Crimson Blue are a gothic meets progressive rock band from Moscow, Russia. Just trying to describe the band into one genre, is a difficult one due to the vast music on display within the nearly sixty minutes of music on The Angelic Performance. Fronted by the dynamic and very talented, Dani Hellstrom(vocals and keyboards) whose vocals can go from soft and delicate to powerful with an edge.

For the first minute of the opener Locust, some ambient noises followed by piano build the atmosphere before a wall of guitars join in. Right off the bat, I can hear the down-tuned guitars that chug away, before a faster riff plays through the first verse. The band does not take long to show their musical chops. In the case of Hellstrom, her vocal ability as well. Another modern dose of guitar playing can be heard on Dolores, with its stop and go intro guitar riff. The first verse consists of Hellstrom's vocalist and bass. The chorus definitely is the sweet spot for this song, where it all comes together. The acoustic guitars that open 3rd Eye Close are a nice change from what came in the previous two songs. A sultry vocal performance full of attitude from Hellstrom adds a whole new layer to the song. She switches, excuse the reference to their album title, but angelic vocals during the chorus. This is one of my favorite songs on the entire disc, for the fact they try something completely different, and it works! The modern guitar led Sacrifiction is next, and its a frantic stop and go riff after another, with some equally great drumming. Mechanical Madonna slowly builds from soft vocals with some added vocal effects, before it slowly builds up and that is brought back down again. This band really knows how to use dynamics with their music, and is highlighted here.

The haunting and melancholic Road To Oblivion slows things down. Just Hellstrom and a piano(with a layer of strings as well), and is definitely a beautiful song with great introspective lyrics. The next song is the modern prog-a-thon Lab II Yggdrasil. If this was the only song you heard, and it was just the intro, you would think this is a modern Djent(I hate that term!) band. Some funky slap bass playing and effects-laden vocals enter after the previous mentioned intro. The song covers many different facets of the band during its nine minute plus length. Dark Heart Of Mine is another slower song, though this one does feature the whole band. This is probably their most accessible(not commercial) full band song on the entire disc. The song is equal parts haunting and other parts uplifting. Another song that shows Hellstrom's wide vocal range, and her ability to control it. The eastern-tinged intro of Tonalli gives way to a more melodic but heavy song full of ever changing melodies and dynamics. The final song at just over the eleven minute and ten second mark, is Black Wings. A song that would require its own paragraph to describe everything. Everything from the soft piano to chugging guitar riffs, then dynamics, the drumming, this song has it all. It also contains one of the most progressive and frenetic parts on the entire disc. I don't think the band was saving their best for last, but this song, definitely sounds like the best of what the band has to offer as a whole.

If there was a band to call the "Surprise of the Month", Crimson Blue definitely fall into this category. They are on the smaller MyKingdomMusic label out of Italy, and you can check them out at Facebook. An impressive release, and I look forward to hearing more from them. They are easily recommended for those who have an open mind and patience to listen through the ever changing musical landscape they create.

Crimson Blue is:
Dani Hellström - vocals, keyboards
Andrew Nova - guitars
Lex Romano - guitars
Alex Verge - bass
Billy Nekhaev - drums