''Transcendence'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band

Crimson Glory Crimson Glory was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida. They started in 1979 under the monikers 'Pierced Arrow', then 'Beowulf', before settling on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up consisted of vocalist Midnig ...

, released in 1988 via Roadracer Records (now Roadrunner Records) in Europe and

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

in United States. It is considered by many to be their finest work. It was recorded at Morrisound Studios. In 2006, Black Lotus Records announced a plan to release a remastered version with a new name, "Transcendence: Renovatio". This was rumoured to feature new cover art, two bonus tracks and more, but Black Lotus ceased operations shortly thereafter and it was never released.

Writing and recording

"Masque of the Red Death" is about the story written by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. "Eternal World" was written as an instrumental for the tour of the band's first record in the Netherlands. The drums are a combination of both live and sampled drums. The band sampled drummer Dana Burnell performing live drums into a synclavier without any

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

, and then re-recorded the cymbals live later in order to have complete separation of drums and cymbals. Guitarist Jon Drenning stated "It was a very arduous and time consuming way to do it but at the time it seemed like something we wanted to try to achieve; a pristine, clean sound and true separation of all instruments."

Artwork

The front cover artwork was made by Japanese artist Takashi Terada, which was featured on the Japanese poster art for the 1985 science fiction film '' Lifeforce''. Following some of the album's themes of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, the back cover features a Kabbalistic

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...

. This is superimposed by a series of runic letters which, when decoded, spell:
CRIMSON GLORY
WE WILL STRIKE DOWN THE ONES WHO LEAD US
WE ARE YOUR FUTURE – WE ARE FOREVER
TRANSCENDENCE

Reception

In 2005, ''Transcendence'' was ranked number 412 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' named it at #15 in their list "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". ''

ThoughtCo Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

'' named the album in their list "Essential Power Metal Albums".

Track listing

Personnel

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

– lead vocals, backing vocals *

Jon Drenning Jon William Drenning (born April 5, 1965) is an American musician and songwriter best known for being the lead guitarist of Crimson Glory. He is also known for his work in the bands Crush and Erotic Liquid Culture. Biography Crimson Glory In 197 ...

– lead guitar * Ben Jackson – rhythm guitar *

Jeff Lords Jeff Lords is an American musician best known for being the bassist of Crimson Glory. He is also known for his work in the bands Crush and Erotic Liquid Culture, and currently in the band Dark Matter. Career Crimson Glory In 1979, guitarist Ben ...

– bass guitar * Dana Burnell – drums Additional musicians *Jim Morris – synclavier programming *Lex Macar – synclavier programming *John Zahner – additional synthesizer programming *Janelle Sadler – backing vocals (haunting melodies) *Tom Morris – backing vocals (kruschev impression) *Jim Morris – backing vocals (mission commander) *The Killing Crew – backing vocals *The Red Death Mob – backing vocals *The Dragon Beast – backing vocals Production *Jim Morris – producer, mixing, engineering *Tom Morris – mixing, additional engineering *Judd Packer, Scott Burns, Mike Gowan, John Cervini – assistant engineers *Jon Drenning – artistic direction

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1988 albums Crimson Glory albums Roadrunner Records albums MCA Records albums Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording