Crimson Moonlight – Veil of Remembrance
Rivel Records – January 8th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
I can almost picture the determined faces of
Crimson Moonlight upon entering the studio. If these faces could talk, and they can because they have mouths, they probably would’ve said: we’re going to create our fastest, heaviest, and best album to date. And they did.
Veil of Remembrance is an utter joy, and is one I can’t get enough of.
Crimson Moonlight waste no time delving into speedy black metal, which “Intimations of Everlasting Constancy” deftly illustrates. Elowson (drums) is blazingly fast on this particular release, and Rosen’s vocal delivery has grown by considerable degree. Decipherable influences you ask? Well,
Dimmu Borgir has had quite an effect on the guys; but, turn the aforementioned up a notch to depict the sound of
Veil of Remembrance. “Painful Mind Contradiction” briefly slows the pace, but expectedly returns to the uber-quick instrumentation that runs rampant within the disc. The 0:50 minute mark ushers in a spectacular groove, and transition from crash cymbal to ride at the 1:20 minute mark is great. Enter different vocal style at 1:38: high, black metal shrieks provide background audio pleasure. “Embraced by the Beauty of Cold” doesn’t bring as much to the table as the previous, two tracks did. Redeeming qualities are definitely found later in the song, though. “The Echoes of Thought,” “My Grief, My Remembrance,” and “The Cold Grip of Terror” are all bitter endeavors. The latter commences more slowly and is reminiscent of
Burial-era
Extol; the melodies are top-notch. “Contemplations Along the Way” sees death vocalizations take the forefront, as they do at other times. Are there weaknesses to be found here? As with any record, there are faults to be exposed: songs aren’t too differential from one another,
Crimson Moonlight draw too much – perhaps – from their influences, among other small complaints.
Seemingly, this is what the band wanted to create with
The Covenant Progress, but didn’t achieve until
Veil of Remembrance. The brutality of this album, along with other myriad characteristics, makes this platter totally worth owning. They don’t have the originality of
maudlin of the Well, but that’s truly a painstaking gripe;
Crimson Moonlight – as far as I’m concerned – are wondrous.
9/10
Official Crimson Moonlight website
Official Rivel Records website
