Crimson Glory

Crimson Glory’s roots go back to Sarasota, Florida, where the band started as Pierced Arrow and later became Beowulf before adopting the name Crimson Glory in 1983. The classic line-up was vocalist Midnight (John Patrick McDonald), guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bassist Jeff Lords and drummer Dana Burnell.

The self-titled debut Crimson Glory was released in 1986 on Par Records and later reissued by Roadrunner. Transcendence followed in November 1988 through Roadrunner in Europe and MCA in the US. Burnell and Jackson left after the Transcendence tour, and Strange and Beautiful appeared in June 1991; Midnight left the band before the tour that followed.

Drenning and Lords revived Crimson Glory with singer Wade Black for Astronomica, released in 1999 through Spitfire Records in the US and Rising Sun in Europe. The band split again after that, reunited with Midnight in 2005 and parted with him in 2007. Midnight died on 8 July 2009. Todd La Torre sang with the band from 2010 until 2013, when he left to concentrate on Queensrÿche.

At the end of 2023 Crimson Glory announced a return with classic-era members Ben Jackson, Jeff Lords and Dana Burnell alongside singer Travis Wills and guitarist Mark Borgmeyer. Chasing the Hydra, their first studio album since Astronomica, was released on 17 April 2026 by BraveWords Records, with the vinyl edition through No Remorse Records.