(Epic Heavy Metal / Power Metal) Crystal Viper - Legends - 2010, APE (image+.cue+scans) lossless

CRYSTAL VIPER started their Heavy Metal adventure in 2003 in Poland, after being formed by Marta Gabriel (vocalist, guitarist, pianist) and her husband - Bart Gabriel (producer, manager and music journalist). After several demo recordings and compilation apperances, band signed papers with the German label Karthago Records. Debut concept album came out in 2007 (on both CD and limited edition vinyl LP), and received great feedback from both fans and press. Between 2006 and 2007 CRYSTAL VIPER promoted the album on live shows in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, and shared the stage with acts such as: ANVIL, DORO, CRADLE OF FILTH and BLTIZKRIEG. In 2008 the next - this time strictly limited - release was out: "The Last Axeman" CD and LP, which was a compilation of new songs, live recordings, and covers. One of these cover songs, VIRGIN STEELE's "Blood And Gasoline", was recorded with 2 original members of this band - vocalist David DeFeis and guitarist Joshua Block. An alternate version of this special "CRYSTAL VIPER & VIRGIN STEELE" duet song was used as an exclusive bonus track on the 2008 re-release of the VIRGIN STEELE classic album "The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell".

In early 2009 the third release was ready: an album titled "Metal Nation", produced by Bart Gabriel, mixed and mastered by the Grammy nominated KING DIAMOND guitarist, Andy La Rocque. "Metal Nation" again received bunch of positive reviews, and was released on CD (in Europe and Japan) and limited edition vinyl LP. During the "Metal Nation Tour 2009", CRYSTAL VIPER played their first shows in Greece and Spain, and recorded their first live album titled "Defenders Of The Magic Circle - Live In Germany", on MANOWAR's own Magic Circle Festival. During autumn of 2009, band released 2 singles: "The Wolf And The Witch" (7" vinyl on High Roller Records) and "Stronghold: Under Siege" - special CD single, which was added to the first edition of the bestseller fantasy board-game "Stronghold", produced by the famous Portal Publishing company.

In 2010 CRYSTAL VIPER found new home label, the AFM Records, and under this new banner released mentioned live album. The brand new studio album titled "Legends" - with lyrics based on the old Polish legends, and recorded with special guests such as: Rhino (ex-MANOWAR, ANGELS OF BABYLON), Stefan Kaufmann (ex-ACCEPT, U.D.O.), Mat Sinner (PRIMAL FEAR, SINNER) and Sven D'Anna & Dano Boland (WIZARD), will hit the streets on October 22, 2010. CRYSTAL VIPER, the new heroes of True Heavy Metal, still continue their crusade. Their are loud, hard, and heavy. They are METAL.

OFFICIAL DISCOGRAPHY:

"The Curse Of Crystal Viper" (full lenght CD/LP) 2007
"The Last Axeman" (MCD & LP) 2008
"Metal Nation" (second full lenght CD/LP) 2009
"Sleeping Swords" (CD compilation) 2009
"The Wolf And The Witch" (7" single) 2009
"Stronghold" (CD single) 2009
"Defenders Of The Magic Circle" (live album CD/LP) 2010
"Legends" (third full lenght CD/LP) 2010

APPERANCE ON THE FOLLOWING COMPILATIONS:

A Tribute To Cirith Ungol (2006)
A Tribute To W.A.S.P. (2007)
A Tribute To Manilla Road (2007)
A Tribute To Angel Witch (2007)
Metal Armada Of Karthago's Dragons (2008)
Hard Rocker 2 (Hard Rocker Magazine CD sampler) (2008)
A Tribute To Warlock (2008)
A Hammer To Fall (Metal Hammer Hungary CD sampler) (2009)
A Tribute To Running Wild (2009)
A Tribute To Virgin Steele (2010)

CRYSTAL VIPER takes the spirit of what made older 80s heavy metal great and brings it back to life. Starting up in 2003, the group doesn’t take much to create their sound. With just a singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer, the sound may seem minimalistic, but that many people can create a lot of noise. CRYSTAL VIPER mostly sounds like IRON MAIDEN, HALESTORM, SISTER SIN, or a more hard-rocking NIGHTWISH. Even though the group is lead by a female vocalist, she has one of those gritty rough voices that could easily pass as a guy singing power metal. Much of the music is melodic, but also on the other hand slightly generic due to a lot of the songs sounding the same. The thing that really keeps CRYSTAL VIPER going is their lyrics, which invoke fantastic images about the mystical world that ranges from Death to Undead legions marching upon unsuspecting victims… the stuff of fantasy nightmares. Their latest album, ’Legends’, continues in that lyrical tradition, but the music still doesn’t have much variation.
Starting with the short introduction of spoken lore, the music picks up with ‘Ghost Ship’. A lot of this is much like speed metal with the buzzing guitars that chug along while broken up every once in a while by solos. The drumming is extremely quick paced and also seems to chug at time to match the guitars. Vocally, the group is solid, sometimes layering operatic sounding male clean vocals with the female vocals, but they stay strong the entire way through and in the front of the music. The bass unfortunately gets a bit lost in everything, especially when it comes to full blazing tracks such as ‘Greed Is Blind’ or ‘Night of the Sin’. Tracks like these are purely guitar focused and bring a lot of melody, but also don’t leave much other room for the other instruments to show off. Out of all the tracks on the album, the only real one that is distinguishable is ‘Sydonia Book’, which is the album’s ballad. Slow, soft, and piano driven, it is VERY different than all the others in musical style. The vocals can be heard clear as day with no distraction, even though there is some guitar involved, and the soft, charming tones fits the theme of the CRYSTAL VIPER’S music perfectly, particularly because it is so haunting.
Overall, the album is mostly meant to appeal for those who enjoy fantasy metal or older hard rock oriented metal. Those who are seeking music that is more dynamic along the lines of symphonic metal or progressive metal will probably be disappointed; this is down and dirty heavy metal in the vein of JUDAS PRIEST’s era. The quality of sound is more modern, but the music screams 80s. However, don’t let the grit and crunch of this old school feel pull you away from checking this album out… the story is well worth the listen. Just try not to get tired out from hearing the same style of music over and over again.
Review written by Colin McNamara for www.reflectiondofdarkness.com

Marta Gabriel - Vocals
Andy Wave - Guitar
Tom Woryna - Bass
Golem (Tomasz Danczak) - Drums