Song Reviews

Crimson Glory-"Lonely" rating-10.0/10.0
from Transcendence (1988)

This song took my breath away the first time I heard it, it has a pure sound to it. The vocalist, Midnight, has a very powerful voice that explodes with waves of emotion. He will hold you within his spell for the duration of this masterpiece. Vocalist Jon Drenning manages to squeeze every ounce of sheer sadness and misery out of that guitar, even though the entire song has this uplifting sound. It does not take much digging into the song to feel the depth of the emotion that is encased within. The opening is very soft with layers of acoustic guitar that remind me of drops of rain, and then Midnight's vocals enter into the quiet, and then just as he spirals his voice to the top then the background shatters, unleashing a wall of sound...and you are swept away into a musical, magical world beyond. It is very difficult to describe the overall feel of this song,, it had a very strong impact on me, and I have heard nothing like it before, and have a feeling I never will again. Devote your entire attention to it, and just let it take over your mind for its duration. Personally this is one of my all time favorites, and I highly recommend it.

Shadow Gallery-"Crystalline Dream" rating-8.5/10.0
from Carved In Stone (1995)

The title was what intrigued me about this song, it has such a gorgeous name that brings to mind images of such mystical beauty I just had to hear it. The lyrics are some of the most beautiful that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. It begins with piano and keyboard that creates images of the sun quickly glinting off of the surface of crystal icicles in the way it makes a swiftly tinkering sound, then the drums kick in, removing the listener from the serene dream into a Dream Theater sounding song, only with a better vocalist, the lyrics further painting pictures of long forgotten dreams. The repetitive drum and guitar rhythms are soon joined by a chorus of voices aiding the vocalist in the spotlight and then later moving into the chorus, which to me, is the entire reason for listening to this song. The lyrics change from the fantastic paintings of a dream, into the reality of a true love found, only to be turned into a dream again. "and the moment that we touch our love turns into a crystalline dream" The guitar solo breaks the song out of the Dream Theater-esque drum rhythm, which becomes a pleasant surprise, since it reminds me of a gleeful squeal before breaking into one of the prettiest guitar solos I have heard in quite awhile, then the drums and a very Deep Purplish keyboard rhythm take over, and then the chrous kicks back in shortly after, to be repeated several times and then moving into the finale. An uplifting song, that will definitely get alot of repeat play.

TNT-"Fallen Angel" 10/10
from Intuition (1989)

This song starts out with a bang and keeps up the happy pace all the way through. It reminds me some of Joe Lynn Turner's material from "Rescue You", and in fact, Joe Lynn performs backup vocals on this song. "Fallen Angel" sounds like one of Foreigner's more uplifting and addictive ballads, but with a heavier all over sound and more guitar riffs darting around in the background. The keyboard runs are inserted in just the right places, giving this upbeat and joyful sounding ballad some variety, and keeps the interest up. Close to the end of the song, after the perky guitar solo comes to an end and fades back into the basic rhythm riffing, it all just halts except for a little synthesizer in the background, and superb lead vocalist, Tony Harnell's soulful voice, quietly beckoning, and as his last note fades softly then the background voices boom the main chorus and the music cranks back up until it ends as a whisper in the background. This song is a mood lifter, it has a feel good sound to it, without becoming too raunching, like so many metal songs did in the 80s, and is like medicine to the metal lover craving their music delivered with plenty of melody.

Lethal-"Obscure the Sky" 8/10
From Programmed (1990)

Beginning with ominously lapping acoustic guitar, and then few halting drum pounds, this tune cranks up full force, and then the vocals pour in, strongly reminding me of Geoff Tate from Queensryche when he was at his best. The more I listen to this, the less he reminds me of Tate however, but the first impression was that he sounded identical to him. The powerful voice is one of the most noticable qualities of this song, with the vibrato just shaking every note, with conviction. The lyrics are interesting enough but its the voice of superb singer, Tom Mallicoat, that fascinates me, just soaring along with the music pounding around it.The way it just keeps going at once pace and stays there is excellent in the sense that it continues to showcase his voice, the only break is during the ripping guitar solo, which is very cleanly performed.

Triumph-"Tears in the Rain" 8/10
from some Triumph Cd, duh

This song starts out with pumping synthesizer and then a crunchy guitar riff, then the drums kick in and the synthensizer keeps up quite a pace, and then the vocals begin. "Tears in the Rain" is an upbeat sounding song, strongly reminding me of a Foreigner/Survivor cross, even in vocal delivery. Especially the early to mid 80s sounding Foreigner material, mostly because of the dominant synthesizer sounds which help create a strong melody base for the song, and the way lead singer and guitarist, Rik Emmett, sings the lyrics. A great song for that quick melodic metal fix.

Crimson Glory-"There is No God" 7/10
its a demo!! not released, so good luck finding it!

Starting out quietly, a light drum rhythm, with what sounds like glass shattering and breaking and a rather chingy sounding acoustic guitar, that creates disturbing emotions of being abandoned. A voice that sounds like a clone of former Crimson Glory vocalist, Midnight, removes the listener from this feeling and glides into the opening lyrics to the song. Then this guy proves that, yes, he can scream, and he can do it very well. That screaming note sets the tone for the rest of this song, quickly paced, thundering drums, memorable guitar riffs, and of course, plenty of screaming. But the way this guy kind of half howls, partially growls, "there is no God" just sends chills down my spine. The guitar is kind of bouncy sounding during the solo, which is nice. But the ending is very dramatic, pounding drums, a scream, and then breaking into a guitar riff, just to go back into the chorus, and then the pounding starts again with the "there is no god" growling, answered by the screaming of "touch the sun" a couple of times, then a final "there is no god" and a few electronic noises and then it fades. Very dramatic, very memorable, and ass kicking and this is only a demo.....