IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!! After seeing them win the Wacken Metal Battles in Toronto, Ontario and then seeing them tour with BATTLECROSS and one more time before trying to leave on tour with BATTLECROSS again I've just been obsessed with them. CRIMSON SHADOWS Canadian Epic Metal because I have no idea what else to call them and that's what their sticker says. After an album, an EP, countless shows, playing Wacken Open Air, sharing multiple stages with some highly well known bands and not to mention their big signing announcement with Napalm Records, CRIMSON SHADOWS are finally releasing their second album.

To those of you who know the band and own the EP you'll notice "oh, the EP songs are on there. What a rip off im paying full price for only like half an actual album," and im here to say "WRONG!" Yes, the EP songs are on there, but they are different they have new sections, they were redone, so for those of us who have the EP, we know the original versions of these songs but they're not the exact same. One thing I love for bands to do and the first band I found to do this well was another Canadian band, KATAKLYSM, was using intros into their album, although KATAKLYSM uses samples typically from well known movies, CRIMSON SHADOWS makes their own, it's an instrumental intro that their first album had and their EP had and this is no different. The album tells a story in chapters, the rise and fall of a king the intro is the "Rise To Power" and the ending is after war with "Moonlit Skies and Bloody Tides" not to mention, the second half of the story begins with an intro as well.

Okay enough rambling, lets talk about the music. The intro into "Rise To Power" the first time seems like the transition is a little off, seems like it cuts to early but after listening to it a few times you'll begin to notice it sounds right, just takes getting use to. "Rise To Power" is the first song released off the album, and its unbelievable. With a section that sounds like Morgan "Marble Ass" Rider and Greg Rounding are having back and forth bass to guitar solo battles, it sounds like something DRAGONFORCE would do. On that note, jump forward to "A Gathering Of Kings" this song came on one day and my first though was "when the hell did I turn on DRAGONFORCE!?" so there's that. The song also features one of the most memorable choruses through the album. As for the EP songs, there's one I want to talk about specifically. "Freedom And Salvation" has been one of my favourite CRIMSON SHADOWS songs since I caught them live with BATTLECROSS and the version on "King Among Men" makes me love it even more, the slight change in style gives it the perfect tone and feel and its exactly what the song needed to make it go from outstanding to perfection.

CRIMSON SHADOWS one of the few Canadian bands to really be stepping out and share their music have come very far since the first time I heard them and it pleases me. For the die hard fans, I know technically this is their third album because of their previously released "first album" but im not counting it because I can't even find it anywhere as much as id love a copy of it. These guys are coming to Europe with ALESTORM and they need your help due to border issues in the US they weren't album to tour and make their money for the European tour is you want to help out and get some amazing perks in the process check out https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/crimson-shadows-fall-european-tour-with-alestorm this band deserves to get over there and do their stuff for the fans.