Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from HardRockHeaven.net

by Derric Miller - Staff Writer

Australia’s Crimsonfire is starting to make waves outside of their native shores, and for good reason. The band blends the intricacies of Progressive Metal juggernauts like Dream Theater with the more melodic Power Metal stylings of a band like Power Quest and really hits the middle ground in both genres. Not only that, they have a singer by the name of Louie Gorgievski who can hit some criminally high notes. Putting this together with atmospheric keys, expert drums and strong guitar playing, and you’ll want to keep listening.

The CD begins with “Eternal Days,” a triumphant and racing track. On drums is Domenic Pinto, and you’ll be paying attention to him for this entire journey. He isn’t just there to keep a beat—his playing is machine-like and impressive. Vocalist Gorgievski has an extremely smooth and clean delivery, much like you’d expect from this brand of music. When the song closes out, he hits a perfectly pitched high note that would have King Diamond saying, “Wow, that’s pretty high.”

“A New Dawn” is next with a cool guitar riff from Anthony Tabone. Bands of this nature can sometimes get in their own way trying to prove their musicianship. Crimsonfire seems more song-oriented, as you’ll understand the more you listen. Each player has their role, none more important than the other. The keys by Dianne Melichar are flowing and smart, especially between verses. Pinto is nuts on drums again. He’d be a maniac in a live setting.

Crimsonfire doesn’t go overboard with their song length, and one of their longest is the song “Morning of the Magicians.” This is a keyboard and voice only track at first, really allowing Gorgievski to steal the spotlight. This is the first time Tabone slows down his guitar playing and becomes more delicate. By two minutes in, drums and bass join the fray, and if you aren’t reminded of Dream Theater, you aren’t listening. The song morphs into a heavier entity after three minutes, and spoken lyrics are sent your way. When Gorgievski sings again, his voice has an edge and is much heavier. The song just builds and builds, with those amazing Pinto drum fills again. A shredding riff and then a scream from Gorgievski send the song to another land, and this is one of Tabone’s best solos as well.

Lest you start thinking the band is more progressive than just metal, check out “Empire of Fear.” Gorgievski actually sounds like Bruce Dickinson on this track, shouting with real anger yet on key, and the opening riff is immense as well. “Region of Legends” is another ripper, a full-speed blazing track. They do this sort of track with the same vigor of their slower ones.

“Tears in a Greystorm” has a regal feeling to it, sounding like a song you’d hear if Tad Williams made movies about his books. This is another keyboard-led song that builds and builds until all the other instruments join. Gorgievski will be compared to singers like James LaBrie in his lower range, because it is less throaty and softer than his higher range.

You may ask yourself if Metal needs another Progressive/Power Metal band. The answer to that question will always unequivocally be YES … if they are good! All of the members in the band know how to wield their instruments, their songs are strong, and considering that they just opened for Queensryche, you don’t get that slot if you aren’t worth it. Check Crimsonfire out today.

www.crimsonfire.com.au

Track listing:
01. Eternal Days
02. A New Dawn
03. Reign in Fire
04. Morning of The Magicians
05. The Age of Aquarius
06. Empire of Fear
07. Darkside to Sanity
08. Region of Legends
09. Tears in a Greystorm
10. The Rising Sands

HRH Rating: 7.6/10

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from Amazon.com

This album is simply amazing. It has everything a top power album demands; Uniqueness, originality and accomplished technical musicians.

From the first to the last song, this album blows your mind with; soaring riffs, subtle melodies, emacualte change ups and breakdowns, an impressive synth and keyboard presence topped of with incredibly versatile vocals.

Crimsonfire are not afraid to display all ranges of sounds (from soft acoustic melodies to heavy Megadeth style riffs) and atmospheres in their music, and what you get is a unique combination of gothic (nightwish, Symphony x), fantasy (Dragonforce, Sonata Artica) and classic but progressive metal (Dream theater, Metallica).

It makes for classy listening, and whatever mood you maybe in this album has one for all seasons.

I would love to go through each song in great depth, and hell i could go on for ages, but ill give you a brief overview;

Eternal days - A solid opener, reminiscent of Hammerfall meets symphony x, a quirky classic power metal song. 9/10

A New dawn - This Track has a high symphonic presence creating, more fantasy orientated sound, similar to that of rhapsody, but with crimsonfires cutting edge originality. 10/10

Reign in fire - Immediately, upon hearing this track, one is drawn into crimsonfires unique variation, beginning with a bass booming riff, and progressing into another stunningly impressive mix of synth and metal work, the acoustic breakdown is a touch. 10/10

Morning of the magicians - im not a big fan of ballads, but this ballad is impressively structured, great lyrics, consistent vocals and the perfect blend of folk/fantasy based sounds. The speed and riff change up later on in the song is just pure genious.10/10

The Age of Aquarius - One of the best songs on the album. A superb mixture of classic power metal, symphonic presence, and spine tingling guitar riffs, watch out for the harmonised keyboard solo.10/10

Empire of fear - Again the variation is astounding, this song begins with a strong metal riff, reminiscent of dream theater, then it explodes into a range of haunting symphonic keyboard and guitar riffs, the song, topped off by the lyrics, portrays itself perfectly. 10/10

Darkside to sanity - Another perfectly executed track, filled with creativity and variation. Starts with a piano based melodic sound and gradually works its way into a progressively atmospheric song led by the trusty combination of the already impressive synth and guitar sound. 10/10

Region of legends - This song is more of an extreme metal sound (i.e. Dragonforce) with fast paced riffs, met with the original sound of crimson's measured and melodic guitar work. Overall there is a strong classic gothic presence in this track.10/10.

Tears in a Greystorm - perhaps my least favourite track on the album, a slower paced ballad, that however, still manages to deliver impressively. 8/10

The Risingsands - Another fantastic track, with gritty, bone crunching guitar riffs and the subtle synth work which compliments them brilliantly. The vocalist is out of this world in this song, blasting out a range of tones and soaring extremities. 10/10

Total = 9.7/10

This album is a master piece, it is to power metal, to what Lunar Strain was to Melodic Death metal.

It widens the barriers of the genre even further, and along with Dragonforce they have established themselves as one of the top runners in progressive power metal.

\m/

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from AOR Dream Zones

A new band from Australia, Crimsonfire have a sound not that far removed from the likes of Royal Hunt / Iron Maiden / Balance Of Power and in places Lanfear ( especially the vocals ), which they carry off with much aplomb. Hard hitting guitars are intermixed with glorious bass runs and atmospheric keyboards that complement the powerful drum attack yet it's the vocals from Louie Gorgievski that really draw the listener in ( the guy has a great range ) and help the songs relate their tale's. Like I said although the band are from downunder, their sound is very European which will set them in good stead with all the progressive powermetal fans out there, another plus in their favor is the multi faceted approach to the songs, one minuet romping along the next all soft and lythe as if waiting for the storm to unleash itself once more. Lookout for the likes of Eternal Days, Reign Of Fire the superb Morning Of The Magicians the forceful The Age Of Aquarius with it's strong guitar and great hookline.

One thing you will notice as you listen to this album is the further into it you get the more progressive it becomes, which let's the band leave the best tracks to the last, the haunting Darkside To Sanity, the piano lead Tears In A Greystorm which has an Evergrey vibe running through it and to end the wonderful The Rising Sands, all in all an album this new act can be proud of. For a debut this brims with confidence and sounds like it's their tenth release and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

85/100

Ian Johnson

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire Album Launch
Article by Inga Gilchrist from MX on Thursday, March 30th, 2006

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Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from Metal Maidens

We've got some metal from Down Under for you. And before I will spend one word to this CD, I want to thank our marvellous friend Peter Fundeis for providing us this great material. He's our brother in heavy metal from Australia, and he send us a copy of the debut album of CRIMSON FIRE. It contains ten songs and a full hour of great progressive power metal. Think
about bands like STRATOVARIUS, DREAM THEATER, QUEENSRYCHE, ICED EARTH and IRON MAIDEN, to name but a few. The IRON MAIDEN influence come from vocalist Louie Gorgievski, who sounds a lot like Bruce Dickinson, although he screams a little bit higher. He could be his twin brother and the resemblance is really striking. I like this a lot. It gives the music of CRIMSON FIRE a more heavy touch, that it needs, because sometimes they might sound a bit
too happy. However, when the high screams or the loud riffs appear, it makes it all worthwhile. The other band members are Paul Yoannidis on bass, Domenic Pinto on drums, Anthony Tabone on guitars and Diane Melichar as metal maiden and keyboard wizard of the band. It's remarkable, that one guitarplayer can create such a great sound. And please don't think about Diane as a keyboard player, who just fills up the space, because she regularly appears upfront in the sound of the band. The long instrumental parts are a joy to your ears, because we're dealing with some very talented musicians here, who have devoted their heart to this music. You can hear their passion in these ten songs.

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from The Metal Forge.com

And who said Australian power metal is dead?

Melbourne’s Crimsonfire play a style of power metal that crosses between Stratovarius and Iron Maiden. They are another in a long line of power metal bands that incorporate progressive elements into their sound, primarily through the use of keyboards. Unlike some other sub genres in metal, power metal seems to be the one that hasn’t managed to age very gracefully. To me, 99% of the time, modern power metal tends to sound like it has come directly from the early 80’s. There is always that feeling in the back of my mind that whilst I know I haven’t heard this song or that album before, it feels eerily familiar. This is probably a result of many power metal songs taking on the same kinds of structures and chord progressions. It may not be the most original formula. But it works.

What Crimsonfire do well is write catchy, melodic songs. The interplay between Louie Gorgievski’s vocal lines and Anthony Tabone’s guitar riffs is top notch and contributes heavily to this album’s appeal. When mixed with a solid rhythm section (Domenic Pinto on drums and Paul Yoannidis on bass) and some creative and well executed synths/keyboards courtesy of Dianne Melichar, the album comes to life.

I think a lot of this album’s drawing power will be due to its classic metal sound. As I mentioned before, it does sound familiar which could be considered to be a negative aspect, but at the same time it could also be viewed as positive simply because whilst the material is new, it sounds like so many other classic albums that it is like returning to an old friend on each listen.

I have to say that even though there isn’t a weak track on the disc, by the time I reached the second half of the album my interest started wander. This could very well be a result of my general lack of interest in power metal though. Others that relish this style of music would more than likely have a totally different opinion in this respect.

For those that have never dug the whole power metal thing, then this album isn’t likely to change your stance. But for those who sway towards this genre, this album would be a worthy addition to your collection, not just due to its musical merits, but also because the band hail from Australia and should receive as much local support as possible.

(Majestic Rock Records/Riot! Distribution)

Reviewer: Michael O’Brien
Score: Five Stars

Crimsonfire - Interview with Louie from Lamentation of The Flame Princess

Read the interview here.

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from Sinister.com.au

Review by Lachlan McLeod:

If you are a fan of power metal you don't have to look far because there are plenty of Australian bands that play this style. Currently Vanishing Point and Black Majesty are leading the way for power metal in this country but it won't be long before Crimsonfire is joining them.

Crimsonfire's self titled debut is destined to be a classic. The album opens with Eternal Days a fairly typical power metal song certain to go down well live. Hearing this song made me think Crimsonfire were like Iron Maiden with keyboards. A description that doesn't do them justice.

Crimsonfire have more progressive elements in their music than your average power metal band. This helps immensely as it makes them stand out in a genre that is already over crowded. Songs like Morning of the Magicians and personal favourite Reign in Fire have a Dream Theater influence which is fantastic.

The only negative on Crimsonfire is the ballad Tears in a Greystorm. It's much weaker than the rest of the album and is the only reason I'm not a giving this CD a perfect score.

Anyone with a slight interest in power metal should own this album. There may be many bands comparable to Crimsonfire in the world but few would be better.

By Lachlan Mcleod

Sinister Online "MUST HAVE!"
9 / 10

Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Article by Robert Fedele from West Advocate on 14th of February 2006

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Crimsonfire - Crimsonfire
Review from MetalCentre.pl
2005

Music: Power Metal
Website: www.crimsonfire.com.au
Country: Australia
Duration: 57:37 (10 songs)
Cool Songs: Darkside to sanity, Tears in a grestorm, The rising sands

Mostly before I review any band, I would love to get to know them, you know, like going to their official site, biography, discography... and that's what I use to do in all my reviews, but this band changed this rule. I guess that I knew them through their style, playing and also through their instrumental harmony. Each one of them knows how control his/her own instrument. All this and we haven't mentioned yet the vocals. Well trained, clean, and in control voice.

Concerning instruments, not too many bands gives their keyboardists their own space in their music. The lead guitar takes most of the space, then comes the drums, and may be the bass. But this band maintain this equation. Each member shined on his weapon, yet, the keyboardist remained bright, and clear. Another brilliant thing about this keyboardist, that she managed to use this space given to her by the band. The Drummer and the lead, managed to keep me impressed in each song. I guess one of the serving factor for the drummer is the bassist. Most of people don't consider this point, despite - actually - many of them use to get mixed up between the bass and the percussion. Another example of the "instrumental harmony", is the guitarist and the the keyboardist. Their role of carrying the song on their shoulders, was obviously clear. Together, they managed to bring unity in their music style.

Concerning the vocals, I guess I'm speechless when it comes to describing his voice. When I first heard him and even before going to their official site, I felt that one of his main musical influence would be "Symphony X"...and that's what I found out lately. His voice is pretty strong, can you imagine him singing along with "Russell Allen"? oh! they would blow our heads off!!!

In final words, this album placed them