Turock - Essen, Germany
May 7 2011

I went to the German city of Essen to see this unmissable Crimson Glory Phoenix Rising Tour.
The show was at the Turock, a nice club where I've previously seen Skull Fist, Enforcer and Bullet.

The last time they Toured Europe was in 2000, 11 years earlier, and sadly the cancelled all shows I could have attended.

As far as I know,, Crimson Glory played only one show in Europe during the 2000's: it was in Athens in 2006, with original singer Midnight.
I hesitated to go but Athens is quite far, and I thought that Crimson Glory would tour the following year.

Well I was wrong. This was my only opportunity to see them with Midnight on stage so I should have gone.

But no time for regrets! After more than 10 years of waiting, I was finally able to attend a Crimson Glory concert!

The band put together European Tour in 2011, called Phoenix Rising: 25th Anniversary Tour.
Note that it was the 25th anniversary of Crimson Glory's first record, the band was formed in 1982!

This show was without any doubt one of the highlights of thye year 2011!
I was so excited and it was so good, that it's quite difficult to decribe it!

OK, there were two negative points:
- The sound was not really good, they had some minor sound problems.
- The were not much lights, the band used only the lights of the venue.

But the performance was so good that we're not going to complain!

Some say the setlist would be a negative point because the didn't play a single song from the albums Strange and Beautiful and Astronomica.

I love Wade Black and the Astronomica album; I consider it one of the best metal albums of the 90's, but this 25th Anniversary Tour was about their first records and a tribute to their former singer Midnight.

Plus... how often do you get almost two complete albums live in one single night? For most bands, the answer would be "never"! Especially when those albums are legendary.

I even think that they should have played both records entirely. I wouldn't mind if they have stayed 10 minutes more on stage!

The only song from Transendence not included in the setlist was Transcendence, and the only song from the Crimson Glory first album not played tonight was Heart Of Steel.
Amazing setlist don't you think?

The band came on stage with an intro that included the drum rythm of War Of The Worlds. That's the only glimpse to the Astronomica album that we had.
The continued with Valhalla, and you can imagine the audience's response!

The band members were as excited as the Crimson Milita watching the show.
They were all moving like if this was their last show.
Well, with Crimson Glory, you never know ;-)

Everyone was giving it all, it's so pleasant to see a band with such dedication.

Jon Drenning amazed us with his fas and melodic solos, played from the cenntre of the stage.
He had a beautiful red guitar accurately named Red Shark.

Guitar player Ben Jackson plays fast and precise even if he can't stand still. I can easily imagine him running from one side to another if they had a larger stage.

He also did a great job on backing vocals, singing some parts, that contrasted with Todd's high notes.

On bass we had Jeff Lords. Even if he's got his own signed guitar picks, he played only with his fingers.
It's impressive how fast he plays. Not only he keeps the rythm, but he adds a lot of feeling with his melodic style.

He did a short but imposing bass solo during Queen Of The Masquerade, while we were asked to scream "Hail! Hail!"

On drums there was the legendary Dana Burnell, who does great allying feeling and technique.

He smiles all the time while he plays! When you see this guy playing, you see a man that enjoys his job.

Hidden and under no spotlight, John Zahner was playing keyboards to the right of Dana's drums. He could barely be seen, but he could be heard, giving Crimson Glory's songs their msterious and epic touch.

His name might not sound familiar to you, but he has played with Savatage, Circle II Circle, Jon Oliva's Pain and... Crimson Glory in the late 80's. This means that he's like an original band member.

Part of Crimson Glory's trademark are the high vocals of Midnight. Todd La Torre is the new singer and believe me, he's amazing!
He totally blew my mind! He sings incredibly well Midnight vocal lines, and he's got a great attitude on stage.

Jon Drenning stated that the most amazing thing is that Todd is originally a drummer, and was never meant to be a singer!

Well, thanks to him, Crimson Glory is back on the road!

Jon Drenning told us that it was Matt LaPorte, guitar player from Jon Oliva's Pain, who introduced Todd to him. That was the moment to have a thought for Matt, as he passed in April 2011. The band dedicated him the song Burning Bridges.

After Red Sharks, the band went out and we were waiting for the encores.

Crimson Glory came back on stage and played 3 more songs.
The first one was Lost Reflection, where Todd La Torre wore a mask, just like in the old days, a long leather jacket.
That was certainly one of the best omoments of the show.

Two more songs were played to conlude the show: Lonely and Eternal World.
What to say... this was an amazing and unforgottable evening. I moment I've been waiting for more than 10 years!

So, we know there's a new album coming soon... and I hope a new tour will follow.
One thing is certain: I'll never forget this amazing show!!!

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Setlist Crimson Glory – Turock - Essen, Germany – May 7 2011

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