Transcendence (Transcendence - Crimson Glory)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Transcendence - Crimson Glory
Date:	13/06/08 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Improves on the first album...

Disadvantages: ...but is stylistically identical.

'Transcendence' should be viewed as an essential purchase for fans of progressive power metal - a seemingly obscure genre I know, but one with a number of high-profile acts such as Symphony X, Angra and Ayreon - as along with the work of Fates Warning around the same time, it helped to define and found the genre, despite not actually sounding all that much like it. This is thoughtful and creative melodic metal that retains a commercial appeal, and for every intricate guitar solo ('Red Sharks'), there's a catchy, almost pop-rock chorus to balance things out ('Lady of Winter').

Some of the songs here are instantly memorable, which will serve to count against the album if you despise it, and that's largely thanks to the vocal theatrics of Midnight. Interestingly, and slightly disappointingly for prog fans, the album follows the structure of its predecessor almost exactly, with slower songs in the form of 'Painted Skies' and the title song, and more traditional treats for metalheads such as the galloping 'Eternal World' and shrieking 'Red Sharks.'

1. Lady of Winter
2. Red Sharks
3. Painted Skies
4. Masque of the Red Death
5. In Dark Places
6. Where Dragons Rule
7. Lonely
8. Burning Bridges
9. Eternal World
10. Transcendence

Summary: Crimson Glory's second album (1988).