| Edge of Sanity - Crimson Black Mark, 1996 Gloon: 'Prologue: In a very distant future, the last generation of planet Earth has come to a point where they cannot breed anymore. When everybody had lost their faith, a child was born, but no one could be the father, except for a God. This child was a gift from the skies of life-divine or.........'. And so begins the one track 40 minute epic, Crimson. Forget your Blind Guardian and Rhapsody, this is TRUELY epic in every shape of the word, and its done by a band who has far more in common with Death Metal than Power. The song opens with a typically Death Metal flavour, all growls, bass and anger, but within 10 minutes or so acoustics will be utilised, lyrics sung and complete tempo changed. The music expertly follows the story adding anger, despair and happiness through a variety of instruments and genre explorations. The vocals are also perfect with the mighty Dan Swano in complete control whether it be Death Growls or clean powerful vocals. EOS keep it simple while never boring the listener, always evolving and changing while still remaining within the structure of the song. There is not much more to say, many bands would have balked at the idea of a 40 minute concept song, Edge of Sanity took the challenge and more than adequatley delivered. Favourite Song - Crimson (obviously) Rating - 9/10 Edge of Sanity �Crimson II� Black Mark, 2003 Gloon: The fragmentation of the once almighty Edge of Sanity continues as this time its Dan Swano solo under the EOS banner. Band dysfunction aside Edge of Sanity (or Swano) delivers us Crimson II a release which ironically may end up being a bigger challenge then the one track 40 min original. Rather than try to once again tackle an epic storyline under one goliath title, Swano recreates the magic in a more conventional structured manner with a 9 track album oozing with all the classical traits of the original while updating and modernizing the sound and formula. The result is a bit of a mixed bag, opener �The Forbidden� is easily recognizable and embraced for its familiar central riff and approach however after this it becomes a bit of a hit and miss affair as Swano adds and meshes progressive elements and some suspect keyboards into the mix. Essentially it�s a matter of the canvas being changed, where as the original was engrossed in EOS�s bass driven death groove, the sequel is drowned in electronic keyboards and centered around more modern Gothenburg-esque riffing and approach. In a nutshell this is more Swano�s �Moontower� take on hes old band�s classic than a new continuation of the original from Edge of Sanity which ultimately fails to truly emulate the feel and concept the classic. Good but disappointing. Favourite Tracks � The Forbidden Words, Incantation, The Silent Threat Rating � 7/10 |
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