AFM Records
Review by Warren Mayocchi
“Tales Of Fire And Ice” uses well-worn artistic imagery in its title. It is not a tribute to George RR Martin, Robert Frost, or many others though. Here is the new album from Crystal Viper. The band have a good back catalogue and deliver a professionally crafted set of new material on the album. Historically they have been known for their speed metal, while this album has faster moments like “One Question“, in general it is a varied collection. This may be an issue for fans who want more of the same, and the faster tracks are noticeably better, but experimentation is good to keep a band fresh after many years together. Conversely, bands like AC/DC have made a career out of making a long series of similar albums. For me, I would have preferred Crystal Viper combined the experimentation with their traditional strengths more than was evident on “Tales Of Fire And Ice“. It was done well with “Bright Lights“, which also has a music video, the speed in the backing track was matched with a driving and melodic vocal. Other tracks do attempt to blend the styles to less success. Then there are a few which are possibly too new in style for the band to present in a way which matches the better material on the album. For example, “Tears Of Arizona” has aspirations but fails in way which sounds best as ‘something‘ in the background. If it is listened to intently, it becomes over-ripe, and better never heard again. There is also a music video for “Still Alive” for the interested, however this album is a real mixture of fire, ice, and somewhere in between. In the end, I applaud Crystal Viper‘s evolution and hope it continues. For those who have stayed the course, I will pass over to Robert Frost‘s 1920 poem to conclude. As the poem indicates we all have our own desires and this album may just become your next favourite thing.
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Rating – 77/100
Tracklist:
- Prelude
- Still Alive
- Crystal Sphere
- Bright Lights
- Neverending Fire
- Interlude
- Under Ice
- One Question
- Tomorrow Never Comes (Dyatlov Pass)
- Tears Of Arizona
- Dream Warriors (Dokken Cover)
Line Up:
- Marta Gabriel – Vocals
- Andy Wave – Guitars
- Blaze J. Grygiel – Bass
- Eric Juris – guitars
- Ced – Drums
Links:
Crystal Viper Official Website
Crystal Viper Official FB Page
Instagram
AFM Records