Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2016 18:17:39 GMT -6
Crimson Moonlight - The Glorification of the Master of Light
Year: 1997
Genre: Raw Black Metal
NOTE: I am not reviewing the original cassette version of this demo. I own a version on CDr that the seller claimed he bought from the band while they were on tour. The songs are, as far as I am aware, identical to the cassette version (though the CDr is missing track eleven, "Receive the Lord" which seems to have been present on some but not all of the cassettes), though the production may be affected by the differences in format.
In celebration of the recent release of Divine Darkness, I figured we should revisit Crimson Moonlight's early days, when they sounded nothing like they do now. The Glorification of the Master of Light was originally the only thing that the band intended to record, though they thankfully decided to keep going after its release. This does not sound much like the Crimson Moonlight you know and love - it doesn't even really resemble their 1998 EP Eternal Emperor (other than the title track, which I'll get to later). Instead, we're presented with an extremely raw, lo-fi, and frankly demo-quality release of fast, aggressive black metal. Most of the songs are very short, clocking in at less than three minutes (except "Ljuset", at a length of 4:38). This is honestly the worst music the band has made, though I still love it.
As I hinted at before, the production is quite bad. There are times where it just sounds like noise and drums with Pilgrim wailing over it like a madman. At other times, you can actually hear the riffs, and some of them are actually very good, especially in "The Explanation of Christ's Death", "From Death to Life", and "Alone in Silence". It's cool to have some truly ferocious black metal like this, though the band did add some nice atmosphere in places. The title track serves as an excellent intro with great keyboard riffs, somewhat foreshadowing the sound the band would take on Eternal Emperor. "Tidens slut är nära" and "Konungen kommer i härlighet" are wonderful acoustic interludes. "From Death to Life" has a nice piano section at the end of it. These tracks provide some brief respite from the onslaught of the rest of the demo.
Overall, it's a neat little demo that's fun to listen to every once in a while, but nothing spectacular. Grindcore fans might like this - it's fast, relentless, and short. I enjoy it, though I would admittedly think less of it if it wasn't from Crimson Moonlight. Fans of Beeroth should find something to like here, though it is a lot less symphonic than that band.
75/100
-CrimsonWarrior
The demo is already hard to find, but finding it at a decent price is almost impossible.
Edit: It seems that the character limit for the thread title barely fits the name of the band and demo alone, so I cannot put the score there. Oh well.
Year: 1997
Genre: Raw Black Metal
NOTE: I am not reviewing the original cassette version of this demo. I own a version on CDr that the seller claimed he bought from the band while they were on tour. The songs are, as far as I am aware, identical to the cassette version (though the CDr is missing track eleven, "Receive the Lord" which seems to have been present on some but not all of the cassettes), though the production may be affected by the differences in format.
In celebration of the recent release of Divine Darkness, I figured we should revisit Crimson Moonlight's early days, when they sounded nothing like they do now. The Glorification of the Master of Light was originally the only thing that the band intended to record, though they thankfully decided to keep going after its release. This does not sound much like the Crimson Moonlight you know and love - it doesn't even really resemble their 1998 EP Eternal Emperor (other than the title track, which I'll get to later). Instead, we're presented with an extremely raw, lo-fi, and frankly demo-quality release of fast, aggressive black metal. Most of the songs are very short, clocking in at less than three minutes (except "Ljuset", at a length of 4:38). This is honestly the worst music the band has made, though I still love it.
As I hinted at before, the production is quite bad. There are times where it just sounds like noise and drums with Pilgrim wailing over it like a madman. At other times, you can actually hear the riffs, and some of them are actually very good, especially in "The Explanation of Christ's Death", "From Death to Life", and "Alone in Silence". It's cool to have some truly ferocious black metal like this, though the band did add some nice atmosphere in places. The title track serves as an excellent intro with great keyboard riffs, somewhat foreshadowing the sound the band would take on Eternal Emperor. "Tidens slut är nära" and "Konungen kommer i härlighet" are wonderful acoustic interludes. "From Death to Life" has a nice piano section at the end of it. These tracks provide some brief respite from the onslaught of the rest of the demo.
Overall, it's a neat little demo that's fun to listen to every once in a while, but nothing spectacular. Grindcore fans might like this - it's fast, relentless, and short. I enjoy it, though I would admittedly think less of it if it wasn't from Crimson Moonlight. Fans of Beeroth should find something to like here, though it is a lot less symphonic than that band.
75/100
-CrimsonWarrior
The demo is already hard to find, but finding it at a decent price is almost impossible.
Edit: It seems that the character limit for the thread title barely fits the name of the band and demo alone, so I cannot put the score there. Oh well.