Album Review: Crimson Shadows - "Kings Among Men"

Toronto’s Crimson Shadows understands their genre better than most. Melodic metal, even when crossbred with other subgenres, has always faced the criticism that it’s difficult to take seriously – the music isn’t dark enough, the message not bleak enough to accommodate a ‘discerning’ metal fan’s taste. The only way to play melodic metal of any stripe and escape this stigma (unless you’re Iron Maiden and you’ve earned enough cache to do whatever the hell you want,) is to absolutely run screaming the other way and make music that is whimsical and uplifting, capitalizing on the natural excess of metal to produce a product that listeners and players alike can smile at. That’s where we find Crimson Shadows and their sophomore record “Kings Among Men.”

Not so soon after we saw Dragonforce try to flatten all their listeners with another compendium of guitar-flavored frenzy, Crimson Shadows is sprinting along that same path. Each and every true cut on “Kings Among Men” is just another chance for the guitars of Crimson Shadows to come blasting out full bore, slinging notes like diner scrambled eggs in every conceivable direction. That makes the music sound unnecessarily messy, which isn’t true in the least; Crimson Shadows has planned every inch of their soloing to exist within the pocket of their music. The trailing breakdown of “Maiden’s Call” is all of those things, anthemic in progression and structure, layering a flighty harmony over the baseline machine gun riffing.

Additionally, Crimson Shadows is a band who knows how to have a little fun and isn’t taking themselves too seriously. Humorous band photos aside, the chemistry of the band and the enjoyment they take in their music is obvious, as each piece is brightly colored and even the growled vocals come across in the same vein as Blackguard or Finntroll, meant as rallying cries rather than fearsome warnings. Musically the party extends into the execution of songs, as the interplay of bass and lead for “Rise to Power” is like a contest between Matt Freeman of Rancid and Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom. The speed never lets up, the double kick never stops and the album tries to break the land speed record just about every time it takes off.

Here’s the catch with Crimson Shadows, and depending on what you prefer to hear in your metal, it might make all the difference. The band’s virtuous talent is beyond reproach and their constant exhibition of scale and tone and speed are laudable, but that’s the principle bulk of the package. For all the solos, blast beats and wild-eyed six-string acrobatics, there’s not a lot of song. The choruses and verses, such as they are, sound almost tacked on, like they’re merely an exercise that has to be checked off before the real theatrics begin. That doesn’t necessarily ruin the “Kings Among Men” experience, but it does subtract a little from its inimitable charm, particularly when the sing-along portions sound fairly perfunctory. Each song, with rare exception, sounds more or less like a version of something else on the album, which limits variety.

We often speak plainly of the subjectivity of musical enjoyment and that conversation is needed again here. The value you take from Crimson Shadows will depend entirely on what it is you look for in your metal. If you need a fun romp with some Dragonforce or old Edguy style anthems and a lot of opportunities for writing outside the margins, you’re absolutely in the right place. If you prefer an atmospheric story and need some hook-laden sing-alongs, you might be underwhelmed. Nevertheless, “Kings Among Men” is a pretty good and very fun ride.