STILL CHASING FOR...
THE ANGEL IN MY NIGHTMARE
CRIMSON GLORY
formed in 1983
and turned heads
with their two albums
during the 1980s
“Crimson Glory”
in 1986
and
“Transcendance”
in 1988.
As well as being
prominent albums
in the USPM
(US Power Metal) scene,
these albums were also
massively influential
on the progressive
power metal sound.
One big draw were
the quite frankly
astonishing vocals
from their frontman
Midnight
who had a range the
vast majority of singers
would be envious of.
The band released a
divisive album
“Strange And Beautiful”
in 1991
before disbanding
the same year.
They would return in 1999
(minus Midnight)
who had sadly passed away
with the fourth album
“Astronomica”
before disbanding
once again.
They have reappeared
infrequently throughout
the last twenty odd years
with live performances
but 2026
sees long awaited
new material
from
Crimson Glory
with their fifth album
“Chasing The Hydra”.
Three original members
of the band remain
from the original days
Jeff Lords
on bass,
Dana Burnell
on drums
and
Ben Jackson
on guitars
but
“Chasing The Hydra”
introduces some
new blood
to the
Crimson Glory ranks
with
Mark Borgmeyer
on guitars
and
Travis Wills
on vocals.
This line up
has been performing live
for the past couple of years
so the chemistry is there
but does the band's
first new material
in 26 years
stand up to their
previous output?
Though there are a
few throwbacks
to their classic material
(the intro of the title track
is very similar to
‘Red Sharks’
from 1988),
This is for the majority some
mid-paced,
melodic and
progressive heavy metal
with songs such as
‘Redden The Sun’,
the eastern inspired
‘Indelible Ashes’
and
‘Beyond The Unknown’
being solid
heavy metal
with plenty of
melody and relying on
interesting progressive
song structures
rather than hooks
and choruses.
There are a few songs
which are a bit more
driving and
heavy sounding
such as
‘Armor Against Fate’,
‘Pearls Of Dust’
and the title track
which help kick
the album into gear.
Travis Wills
may not be as
strong a vocalist as
Midnight was
(but very few are)
but there are plenty
of songs which
play to his strengths
as a singer with
‘Angel In My Nightmare’
being a
particular highlight
and one
of the
strongest songs
on the album.
BRAND NEW CHECK IT OUT !!
Line-up / Musicians
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