Crimson (Edge of Sanity album)
Encyclopedia
Crimson is the fifth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal
band Edge of Sanity
, which is their first concept album
and was released in 1996 by Black Mark Productions
. It features a single 40-minute track, telling a story in the distant future, when human civilization is about to end.
The new King crushes rebellions against his illegitimate rule and is generally hated by the populace. Eventually they persuade the Child to lead a coup. As she is left alone to plan, the forces of evil beckon to her. She accepts an unholy Master and gains mighty magical powers. She slays the false King easily and begins ruling Earth. The people watch her obsessively, because it was thought that by restoring the rightful ruler they might be returned the gift of breeding. But the new Queen misleads the people, and slays the elders who the humans had preserved for their wisdom. Word of this gets out and a group of rebels gathers to stop her. They find a way to neutralize her power (by blinding her) and then place her in the same preservative tank of "crimson fluid" that the elders were kept in.
Additional musicians
Production
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...
, which is their first concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
and was released in 1996 by Black Mark Productions
Black Mark Productions
Black Mark Productions is an independent record label based in Sweden and an office in Germany that specializes in extreme metal releases, perhaps best known for its close connection to Quorthon, leader of the defining black metal band Bathory until his death in 2004...
. It features a single 40-minute track, telling a story in the distant future, when human civilization is about to end.
Album story
The album's single song tells the story of a world where humans no longer can beget children. Into this time of despair a child is born to the King and Queen of the barren Earth. The Queen dies in the childbirth, and the King is left to rule the Earth and raise his daughter on his own. The people think the child is a sign that God will give them back the ability to reproduce, but the child grows into a teenager and humanity remains infertile. In time, the King dies and men fight over his throne.The new King crushes rebellions against his illegitimate rule and is generally hated by the populace. Eventually they persuade the Child to lead a coup. As she is left alone to plan, the forces of evil beckon to her. She accepts an unholy Master and gains mighty magical powers. She slays the false King easily and begins ruling Earth. The people watch her obsessively, because it was thought that by restoring the rightful ruler they might be returned the gift of breeding. But the new Queen misleads the people, and slays the elders who the humans had preserved for their wisdom. Word of this gets out and a group of rebels gathers to stop her. They find a way to neutralize her power (by blinding her) and then place her in the same preservative tank of "crimson fluid" that the elders were kept in.
Track listing
- "Crimson" (featuring Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
) – 40:00 - "Murder. Divided." – 3:16 (Japanese Bonus Track)
Credits
Edge of Sanity- Dan SwanöDan SwanöDan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
− lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, center rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and harmony guitar, clean and acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:... - Andreas AxelssonAndreas AxelssonAndreas Axelsson is a Swedish musician, best known as a guitarist in progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity. Before he joined Edge of Sanity, Axelsson has been singer in black metal band Marduk, though he only appeared on their first release, Dark Endless.-Music:*Edge of Sanity - guitars ,...
− right guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Benny Larsson − drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Anders Lindberg − bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Sami Nerberg − left guitar
Additional musicians
- Anders Måreby − cello
- Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
− lead guitar, additional vocals
Production
- Lyrics written by Axelsson/Swanö January 1996
- Crimson was recorded and mixed in UnisoundUnisoundUnisound is a recording studio that used to be in Finspång but was closed down by Dan Swanö it because of his family but it was relocated to Örebro, Sweden into his Home....
by Dan SwanöDan SwanöDan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
and ProMix 1 December 1995 to January 1996 - Mastered and digitally edited by Peter in de Betou & Dan Swanö in Cutting Room, StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
January 1996 - Cover artwork by Duncan C. Storr
- Cover concept by Dan Swanö
- Design and Layout by Maren Lotz
- Executive Producer: Börje Forsberg
- Promotion: Björn Schrenk