Crimson Armada, The - 'Guardians'

Despite noble intentions, The Crimson Armada plays right into the tired schemes of the ‘core scene.

Their ultra-groovy name indicates a seventies’ prog band. That’s not what’s delivered by Columbus, Ohio’s The Crimson Armada. Though this group does boast moments of effervescent psychedelics, uplifting lyrics and sometimes spectacular guitar weaves, at their core, The Crimson Armada is ‘core to the splintered bone on their freshman full-length, Guardians.

All of that being said, with a proper push (the group is already on a national summer tour), The Crimson Armada will endear itself immediately to today’s generation of headbangers simply because they fit the script sound-wise.

Their spiritual grounding is perhaps the reason The Crimson Armada took the coaxing of their fans and supporters seriously when the group decided to split up in 2007. Following last year’s “comeback” EP Behold the Architect, The Crimson Armada’s debut album Guardians is a bulldogging affair with menacing tones, intense shredding and throat-scorched vocals, which combined sound purely evil. The trick here (as black metallers have publicly scorned lately) is The Crimson Armada is essentially a Christian band under the guise of deathcore.

Deathcore, metalcore, Strypercore, whatever you want to call it, The Crimson Armada does offer their listeners something beyond the tired pentagrams, goat heads and severed limbs, and it’s not just their about-faced messages of hope. At times, Guardians sparkles with prog twines and fret magic from Dan Hatfield and Josh Jardim.

On the flipside, the usual gamut of breakdowns, blast rhythms, howls ‘n growls and abrupt signature swaps simply get in the way of The Crimson Armada’s missionary existence and capsizes their ark of covenants under waves of predictability. Not that The Crimson Armada sees it that way, nor do their fans. They wouldn’t be here if people didn’t believe in what they’re doing.