The Fallen Crimson [CD]

The Fallen Crimson - the first new studio album from Envy in five years - is a record that almost never happened. Japan's most iconic and influential post-hardcore band suffered seemingly insurmountable personal and creative struggles that challenged the very existence of the band like nothing they had experienced in their nearly three decades together. After reuniting with briefly estranged singer Tetsuya Fukagawa - and shaking up their lineup for the first time in 25 years - Envy return refreshed with their most dynamic and progressive work, The Fallen Crimson. Opening with the kind of thunderous thrash that made them so renowned in the first place, and closing with the kind of triumphant ascent that has made them an inimitable force, The Fallen Crimson finds Envy perfecting their past, exploring their present, and pondering their future. It is the deepest, and most poignant album of Envy's legendary career. It bears the stories and scars of a band whose relationships with each other are as dynamic and progressive as their music - and we are all the better for it.