Music Banter - View Single Post - The Anthill 2.0: Albums, Artists & The Chance To Win A Million Dollars!

Anteater · 07-10-2013, 03:06 PM

Looks like some of my usual pals are onboard, woooh! On that note, lets start things off the way they're supposed to start: with great music! Introducing: a spotlight feature on one of heavy metal's more unappreciated 80's innovators, the magnificent Crimson Glory!

Quote:

Turgid blue-stained smoke billows across the vast stage of the Manatee Civic Center in Bradenton, FL. Blacklights pour across the venue, the effect lessening only as a group of cape-clad figures rise up from the smoke. A great sign above the hallucinogenic lights has PHANTOMS OF THE OPERA in bloody letters, twisting where the miasma curls in livid movements across its surface. A crowd of thousands screams as the tallest of the band steps forth to the microphone. Face concealed from the eyes of the onlookers by a sinister silver mask, he shrieks like a banshee into the night-

"Waves pound the gloomy shores, I watch them roll
Across my feet so warm.
I know she's waiting there for meeeeeeeee!"

Crimson Glory had arrived.

Every story, no matter the band, has to start somewhere: ours begins in 1982. The place: Sarasota, Florida. In the ensuing years of the decade from this point, the state would spawn wonderful bands such as Iced Earth, not to mention an entire genre unto itself (death metal). But I digress: those years had not yet arrived. Magic, however, was in the air: the burgeoning NWOBHM movement was inspiring many talented people across the pond (and the world) to form outfits of their own. One such group of misfits went by the lovable moniker known as Beowulf, led primarily by (after a bunch of hectic lineup changes) young guitar virtuosos Jon Drenning and an enigmatic, five-octave ranged singer simply known as Midnight. Ooooh. Eventually changing their name to Crimson Glory, they subsequently began ripping through Iron Maiden, Tank and Judas Priest material like no tomorrow in live after live performance as they pursued a unique sound of their own from '82-'86, where they were finally signed by young label Roadrunner Records for the recording of their self-titled. And thus the beginnings of a progressive metal legend had begun, but questions still remain: just how far could these guys go? What makes them so special compared to the heavy metal greats? And perhaps most importantly of all....what's with the silver masks?

I will be answering all of these inquiries AND MOREEEE as I review each of their 4 record studio records, starting with the self titled and ending with 1999's "comeback" record Astronomica. In all seriousness though: these guys are a very special band: alongside Fates Warning and the classic Queensrÿche lineup, they spearheaded a bridge approach between atmospheric 70's art rock and thrash metal to spawn the first wave of the genre known as "progressive" metal. Of the pioneering bands though, CG have the lowest profile...hence why they're being spotlit. In any case, enjoy the reviews!

Crimson Glory – Crimson Glory (1986)

Quote:

Locked in this attic,
Been here so many years.
Shanna won't set me free...
She says I'm evil, but then she doesn't know I'm not pretending, ooh, no, not me!

Full moon's reflecting a face in the mirror.
Twisted and bleeding,
No, you can't be real!
No you're all in my mind!
Shades of insanity (You're not me, You're not me!)

Life in the attic (I like my rocking chair)
Staring in shadows,
Crouched in the corner-
Waiting for something,
Laughing at nothing.
No one there.
And on and on I wonder,
Is there more -- what is life beyond the attic door?

CG - 'Lost Reflections'

1. Valhalla (3:50)
2. Dragon Lady (4:27)
3. Heart Of Steel (6:13)
4. Azrael (5:38)
5. Mayday (3:02)
6. Queen Of The Masquerade (5:28)
7. Angels Of War (5:28)
8. Lost Reflections (4:50)
9. Dream Dancer (6:54)

Four years is a long time to hold a group of individuals together when you aren't signed and opening for larger acts that happen to come through Florida on their way to L.A. or wherever the biggies happened to be going at the time, but 1986 was the breakout year for Crimson Glory: they contracted with Roadrunner and went right into studio with many songs in tow that, by this point, they knew better than whatever Metallica cover they'd been jamming the previous night. And what very very good songs they are indeed!

The second you turn this sucker on to opening number 'Valhalla', several things become immediately apparent. The first is the clear yet vibrant guitar work of Jon Drenning, anchored by some haunting keys and the killer bass of Jeff Lords. The second is the unusually distinctive and listenable voice of Midnight: his lower register is scratchy with a knotty, almost bluesy bite to it, but when he suddenly goes up three or four octaves in the space of mere seconds, his talent is frightening to behold: this guy is right up there with the best who've ever taken the mic in realms heavy metal, Dio and Dickinson and Halford included. This was a man who was born to sing about dark gods beyond space-time, mystical women of dubious intent and the terrible fates dealt to those who seek madness of their own volition, and boyyy does he sell it!

Still, it's not all quiet/loud dynamics and walking that eerie tightrope between the primordial acoustic and pounding rancor. The band cuts loose with the very NWOBHMish 'Dragon Lady' early on in the album and even throw the Judas Priest crowd a bone with headbanger 'Queen Of The Masquerade' at the midway point.

In short, this was an incredible debut from a band that literally came out of nowhere, regardless of what genre bus you throw it under. Great dynamics and music matched, perhaps, only by The Warning from Queensrÿche back in '84 (which was also a monster debut). The band toured successfully in the aftermath of its release too, intriguing audiences in the U.S. and Europe with full silver-mask regalia as a way to cement their visual and musical identity in a year where the Big Four had begun ascending and glam metal was all the rage. And yet the band knew they could go even further, reach higher. Two years went by.... (TBC)