CRIMSON FIRE – Another Dimension

The taste of Old School

Imagine yourself browsing through the shelves of your favourite vintage record store, in search of the forgotten Hard N’ Heavy gem of your youth. Disappointed of not finding it, you pick, with a mild curiosity a record with a cover that somehow looks familiar: a metal Pegasus soaring through a galactic sky, firing lasers with his eyes. Surprisingly the record looks brand new, the colours have not faded at all. Bringing the record back home, you give it a listen that leaves you puzzled. Everything from the cover, to the shrill voices, the skinny leather pants and wild haircuts brings you back to the ’80s. And yet, you cannot remember any of these songs.

It used to be better

Appearances can be indeed deceptive.  Another Dimension is the new release from the band Crimson Fire, from Athens, Greece, with the artwork signed by Andreas Marschall ( Blind Guardian Nightfall In Middle Earth, Hammerfall, Sodom, Kreator and many more.) This third record explores another dimension of the band, as they took a more melodic turn from their classic Heavy Metal debuts. It is also an album with more maturity and far better production, especially on the vocals of John Britsas. However, it is not entirely satisfactory. It lacks the personal touch that would change their status from, good revival band, to the true musical successors of their inspirations.

The opening songs “Judas” and “Don’t fall from the sky” fail to make an impression, positive or negative. “On the edge” is a little better, with a catchy chorus that could have been written by Def Leppard. After this lacklustre beginning “Fire Below” is utterly refreshing. The alternation between lower vocals and high-pitched chorus gives more depth and balance to the composition. The three last songs bring forth the energy and the punch that was lacking at the opening of the record.  The lyrics ” You can’t turn back the clock, you can’t turn back the time”, seems paradoxical, as it is exactly the feeling you will remember from this album: a journey back into the ’80s, or their re-creation of a Heavy Metal golden age.

Don’t sell your souls…

Another Dimension is not a bad album, far from it. It has goods moments. Maybe Crimson Fire should have not sold their souls to the gods of Rock N’ Roll, as they claim, but kept it preciously to infuse more of it in their songs.