Dinosaurdays - Crimson Glory

This Florida, USA, outfit were previously known as Pierced Arrow and Beowolf, finally settling on their current name in 1982. It took them four years, but their self-titled debut, released in 1986 on the locally based PAR Records, was an almost instant success, with many people comparing them to Iron Maiden and Queensryche. The band further intrigued its small but growing clique of admirers by revealing an odd stage act based around wearing ornate steel masks to keep their faces hidden. The initial line-up consisted of Midnight on vocals, Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson on guitars, Jeff Lords on bass and Dana Burnell on drums, and although there a ppeared to be a nod to religious themes, not least in the choice of their name, they denied any connection to the "white metal" movement. The next album was 1988's conceptual "Transcendence", which explored the themes of destiny, theocracy and philosophy. Internal disputes led to the ousting of both J ackson and Burnell, with drummer Ravi Jakhorta taking his place in the now t rimmed-down-to-a-quartet Crimson Glory. This revamped line-up appeared on our featured album, which was as good, if not better than the previous two. The band seemed to be put on ice for a few years, with no further albums surfacing until the awesome "Astronomica" double album, which came out in 1999. The line-up for "Astronomica" was Ben Jackson, back in the fold with Drenning on guitars, Lords on bass, ex-Savatage drummer Steve Wacholz and new vocalist Wade Black. The hiatus seemed to do them the world of good - they're sounding better than ever!

(If you have more info on this band, please e-mail us)

Biography by John Bush
The progressive metal band Crimson Glory formed in Florida in 1982. Vocalist Midnight, guitarists Jeff Drenning and Ben Jackson, bassist Jeff Lords and drummer Dana Burnell had played together for over three years before Roadrunner signed the band and released the Crimson Glory album in 1986. The album received good reviews, prompting MCA to pick up the group for 1988's Transcendence. Burnell and Jackson were dumped soon after the album's release, and the duo later resurfaced as the heavy metal band Parish, releasing Envision on Alfa Records. Crimson Glory then recruited drummer Ravi Jakhorta for 1991's Strange & Beautiful; after the sessions were complete, Midnight left the group, which briefly forged on with new vocalist David Van Landing before breaking up. Van Landing, Drenning, Lords and Jakhorta eventually reformed as Erotic Liquid Culture; when Van Landing exited, the remaining trio recruited singer Wade Black and guitarist Billy Martinez to reunite under the Crimson Glory aegis, issuing Astronomica in 1999.