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.

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.

progshine Astronomica (1999) is the fourth studio album by Crimson Glory, a North American band. In fact is their first album in 8 years since Strange And Beautiful (1991). Nothing strange that this was their comeback and also last release.

Crimson Glory plays pretty much Heavy Metal with hints of Progressive Metal. It is in fact a 4 man band, but it looks like a solo project, really.

Nothing, nothing remarkable. Nothing really stands out but one phrase in my mind: "Endless screaming and a horrible drum sound."

Oh yeah, and don't forget that after 5 minutes of the last song you still have more.... perfect!