Edge of Sanity
Crimson II

Sometimes they come back. Or rather, sometimes he comes back. We're talking about Dan Swano, leader of Edge Of Sanity, who disbanded in 1997 after almost a decade of albums that made history in the death metal scene. Evidently, our Dan felt there was still something to be said on this matter, and here he is embarking in 2003 on "Crimson II," the ideal follow-up to "Crimson," the band's most successful album. Already delineating a sort of continuity with his undisputed masterpiece might seem provocative, "Crimson" simply embodied perfection in the form of a polycarbonate disc (or vinyl, for the more nostalgic), creating a work up to its level would have been a feat for anyone, even for a demigod like Dan Swano, but let's take it step by step.

The album, like its namesake predecessor, consists of a single track of about forty minutes, later divided into 9 tracks themselves split into 44 movements. Our favorite Swede almost entirely creates every instrumental and vocal part on his own, yet he employs some excellent collaborations (people like Clive Nolan and Mike Wead, just to give you an idea) unlike his solo work from five years prior, "Moontower," which was crafted solely by him.

In this work, the references to the first "Crimson" are numerous and evenly distributed (I could sit here and list every minute-second in which Dan references it and to which minute-second it corresponds in the first chapter, but honestly, I don't think it's necessary...), right from the first track, one of the leading melodies re-emerges, and those who, like me, listened to "Crimson" dozens of times from start to finish will be able to fully appreciate all this network of references, but, naturally, we're not talking about a simple remake here, if that were the case, I wouldn't have even bothered to review it. Dan puts all his talent into recreating and renewing the magic of 1996 with sounds that range from the most brutal death to a serenade under the moonlight, with always sophisticated and never predictable melodies (the keyboard work is much more noticeable here than in previous EOS works), with an underlying homogeneity that allows you to drink down the entire piece in one gulp without effort.

"Crimson II" is the proper conclusion to a cycle, it's the essence of a dazzling decade, it obviously doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor, but if the story of Edge Of Sanity had to end, we couldn't have asked for a better finale.