the mainstream music trends are shifting dramatically. The majority of metal bands are going through an identity crisis while trying to adapt to the rising grunge scene, or, at the very least, avoid being killed off by it. And progressive/power metal band Crimson Glory are no exception.

Sadly, Crimson Glory's attempt at remaining relevant didn't go over too well, with the band's sound taking a bit of a hybrid hair metal/grunge turn. It reeks of early 90's rock, reminiscent of bands like Extreme or Ugly Kid Joe, but still maintaining their own distinctive style of riffing. But there's so many things here that just didn't stick well with fans.

There's more "chants" and big chorus's with female backing vocals, there's organs, tribal drums, even a bloody saxophone solo! Then there's a brief musical passage in the song 'Starchamber' that sounds almost identical to the chorus of 'Kid Ego' by the aforementioned Extreme. It's always great to see a band experiment with their music, but sometimes it just doesn't work out for the better, and in 1991, this could just have easily been considered desperation to adapt, as opposed to a genuine desire to try new things.

It's all a moot point either way, because unless you were Metallica or Guns 'n' Roses at that time, you were pretty much screwed.

It's all not bad though, songs like 'The Chant' (which is actually an awesome tune), 'In the Mood', 'Strange and Beautiful', 'Promise Land' and 'Love and Dreams' are all fairly good and catchy pieces that makes this album worth looking out for if you're a fan of the band, but certainly nothing of any real importance is on offer here.

Overall, 'Strange and Beautiful' was never going to win over any new fans, but it's certainly an interesting release. Some of the songs can tend to drag at times, but for the most part, it's a decent effort. Sadly, it signalled the end of Crimson Glory's run as a legit band, as, other than a brief comeback album in 1999, the band have done nothing of relevance since.