Cruz Del Sur
2009
I had this one sitting around for awhile before I pulled it out of the sleeve. I stared at the disc with all these little stars on it. I guess I was hoping that these points of light would give me some hint as to what kind of music was contained on this disc. I still had no idea what to expect as I slipped it into the player. It didn't long for me to pulled in by this LA based band. My first impression was that they reminded me quite a bit of Sanctuary. There is a similar approach in the structure and the vocals are along the same lines. Crescent Shield are not quite as heavy, but they opt to be slightly more melodic. They are obviously fans of early Queensryche and Iron Maiden too as those influences are strung throughout. The whole style is a bit off from your classic metal medium. I say that in the best way possible. It's not all 1-2-3 from this band, there are surprises and there is a certain off the cuff feel to many of the songs. They have ability to play it out though and that's where they shine. There are definite elements of classic, progressive and other metal sub-genres, but take them, give them a twist and make the results be their own. Certainly not an album I could listen to every day, but there is a certain allure about Crescent Shield that appealed to me right away. Maybe not what I was expecting, but far more than I was hoping for.
www.myspace.com/crescentshield
Their main guitarist/songwriter was the brains behind New Eden/Destiny's End. He's a great guitarist and a super nice guy. I saw New Eden back in 1997 in Burbank (or maybe Van Nuys?) right after James Rivera signed on. They changed their name to Destiny's End right after that and I saw them again in Richmond, VA.
ReplyDeleteI dig Crescent Shield as well.
Sean-This is a good disc. I didn't get around to it for a week or so because it came with the new Slough Feg. It got overshadowed by that disc at first
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