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Certified H00d Classic
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bernie Sanders's yacht
Posts: 6,129
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^^ As much as I enjoy Helloween, I think most people would be hard pressed to find that long of a list of metal records at by the tail end of the 80's as good as Transcendence. Now, however, I'll be moving beyond the classic era, which is interesting on its own merits too. 
This, my friends, is where the story gets unusual...but to really appreciate my following review for Crimson Glory's controversial and bizarre 3rd studio release, you have to appreciate the context from which it arose.
By the summer of 1990 following the band's last major tour with Queensrÿche (who were riding high on a wave of their own thanks to their newly released record Empire, which went Platinum within a year) and Ozzy (who was busy with his own stuff at the time), core members Ben Jackson (guitar) and drummer Dana Burnell both departed simultaneously to pursue projects of their own. While they exited with the blessings of the rest of the band, this left the group with a couple of holes left to fill from out of nowhere.
Furthermore, Transcendence had sold really well and anticipation for an even better follow up albums was in the air. However, two things happened around this period which changed the game overnight.
1. Grunge. Lots of it!
2. CG got themselves a new drummer, a fella named Ravi Jakhotia (a future DJ superstar), who brought a "groovier" less metal-oriented dynamic to the lineup.
3. Lead vocalist Midnight demanded a more active role in the songwriting process. Naturally, the rest of the band let him do whatever he wanted. His favorite genres of music? Glam/funk metal, psychedelic rock...and all that trendy alternative & grunge stuff from Seattle, fascinations which seemed ironic to the rest of the group at the time.
In short, 1990-1991 was an interesting year for any metal band to throw the gauntlet down in studio. The music industry's tectonic plates had literally shifted overnight, and whilst the 'Reich had managed to score a surprise blockbuster in their rock-oriented followup to Operation: Mindcrime with the spacey power ballad 'Silent Lucidity', within six months you were dead meat if you tried to do the same thing. Thus, the question remained: what could a progressive power metal band do in a musical environment that would commercially condemn a second Transcendence before you could snap your fingers and say Cobain?
The answer to that question was 1991's Strange And Beautiful, an album that would prove to be the band's most unusual record...and yet one which finalized their doom as well.
Crimson Glory – Strange And Beautiful (1991)
1. Strange And Beautiful (6:17)
2. Promised Land (5:22)
3. Love And Dreams (5:29)
4. The Chant (3:45)
5. Dance On Fire (5:27)
6. Song For Angels (5:19)
7. In The Mood (5:55)
8. Starchamber (7:28)
9. Deep Inside Your Heart (5:13)
10. Make You Love Me (4:05)
11. Far Away (4:44)
So, pop quiz for my readers: what happens when a progressive metal band gets taken over by their spiritually-minded singer with a huge hard-on for sleaze rock, the RHCP, Faith No More and the first two Jane's Addiction LPs?
Well, that's pretty much Strange And Beautiful in a nutshell, and it's either one of the ballsiest and most underrated left turns of the early 90's or a helluva headscratcher that'll leave you feeling nearly as bamboozled as this album's initial buyers were back upon its release. Either way, this album is so radically different, both in style and in approach, from the 1986 self-titled and Transcendence that it's hard to believe this is the same band that recorded those two records not even half a decade before. The opening title track, for instance, plucks its way into a heavy, glam-oriented groove that would give Guns & Roses a run for their money, strung from high above by Midnight's puppeetered gutteral: it's the same powerful voice we're all familiar with, but his trademark shriekery has been replaced with a scuzzy, slinking sort of quality that drones into your mind in time with those heavy basslines. Unusual, but a great start to an unconventional album!
At this point though, I'm sure any metal fan that bought this album were probably thinking "wtf?". Some may have even wondered if they had bought the wrong record by mistake. And yet, lean in with those ears brothas and sistahs: characteristics of the classic CG sound are still evident here! The acoustic/loud contrasting dynamics especially, not to mention Midnight's voice. It's as good as ever, even if he's channeling Perry Farrell instead of Bruce Dickinson this time around. Different? Yes. Bad? Not at all!
Side one has some great stuff beyond the opener though, particularly 'Promised Land': its a gritty, percussive monster and the best song that Jane's Addiction never wrote. Everybody just rips, giving the song an infectious propulsion that oscillates with a life of its own. Again, nothing like anything the group did in the 80's, but it's still a great song.
Assuming you get used to Midnight's newly discovered inner glam metal/alternative rock muso within the first few tracks, there's plenty of surprises left. 'Songs For Angels' is an Axl Rose-ish ballad: you'll either love it or hate it, lol! 'Chant', 'In The Mood' (which features some sax in the second half) & 'Dance On Fire' are all excellent funk-metal numbers, while the epic 'Starchamber' is something of a throwback to Transcendence's songwriting style, featuring some killer syncopated rhythms and a tasty chorus to boot. It gets quite spacy over its 7 minute run, so be preparrrrrrrred!
So, my verdict: this is a really good album that, unfortunately, had the odds stacked against it from the beginning. Going from progressive/power metal to a heavy glam metal/alternative rock/grunge hybrid style in the space of one record was probably too much for most of the people who had probably gotten on board with the band due to Transcendence and their subsequent tours with Ozzy and Anthrax. Thousands initially bought it based on unrealistic expectations and then subsequently trashed it and spread the word...and in all likelihood without having given the album a proper listen either. Not helping matters were that publications like Kerrang! wouldn't give it a chance either (see where I red-circled in my initial post heading). In short -- a great album that fucked up any possibility for a long-term career for Crimson Glory: Midnight left the band almost immediately upon its release (due to public reception to the album) and went into a self-imposed exile that would last nearly ten years.
Guitarist and band leader Jon Drenning, on the other hand, held what was left of the group together as best he could in light of their iconic singer's departure: he recruited singer David Van Landing and the group toured in support of Strange And Beautiful across the U.S. for the remainder of '91. Funnily enough, they would be opening shows by the end of the year for both Alice In Chains AND Soundgarden.
Despite a fairly successful run, Atlantic (who CG were signed to) stopped promoting them completely. Due to this, Drenning would break Crimson Glory up in 1992, participate in various other bands/projects alongside other ex-CG members, and life would go on. And yet, this was not the end....(TBC)
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