UMUR "Astronomica" is the 4th full-length studio album by US power metal act Crimson Glory. The album was released through Spitfire Records (US release)/Rising Sun (Europe release) in September 1999. Crimson Glory achieved quite a bit of success with their first two albums, which both featured a melodic but still at times pretty hard edged US power metal style. Their third full-length studio album "Strange And Beautiful (1991)" was generally not received that well though, and the band folded soon after its release. With a few lineup changes (including the replacement of original vocalist Midnight with Wade Black) the band reunited shortly in 1999 and recorded "Astronomica". Crimson Glory disbanded for a second time shortly after the release of the album.

After the stylistic mish mash of "Strange And Beautiful (1991)", fans of Crimson Glory probably didn´t have high expectations to "Astronomica". Stylistically it´s more or less a return to the US power/heavy metal style of the band´s first two albums though, and fans of those two albums should find a lot to like here. Midnight was of course an iconic frontman and his helium screams are legendary, but Wade Black does a great job here. He has a strong and commanding delivery, and can sing both raw and higher pitched screaming type vocals and his voice fits well with the instrumental part of the music.

The material on the 10 track, 69:44 minutes long album (about 20 minutes of which are silence following the closing track "Cydonia") are well written and relatively varied. There are hard edged US power metal tracks like "War Of The Worlds", "Lucifer's Hammer", and "Cyber-Christ" featured on the album, but there are also more epic and sometimes bordering power ballad type tracks like "Astronomica", "Edge of Forever", and "Cydonia". Some tracks are very well written, powerful, and memorable, while others are less remarkable. Everything features a professional touch though, and paired with a powerful and detailed sound production, and high level musicianship, "Astronomica" is a relatively successful return to form after the generally ill-received "Strange And Beautiful (1991)". It´s not a perfect album by any means, but there are enough quality here to warrant a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

UMUR "Strange And Beautiful" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US heavy metal act Crimson Glory. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in June 1991. Crimson Glory were formed in 1979 under the Pierced Arrow monicker but changed their name to Beowulf in 1982, before finally settling on the Crimson Glory monicker in 1983. They released their eponymously titled debut album in October 1986 and their sophomore studio album "Transcendence" in November 1988. There have been a couple of lineup changes since "Transcendence (1988)" as guitarist Ben Jackson and drummer Dana Burnell have jumped ship. Jackson has not been replaced and therefore Jon Drenning handles all guitars on the album, but Burnell has been replaced by new drummer Ravi Jakhotja. The remaining members of the lineup are lead vocalist Midnight and bassist Jeff Lords. In addition to the permanent members of the band playing/singing, "Strange And Beautiful" also features couple of guest appearences on keyboards, piano, percussion, and saxophone.

It´s not only in the lineup department that there have been changes, because stylistically "Strange And Beautiful" is far removed from the US power/heavy metal style of the band´s two previous albums. Maybe the lineup changes paved the way, or maybe Crimson Glory just felt it was time to try something completely different, because the music on "Strange And Beautiful" is a mix of hard rock, glam metal, and the occasional nod towards progressive rock/metal. Midnight´s otherwise distinct sounding high pitched vocal style has changed too. On this album he sings more in mid-range and he at times actually sounds a bit like Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses).

The 11 tracks on the 59:09 minutes long album are as such well written viewed from a technical perspective, and the high level musicianship also ensures that there is quality in that department, but the songwriting is a bit of a mish mash of different styles, which don´t really fit that well together and makes for an incoherent listen. The album includes futuristic synths, plastique horn keyboards, cheesy male/female choirs/backing vocals, saccarine ballads like "Song for Angels" and "Far Away", and semi-funky hard rock/heavy metal tracks like "Dance On Fire" and "Make You Love Me" (which reminds me a bit of a poor man´s Extreme). The only two tracks which are somewhat decent are the two opening tracks (the title track and "Promise Land"). From there it goes downhill...

"Strange And Beautiful" reeks of a band who have lost their way. It sounds like a weak attempt at trying to gain a commercial breakthrough. An attempt which failed badly and instead left us with a directionless and occasionally quite tasteless mess of an album. The critics gave it a cold reception, and the fans generally loathed it. As mentioned above the professional musicianship and a clear and detailed sounding production save "Strange And Beautiful" from complete failure, but it´s overall not a very successful release and considering the two releases which preceded it, it´s a huge disappointment. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

martindavey87 'War of the Worlds' is the only single released from Crimson Glory's 1999 album, 'Astronomica'. Reports suggest that I'm one of seventeen people who liked that album (actually, I loved it), so it's barely conceivable to think that there are others out there who actually own this EP on disc. But there is a reason to, and that's because the CD itself is shaped like some kind of awkward star, with pointy edges, and an image of the band on it. It's a pretty cool little thing to own, to be honest. If you're a fan, that is. And by this point, we're an endangered species.

The title track itself is awesome, and easily one of the bands best pieces. With its slick guitar harmonies, tight rhythm and screeching vocals, the band are on top form and ready to take on the new millennium (which, evidently... went nowhere). Despite programmed drums, the track is a standout from the album, and its single release is justified.

However, from there, it's standard EP material. Two demos from the 'Astronomica' record, which are good, but not really noteworthy (stick with the finished album versions). And two live tracks of songs I'm not overly fussed about. In fact, these feature the bands former vocalist Midnight, which I find a bit of a shame. Don't get me wrong, the guy was an absolute powerhouse of a singer, but I just thought it'd be cooler if they were more recent live recordings, featuring then-current vocalist Wade Black.

The shaped disc is a cool enough gimmick though, which makes this a neat little collectable, but overall, this is an EP, and as is always the case with these things, is only really for the die-hard fans. And surely I'm not the only one, am I?

martindavey87 It's been eight years since Crimson Glory's last release, 1991's 'Strange and Beautiful'. The band had made quite a name for themselves at the start of their career, but all their momentum was cut off by "the 90's". Music trends shifted and Crimson Glory, like so many others, failed to remain relevant. However, the band never faltered and eventually returned with 1999's 'Astronomica'.

While 'Strange and Beautiful' wasn't a terrible album, it didn't quite achieve the success of its predecessors, mostly due to the dying metal scene at the time, and the fact that the band tried being more experimental with their approach to songwriting. Thankfully, the boys are back on top form here, with 'Astronomica' going back to a full-on metal assault. Stylistically similar to 'Transcendence', the only major difference here, besides having a different vocalist, is a more beefed up production, which makes the Glory sound heavier than they ever had before.

The album has been scrutinized for its faults however. Most notable is that the drumming is all machine-programmed, a 20-minute police radio broadcast which closes the album off, but wastes a hell of a lot of time in doing so, and then there's vocalist Wade Black! Former vocalist Midnight left some impossible shoes to fill, and it's understandable why most fans weren't keen on Black's efforts, but for what it's worth, I think he does a good job and his voice suits the heavier sound of the band.

If you haven't completely given up with Crimson Glory by now, then you'll find some nice little gems on this album. Songs such as 'War of the Worlds', 'New World Machine', 'Cyber Christ', 'Cydonia' and the title track itself, can all hold their own with the bands previous material, and while it's fair to say this will never be their best release, it's still a worthy addition to any metal collection.

martindavey87 Well, it's the 90's (1991 to be exact), and the mainstream music trends are shifting dramatically. The majority of metal bands are going through an identity crisis while trying to adapt to the rising grunge scene, or, at the very least, avoid being killed off by it. And progressive/power metal band Crimson Glory are no exception.

Sadly, Crimson Glory's attempt at remaining relevant didn't go over too well, with the band's sound taking a bit of a hybrid hair metal/grunge turn. It reeks of early 90's rock, reminiscent of bands like Extreme or Ugly Kid Joe, but still maintaining their own distinctive style of riffing. But there's so many things here that just didn't stick well with fans.

There's more "chants" and big chorus's with female backing vocals, there's organs, tribal drums, even a bloody saxophone solo! Then there's a brief musical passage in the song 'Starchamber' that sounds almost identical to the chorus of 'Kid Ego' by the aforementioned Extreme. It's always great to see a band experiment with their music, but sometimes it just doesn't work out for the better, and in 1991, this could just have easily been considered desperation to adapt, as opposed to a genuine desire to try new things.

It's all a moot point either way, because unless you were Metallica or Guns 'n' Roses at that time, you were pretty much screwed.

It's all not bad though, songs like 'The Chant' (which is actually an awesome tune), 'In the Mood', 'Strange and Beautiful', 'Promise Land' and 'Love and Dreams' are all fairly good and catchy pieces that makes this album worth looking out for if you're a fan of the band, but certainly nothing of any real importance is on offer here.

Overall, 'Strange and Beautiful' was never going to win over any new fans, but it's certainly an interesting release. Some of the songs can tend to drag at times, but for the most part, it's a decent effort. Sadly, it signalled the end of Crimson Glory's run as a legit band, as, other than a brief comeback album in 1999, the band have done nothing of relevance since.