Earlier this year Crimson Day contacted me for a review for their album “At The Mountains Of Madness”. An album they released earlier this year. Even though I have listened to the album quite some time ever since they approached me, I only found the time now to finally sit down and write something about this release. Crimson Day is a five-piece from Tampere, formed in 2013. The band already has released material prior to “At The Mountains Of Madness”, however, this is the first release featuring Lassi Landström as a vocalist.
Somehow, when I first listened to the album, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. I was, thus, surprised to hear old school heavy metal, with a modern touch. Starting the album off with “The Expedition of Dr. William Dyer”, the band gives an indication of what journey we are about to embark on with the band. The intro is quite haunting and grabs your attention right away. It transitions into the title track of the album “At The Mountains Of Madness”, which gives you a clear understanding of the sound of the band. As I mentioned before, I’m somehow thrown back to the very start of heavy metal, but the band has managed to make it sound more modern. The track continues into “The Final Hour”, which contains a mix of epic riffs, great melodies, and in general over 5 minutes of epicness. For me, “My Last Rites” definitely stands out and perhaps is my personal highlight, mostly because of the acoustic lick, that somehow sounds hauntingly beautiful and somehow nostalgic. After this lick, there is a short break, where the song takes off almost out of control. The song moves straight to fifth gear. “Welcome To The Wasteland” continues down the same fast road, while as “Nightwalker” shifts back to third, and spirals down an epic road with heavy riffs. “Before The Night”, to me, is also another highlight, it starts off with almost tribal-like drums, and softly transitions in a slow burn. The album ends with “Crimson Shores”, which is perhaps the longest song on the record. It really takes you through a path of different turns and twists and is definitely a great fit to end the album with, it at least immediately made me press hit again!
The album reminds me a lot of the old days of Blind Guardian (especially when talking about the vocals), and also Iced Earth. The band, however, manages to keep their own voice, although still needs to finetune their own sound a tiny bit. By adding a bit more identity to their songs, I am sure this band will manage to take off their career quite smoothly. After all, this album is fantastic. It has a lot of highlights, a lot of powerful songs, with outstanding melody lines and probably the best part (apart from the epic guitar solos) are the vocals of Lassi Ländström, who often shines in the album and shows us quite many sides to his voice, even though I’m sure he still has a lot in store for us.
Lineup
Lassi Landström – vocals
Ari Balzar – guitars
Jesse Liukkonen – guitars
Tuomas Lesonen – drums
Jesse Kämäräinen – bass
Tracklist
1. The Expedition Of Dr. William Dyer
2. At the Mountains Of Madness
3. The Final Hour
4. No Hope (For Salvation)
5. My Last Rites
6. Welcome To The Wasteland
7. Nightwalker
8. Beasts Of Prey
9. Before The Night Is Done
10. Until The End
11. Falling Skies
12. Crimson Shores
