Crimson Glory hold a special place in my personal Metal Hall o’ Fame. I was a big fan of their 1986 debut with the classic Queensrÿche style and their amazing energy. Midnight immediately became one of my favorite singers and I was amazed at how the band took classic metal idioms and made them feel so majestic and elegant. 1988’s Transcendence took their sound even further, becoming more progressive, heavier and more epic in scope. This is the album that essentially invented the progpower genre.
At the time, the band seemed ready to achieve amazing things and conquer the metaverse. Then they released Strange and Beautiful in 1991 and the wheels came off Glory‘s wagon. Calling that album a dumpster fire that went sold out is an understatement, and it still makes me wonder what on earth the band was thinking when they released it. It’s on par with Celtic Frost‘s Cold Lake , Metallica‘s St. Anger or Krokus‘s Change of Address , and it will live forever in infamy as an album that killed its career. As expected, the band broke up after that, with Midnight leaving for good, leaving disappointed fans wondering what could have been.
The band attempted a new start in 1999, but Astronomica was nowhere near the quality of the first albums and it sank back into self-inflicted oblivion. 26 years later, three of the original members attempt another comeback with Chasing the Hydra . The cynic in me wondered why they’d even bother. They created 2 all-time classic metal albums and nothing they do now could compete with them. With great expectations as their eternal enemy, it’s far more likely they would just diminish the luster of their brilliant releases. Still, the naive teenager in me hoped for a miraculous rebirth of the band I still love. Where does Chasing the Hydra sit between these entirely opposite scenarios? As one would expect, somewhere in the middle.
Undoubtedly helped by a set of very low expectations, Chasing the Hydra pleasantly surprised me. Obviously, it can’t touch the classic albums with a 100-foot Poke Em Pole, but it’s effective, fun progressive power with enough of the classic Crimson Glory sound to trigger nostalgic memories. The opening track “Redden the Sun” is aggressive and urgent, as the new singer, Travis Willis, displays his impressive collection of pipes. The guitar from original Ben Jackson and new recruit Mark Borgmeyer is fluid and technical, and the song itself is decent, though it’s a bit scattered.
The title track starts with the main riff from the classic Transcendence album track “Red Sharks”, which is either cool or cornball, I can’t decide. The song sounds more like something from Sanctuary‘s debut than from Crimson Glory , but it’s good nonetheless, though Willis overdoes it at times.
The first real winner comes with “Broken Together”, which sounds quite a bit like vintage Glory, where you could imagine it appearing on the early classic albums. Wills sounds so close to Midnight that it’s concerning, and the whole package has the same strange power the old albums had. “Angel in My Nightmare” is an extended epic that plays like a pastiche of “Lonely in Love” and “Azrael”, and it takes you on an interesting journey through the band’s various eras (wisely excluding Strange and Beautiful ). It’s a bit long, but it pulls it off.
“Indelible Ashes” is another success story, sounding like the love child of 80s Crimson Glory and Queensrÿche’s Rage for Order . Wills moves between Midnight and Geof Tate tribute vocals, and this is another installment that feels like the logical successor to the Transcendence material.
“Beyond the Unknown” is another win where Wills shifts tone to sound almost exactly like Lance King, and the chorus sounds like essential Pyramaze . The only song that doesn’t really fit for me is “Armor Against Fate”, where the writing becomes too spasmodic and proggy, abandoning transitions to lurch from idea to idea. Even then, it isn’t bad, and the chorus sticks in your head. At 47 minutes, and with most songs in the 4-5 minute range, Chasing the Hydra ends up an easy spin with a nice ebb and flow.
Much of Chasing the Hydra‘s success is due to Travis Wills’s vocal magic. Yes, the guy can imitate Midnight, which is no easy feat, but he doesn’t spend the whole album trying to become a clone. He changes tones and styles to fit the material and generally does an excellent job elevating solid into above-average material. Ben Jackson and new recruit Mark Borgmeyer do excellent work decorating each song with the right mix of strong riffs and beautiful, ethereal harmonies, without ever drifting too deep into Cheese Meadows. There’s a surprising amount of oomph in some of these tracks, which offsets the lighter moments.
If you’d met me at a drunken New Year’s Eve party last December and told me I’d be giving good reviews to Metal Church and Crimson Glory in 2026, I would have written you off as a fool and a charlatan. Here we are, though, and I underestimated Metal Church ! Chasing the Hydra is the album we should have gotten in 1991. It may have taken 34 years, but better late than never. Glory‘s days may not be over anymore. I hope that somewhere in the Great Beyond, Midnight is smiling.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: BraveWords
Websites: theofficialcrimsonglory.com | facebook.com/crimsonglory |
Worldwide release: April 17, 2026
