Crimson Cult - Crimson Cult

Power Metal
Dockyard 1

2009

1. Evil Design
2. Undead
3. Land Of The Crimson Night
4. In The Eyes
5. Lava Machine
6. Dirty Demons
7. Misanthrope
8. 2000 Lights
9. Amok
10. Centre of the Universe

A new band formed out of the ashes of Stygma IV, this self titled album marks the first release from Crimson Cult. Stygma IV were a pretty decent power metal band so I was curious what the guitarist & bassist of the band were up to in this one.

Crimson Cult's first album brings together a fairly unique sound as I had some trouble coming up with comparisons that seemed accurate and this is a good thing. With all the bands out there worshiping certain bands or following a familiar pattern a release like this is refreshing. The best comparison I could think of is something along the lines of Tad Morose as the music has a direct and heavy power metal approach a lot of the times, but also has a fairly thick guitar sound. Also, like Tad Morose the band sometimes settles into darker and slower songs as well as some melodic and epic moments. There is also something distinctly traditional about this though as it is nowhere near power metal cheese and carries with it kind of a vibe of 80s traditional metal. At times I also pick up on a little Crimson Glory, though the vocals aren't really in the mold of either mentioned band. Vocally I'm not sure who I'd compare this band to as the vocalist has his own voice, but it is in the general mold of traditional. Overall I find the vocalist pleasing to the ear and he has both the ability to sound heavy on songs like In The Eyes, but also sounds majestic and epic in songs like Land Of The Crimson Night. The guitarist seems pretty talented as well and there are some really nice riffs contained within.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with this as a debut album. This is a really good listen straight through and I look forward to hearing more from this band. I would recommend this to fans of any fan of heavy power metal really.

Highlights: Land Of The Crimson Night, Evil Design, Lava Machine, Undead

Rating - 4.0/5