Crimson Glory: Strange and Beautiful (remaster)

Now that Florida's Crimson Glory have reunited recently, it's fitting that this remaster from Metal Mind Productions & Roadrunner Records falls into our lap. The band, who burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut in 1986, released this third album in 1991, which was a drastic departure from their Queensryche inspired progressive/power metal that they displayed on their first two releases. Strange and Beautiful, which saw the band without original members Ben Jackson (guitar) and Dana Burnell, offers up a different variety of sounds, from the complex prog-metal of the epic title track, to the bluesy crunch of "Promise Land", to the almost folky ballad of "Love and Dreams". Returning guitarist Jon Drenning and lead vocalist Midnight decided to lose the silver masks that the band had previously worn, and write songs that had more emotion, more ethnic flavor, and relied more on textures and different musical styles than metal cliches. For the most part it really worked here, like on the Deep Purple inspired guitar/organ romp of "Chant", or the ballsy guitar crunch of "In the Mood". However, the album is not without a few stinkers, like the generic pop rock of "Dance on Fire", or the sappy ballad "Song For Angels", two songs that must have really shocked fans at the time of this albums release. For many, the band's decision to move away from progressive metal to a more Led Zeppelin flavored attack on "Starchamber" must have seemed an odd choice, but in actuality this direction somewhat echoed Queensryche's drastic shift on their album Rage For Order. Their mix of Guns 'N' Roses raunch and Whitesnake blues metal on "Make You Love Me" is another example of this shift in style-it works, but is shocking considering how the first two Crimson Glory albums sounded. In the case of Queensryche, their move from up and coming heavy prog metallers to glammy rockers on Rage For Order ( a very good album) was also a bit shocking in its suddeness.

Strange and Beautiful, regardless of how much of a different sounding Crimson Glory album it is, still sees the band in fine form and delivering a quality product. Midnight as always sounds great with his powerful and rich Geoff Tate-styled vocals, and Drenning's guitar riffs and solos are masterful. The addition of Indian drummer Ravi Jakhotia added pleny of Middle Eastern flavors to many of the songs, which was a new element that the band never had before. While there are a few weak cuts, for the most part this is a solid album that is worth investigating if you didn't check it out initially upon its release 16 years ago. This remaster comes in a nice digipack with lyrics and album info.

Track Listing
1. Strange and Beautiful
2. Promise Land
3. Love and Dreams
4. Chant
5. Dance on Fire
6. Song for Angels
7. In the Mood
8. Starchamber
9. Deep Inside Your Heart
10. Make You Love Me
11. Far Away

Added: May 1st 2007
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Crimson Glory Website
Hits: 3740
Language: english

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