Review: THE CRIMSON ARMADA – “Guardians”

The Crimson Armada – “Guardians”
Released July 7, 2009 on Metal Blade

When most people think of metal, the last thing to come to their mind would be Christianity. Countless bands have caused metal to be much more associated with Satanism. However, there is and has always been a place for the church-going metalhead. Bands like Stryper and Trouble proved in the ’80s that you do not have to be evil to headbang. Nowadays, Christian metal bands aren’t too rare, though you may have to dig a bit to find them. The Crimson Armada are one of a handful of bands to style their music with heavy Christian themes.

As a debut album, Guardians is pretty solid. These guys are better at being The Black Dahlia Murder than The Black Dahlia Murder is themselves. The biggest difference between the two bands is that The Crimson Armada throws in much more of a gothic feel, utilizing a full (synthesized) orchestra on track 9. There is also another dimension of vocals added to the growls and screams: barks that are almost identical to Aaron Turner’s (Isis, The Lotus Eaters, Old Man Gloom). Though this really adds to the music, the person that mixed this album did not do such a good job. The guitars are turned up way too loud, leaving everything else behind. However, the harmonies that these guys create are some of the best of this day and age. The one thing that they need to work on is giving their tunes a nice punch right out of the gate. Most tracks take a minute or two to really warm up. However, once they get started, they rock. Play 9 and 10 in tandem.

FCC OK
Try 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9/10

01. Guardian
02. A Filthy Addiction
03. The Sound, the Flood, the Hour
04. In the Eyes of God
05. The Serpents Tongue
06. Revelations
07. Desecrated
08. The Final Words
09. The Architect
10. Outro

Rating: