CRIMSON GHOSTS have released a new album.
It is an album that comes in a digipack with a really thick booklet. Such a thick booklet is rare these days and earns a bonus point from me. Visually, the album “Forevermore“ greets you with a symphony of black and gray tones. Very dark, somehow truly hopeless.
The album is dedicated to a deceased friend. Perhaps that explains it.
Or maybe it’s because this falls into the big drawer of horror punk, where the band positions itself, and a bright cover with colorful Hawaiian shirts would be somewhat inappropriate.
It kicks off with “On a succubic night“. A song that starts powerfully, with an ominous laugh, and then ends in a forceful, metal-infused track adorned with beautiful vocal melodies. This song is already very representative of the album's stylistic mix. The band juggles metal, dark rock, punk, hardcore, wave, psychobilly, and electro, making it a joy to listen to. The band showcases a lot musically, which they demonstrate in (almost) every song.
There are almost ballad-like songs like “Of a guilty man“.
There are songs like “The legend of Waiking Sam“, which remind one of compositions by Bloodsucking Zombies from outer Space.
There are songs like “As the whisper grows“ that push forward tremendously and demand proper dancing.
Towards the end of the album, the band lets you hear that they are also big fans of Metallica. The sound and the vocals in some songs towards the end of the album strongly resemble the band from San Francisco.
Fans of CRIMSON GHOSTS will notice an evolution, which is not a bad thing in itself and is just the course of time.
What I personally find a bit too much is the diversity of the songs. Everything is flawless in terms of skill, but I miss a little bit of a common thread, especially stylistically.
So for me, “Forevermore“ remains an album that outstandingly showcases musical talent but somehow lacks enough to completely excite me. Perhaps the band will succeed live. The guys will be seen on several stages this summer. You can find out where exactly on the homepage of the Cologne band.
