Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Edge of Sanity > Crimson II > Reviews > Pyromanic
Edge of Sanity - Crimson II

Ever seen Grease 2? - 50%

Pyromanic, July 24th, 2007

I'm not a fan of the movie Grease or anything, but I can appreciate it, and it's the best analogy I can come up with. I watched Grease 2 once... it's one of those sequels that sucks so bad it makes you like the first one less. That's how this makes me feel (although not listening to Crimson is a thought I'm not fond of). I wish Dan Swano would have just fucking left it alone, let it be a masterpiece, but no. He had to go back, reuse those riffs with some other recycled melodeath riffs, throw in some synth effects (what the fuck? rarely were they used before this in EoS, especially not in Crimson, why now?) and... well that’s it really. Makes you wonder, what was he thinking? It's like convincing a beautiful girl to get plastic surgery... LEAVE IT FUCKING BE!

Ok, I might have been a little harsh, it's not a *bad* release, it just shouldn't bear the Crimson name (or the music). I'm not a big fan of the synthetic shit every Scandinavian band seems to want to use, DT being my biggest (and most upsetting) example. It's very appropriate for some songs, like Covenant of Souls, but others (Incantation) see the effects weakening the riffs more than supporting them.

The first track of the album starts of slow and atmospheric, then plays that nice little thrashy riff from the beginning of Crimson (which sounds damn good with the up-to-date production), progresses a little then ends about a minute and a half in. Fast forward to track 6, Covenant of Souls, which starts of in the same way, then slows down to the atmospheric dreamy tone again (which is also pretty much how the album ends, phht). This is the best use of the synthetic crap on the album.

Passage of Time is a nice little fast paced heavy song that uses said effects much more casually than the rest of the album, not hindering the badass riffage but supporting it. The solo a minute and a half in sounds like its from an AC/DC song though... Face to Face is the only track that I truly despise, mostly because that opening riff I swear I've heard somewhere (can’t figure it out though). Besides that it’s a very fruity song, if not for the deep growling swano lyrics it would sound like a hardcore song. Which helps it flow nicely into the equally lame and hardcore-esque Disintegration. The last song feels like it should; a nice, slow, melodic end to an epic, the only fast part being the same riff from tracks 1 and 6.

If this was released by any band but EoS, or more precisely called anything but Crimson II (or bearing its music), I'd give it a better score. But the fact that I have to live the rest of my life knowing that Swano decided to double the size of the canvas and paint a second half to something that I already thought was one of the most beautiful pieces of art in the world makes me angry. The fact that people acclaim it as much as or more than its predecessor makes me hate.