Back in the eighties, there were two bands that took it to themselves to develop progressive metal into new terrains and become the undeniable leaders of what was to be an often unsuccessful movement, those bands being Queensrÿche and Fates Warning. But right behind them was a little-known band from Florida (yes, that's right, Florida) that would develop its own metallic vision of prog with such melodic genius that its first pair of albums will forever be embedded in the minds of those graced by Midnight's distinctively melodramatic vocals as the gems of one of the greatest unsung classics of progressive metal: Crimson Glory. Crimson who? Crimson Glory. A tragic casualty of underexposure and fan alienation (due to the band's highly unlikely Strange and Beautiful), the band reached the zenith of genial song-craft on Transcendence, while maintaining a level of complexity that, while not incredibly spectacular, certainly proved that guitarist Jon Drenning and his fellow band members had the goods to deliver. And deliver them they certainly did. In spades.

"Lady of Winter" - With a pulsating midtempo rhythm and gorgeously classy melodies that are boosted by a superb twin guitar approach, "Lady of Winter" starts the album off in a truly majestic manner. While not particularly complex, the track does shine in its astounding melodic capabilities and Midnight's unique high-pitched vocals, which surround the listener in entrancing waves that see themselves hued by the multiple concise arrangements that the band chooses as a means of cohesiveness. And not to be outshined, Jon Drenning inaugurates his shredding style in a quite rapid, if not particularly expressive, way. If only every band had an opening track like this…

"Red Sharks" - What comes across as remarkably impressive with a band like Crimson Glory is that no matter how many guitar melodies are harmonized in intervals of thirds and regardless of how often they are played, they always, and I mean always, sound surprisingly memorable. Whereas "Lady of Winter" resounds in classy sweeps of controlled majesty, "Red Sharks" demonstrates the band's adeptness at both grand, epic melodies and quasi-power metal fierceness, all of which would result in a flawless display of fury, had it not been for ridiculous anti-Soviet sentiment lyrics and Midnight's only all-too-shrill screams to be heard throughout the record.

"Painted Skies" - A tender acoustic beginning, an electric chorus that would make the hardest hearted of women gush, a touching, yet powerful, vocal performance, and broken-heart-type lyrics. You know what I'm getting at: a power ballad. Perhaps one of the most maligned type of songs during the last decade, but there's an undeniable fact that pop metal acts would cleverly exploit during the eighties: if it's done well, and it's done originally, it always works. Crimson Glory was certainly a band that could comply with both requirements, as "Painted Skies" demonstrates in its emotionally powerful arrangements and aural essence.

"Masque of the Red Death" - If there's something that suits itself exceptionally well to forebodingly ominous outings within a majestic scope, it's diminished intervals (in this case the ones within the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, for anyone remotely interested). Why? Perhaps because they are strong tension-building elements within progressions, but more likely because they have a rather evil-sounding nature that can be exploited particularly well when narrating a tale of mysterious death and masquerades. Easily one of the strongest tracks on Transcendence, "Masque of the Red Death" drives itself forth in a display of controlled power and refined riffs that simply refuses to leave one's head after its undeniably harrowing descent into the depths of madness and death.

"In Dark Places" - Undoubtedly the best song on the entire album, and considering that it's Transcendence we're talking about here, that's really saying something. In an eerily haunting mood that functions as a synergic conductor for Midnight's chilling vocals, "In Dark Places" evolves slowly out of its cocoon and develops into a terrifying electric behemoth through a powerfully slow rhythm and a frighteningly somber combination of electric and clean guitars. Words, however, can hardly describe the shivering shades of emotion that the perfectly balanced elements of the track send quivering into every cell of the listener, as well as the gloomily rich vibrato of Midnight and his perfect mastery over the art of combining technique and feeling that conveys dark words into unsettling shards of raw sentiment.

"Where Dragons Rule" - Centering itself around a military march-like pace that booms in its driving forcefulness and echoes with equally aggressive power chords and guitar melodies, "Where Dragon Rule" resembles an effective war machine ravaging its way across enemy territory without much regard for anything crossing its path, yet retaining the characteristic traits of finesse that make this album the gem that it is. Definitely no small feat, and one that obviates the less-than-desired effect of the track's cliché-ridden lyrics with its belligerent riffs.

"Lonely" - Sign of the times. With its sparse, yet effective, basswork, a strongly meaningful main rhythm, and emotionally intense harmonies, Crimson Glory delivers another heart-breaking track in the form of "Lonely." But just as in "Painted Skies," the result is a wonderful and heartfelt piece that shows Midnight at his most affective, delivering his pleasant high-pitched tones with a grace that would make Nadia Comaneci proud.

"Burning Bridges" - Perhaps the album's most dynamic track, alternating between major and gloomy minor keys in too a disjointed manner between shifts, so that the flow of the song doesn't really work until midway through its duration. After that point is reached, however, guitarist Jon Drenning steals Midnight's spotlight with such emotive genius that one feels compelled to rewind the song every single time his precious soloing ends and sets the song back on track.

"Eternal World" - Sheer unbreakable, astounding, and intensively heavy genius! After initiating with a grand keyboard intro, "Eternal World" spirals into descending mazes of twisted insanity with riffs that slither forebodingly across massive walls of drums or crush their surroundings in evil delight. Moreover, Midnight adopts a deranged character that subtly harkens back to his legendary performance on "Lost Reflection" (off the band's debut album) and heightens the already critical level of urgency in order to set the stage for an equally vertiginous performance from Drenning. An aggressively ravenous performance with a gruesomely addictive force, "Eternal World" shows a band at the peak of its creative brilliance, and the experience is quite scathing.

"Transcendence" - In a haunting air of sad introspection, "Transcendence" glides forebodingly through its combination of softly picked clean arpeggios and electric forlorn melodies, which echoes through mysterious realms of ethereal spirituality. A deathly whisper, the tranquil glimmer of the moon, and a lonely, dark forest covered with frost all form the visions that the hypnotic music of this track evokes through its gloomy melancholy. "It does not mean the end." In the case of Transcendence, it sadly does.

-by Marcelo Silveyra