CRIMSON GLORY BIOGRAPHY

CRIMSON GLORY
Biography

Crimson Glory is an American heavy metal band formed in Sarasota, Florida, in 1983. The band's profile in its label's announcements traces its story back to Pierced Arrow in 1979 and then to Beowulf (BraveWords Records, 2024). The singer Midnight, the guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, the bassist Jeff Lords and the drummer Dana Burnell released their debut, Crimson Glory, on Par Records in 1986 and followed it with Transcendence in 1988; in the early years they performed in full-face silver masks, later trading them for smaller half-masks (Blabbermouth, 2025). Strange and Beautiful came out in 1991, on Atlantic Records in the United States, and Astronomica, with Wade Black singing, in 1999. Midnight died on 8 July 2009, aged 47 (Blabbermouth, 2009). From 2010 to 2013 the band's singer was Todd La Torre, who also joined Queensrÿche in 2012 while still in Crimson Glory. In December 2023 Jackson, Lords and Burnell announced the band's return with the singer Travis Wills and the guitarist Mark Borgmeyer (Blabbermouth, 2023), and Chasing The Hydra was released by BraveWords Records on 17 April 2026 (BraveWords Records, 2026; Plastic Head). Burnell announced his departure that October (BraveWords, 2026). In November 2026 the organisers of Keep It True Japan 2027 named Crimson Glory for the festival's main days, 12 and 13 November 2027 at Club Citta' in Kawasaki, billing it as the band's first show in Japan since 1989 (CHROSH Bookings, 2026).

From Pierced Arrow to Crimson Glory (1979-1985)

Crimson Glory began in 1979 as Pierced Arrow, became Beowulf, and took its name in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida. So says the profile, in the band's own first-person voice, that BraveWords Records attached to its announcement of the band's signing in 2024; the classic line-up it names is Midnight on vocals, Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson on guitars, Jeff Lords on bass and Dana Burnell on drums (BraveWords Records, 2024). Later reports describe Jackson, Lords and Burnell as founding members and Drenning as the founding guitarist (Blabbermouth, 2023 and 2024).

Jeff Lords told the story of how the singer arrived in a tribute written in 2009. He and the future Midnight had been classmates since seventh grade, sitting side by side in history lessons. Some seven or eight years later the band invited Midnight, whom they had come across playing acoustic guitar on the beach, to try out at their rehearsal space. He sailed through the Judas Priest, Accept, Iron Maiden and Scorpions songs the group covered for a short time, and he soon turned out to be a gifted lyricist as well; that, in Lords' account, is how Crimson Glory came into being (Blabbermouth, 2009). Ben Jackson and Dana Burnell each wrote that same year that they had known Midnight for some thirty years (Blabbermouth, 2009).

Par Records, Roadrunner and the masks (1986)

According to Jeff Lords, the band recorded demos at the first Morrisound Recording facility in Tampa and was signed on the strength of them by Par Records, a small independent label in the area run by a husband and wife, which sold the rights to Crimson Glory to Roadrunner as soon as the first album was finished (Crystal Logic interview, 2018). Ben Jackson tells it the same way: the first record came out on Par Records, a small Florida label, and Roadrunner Records ended up with it and with Transcendence (Crystal Logic interview, 2018). The debut album, Crimson Glory, was released in 1986 (Blabbermouth, 2009).

In its early days Crimson Glory performed in full-face metallic silver masks, which were later cut back to smaller half-masks (Blabbermouth, 2025). Lords looks back on the masks and the image as an afterthought, a way of launching a group of unknown young men from Florida into the heavy metal world. Hiding their faces gave the band a mystique and earned it magazine covers, he says, but it also meant that audiences could not see their expressions (Crystal Logic interview, 2018). Writing in 2005, the band's home paper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, still treated the masks as the band's trademark (Sarasota Herald-Tribune via Blabbermouth, 2005).

Transcendence and the tours of 1989 (1988-1989)

The second album, Transcendence, came out in 1988 (Blabbermouth, 2009). Jon Drenning remembers a period of long days spent together rehearsing, writing and arranging, and recording sessions that ran late into the night, with Midnight at the top of his game (Blabbermouth, 2010). In the United States the album was issued by Roadracer Records, and in September 1989 a trade paper reported that a re-release distributed by MCA Records was set for 3 October (The Hard Report, 1989).

In 1989 the band took Transcendence on a world tour, with John Zahner on keyboards (Blabbermouth, 2011). On 2 September that year it headlined a benefit concert at the Manatee Civic Center, in its home area of Bradenton and Sarasota (The Hard Report, 1989; Sarasota Herald-Tribune via Blabbermouth, 2005). The band also played in Japan that year: the organisers who announced its return there in 2026 describe the 2027 date as its first show in Japan since 1989 (CHROSH Bookings, 2026).

Strange and Beautiful and a change of direction (1990-1991)

Jeff Lords recalls that after the last stretch of touring for Transcendence the band took some time off. When work on demos for the next album began, Jon Drenning and Midnight, who were sharing a beach house, started recording ideas on the equipment Drenning had there. The band was then shopped as a one-guitar group, and the A&R man at the major label liked the song "Strange and Beautiful" so much that he asked for a whole album in that vein. By then so much time had passed, Lords says, that Ben Jackson and Dana Burnell had started a project of their own (Crystal Logic interview, 2018). Drenning, for his part, says that writing late into the night with Midnight and an acoustic guitar, the two of them knew they were steering the band towards their own influences, in Midnight's case above all Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin (Crystal Logic interview, 2018).

Strange and Beautiful was released in 1991, by Atlantic Records in the United States and Roadrunner Records in Europe (the album's credits). By then the band was a four-piece of Midnight, Drenning, Lords and a new drummer, Ravi Jakhotia (Crystal Logic interview, 2018). Speaking in 2024, Jackson said the third and fourth albums differed somewhat in style from the first two (Blabbermouth, 2024). Midnight did not front the American tour for the album; David Van Landing stood in for him for that tour (Blabbermouth, 2010 and 2023). The band's next album was Astronomica, eight years later.

Wade Black and Astronomica (1999-2000)

Wade Black sang on Astronomica, released in 1999 (Blabbermouth, 2023). Lords and Drenning had seen him years earlier fronting a local band in Tampa and had been struck by his presence and his voice; Drenning says he kept the phone number he took down that night in a drawer and eventually called Black to sing on demos the band was recording at his house (Blabbermouth, 2008; Crystal Logic interview, 2018). The album came out on Spitfire Records in the United States and Rising Sun in Europe (the band's statement via Blabbermouth, 2007), and Black went on to sing on the European tour that followed (Blabbermouth, 2023). An EP, War of the Worlds, appeared in 2000.

A reunion attempt and a hiatus (2005-2008)

In November 2005 the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that the founding guitarist Jon Drenning had brought Midnight, Ben Jackson and Jeff Lords back together, with plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the debut in 2006 with reissues, releases of rare audio and video, and concerts. It had been six years since the last album, the paper noted, and the classic line-up had not performed since 1989 (Sarasota Herald-Tribune via Blabbermouth, 2005). In 2006 the reunited original members played the Rockwave Festival in Greece (the band's statement via Blabbermouth, 2007).

In January 2007 the band announced that it had parted ways with Midnight. Its statement said that his present state of mind and physical condition would stand in the way of the shows, releases and recordings it had planned, hoped that he would seek help, and said the band had wanted him to be part of its future. The same statement announced Florida shows from March 2007 with Wade Black, the singer on Astronomica (the band's statement via Blabbermouth, 2007). In February 2008 Lords said the band was on hiatus: the label that was to back it financially had gone out of business not long after the deal was made, the attempt to revive the original line-up had not worked out, and the momentum had been lost (Blabbermouth, 2008).

Midnight's death and the ProgPower USA tribute (2009)

Midnight, whose real name was John Patrick McDonald Jr., died on 8 July 2009 at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 47. According to Matt LaPorte, the guitarist of Jon Oliva's Pain, his mother, his brother and his daughter were with him in his last hours, together with members of Crimson Glory, Savatage and Jon Oliva's Pain (Blabbermouth, 2009). The next day a memorial open to everyone was announced for 11 July on the public beach at Siesta Key, and the band and each of its members published tributes; the band's own statement says that Midnight was and always will be Crimson Glory's singer (Blabbermouth, 2009).

Later that month the band announced that Glenn Harveston, the founder and promoter of ProgPower USA, had asked it to headline the festival's tenth edition in Atlanta on 11 September 2009. The show was planned as a tribute to Midnight, with Wade Black as the main vocalist, a number of guest singers taking on the classic songs, and John Zahner on keyboards (the band's announcement via Blabbermouth, 2009). Seventeen guest performers took part, and one of them was Todd La Torre (Blabbermouth, 2010 and 2023).

The Todd La Torre years (2010-2013)

Todd La Torre had spent 22 years playing drums in hard rock and heavy metal bands around Tampa Bay when Matt LaPorte, the guitarist of Jon Oliva's Pain, suggested him to Jon Drenning as a singer, and he was soon at the band's rehearsal studio. Crimson Glory announced him as its new lead vocalist on 13 May 2010, stating that the decision had been made official on 29 April (Blabbermouth, 2010). In the same announcement the band thanked Wade Black for his contribution, said he would always be part of its family, and explained that the time had come to go in a new direction and that all of them felt La Torre was the better fit for the sound they wanted (Blabbermouth, 2010).

In the spring of 2011 the band headlined a 25th-anniversary tour of Europe, supported by Triosphere and Cirrha Niva; the dates announced for it included festivals such as Keep It True in Germany and Karmøygeddon in Norway, Zahner was again on keyboards, and La Torre dedicated the tour to Midnight (Blabbermouth, 2011; BraveWords, 2013). In September 2012 the band released a raw demo of a new song, "Garden of Shadows", sung by La Torre and meant for a new concept album (Blabbermouth, 2023).

In June 2012 La Torre joined Queensrÿche as Geoff Tate's replacement (Blabbermouth, 2023). On 7 February 2013 BraveWords reported that he had officially resigned from Crimson Glory. In his statement La Torre said that the band had been writing a new album, with two major European labels interested, but that the record never materialised; his work with Queensrÿche had nothing to do with that, he said, and he had not been asked to write with Crimson Glory for more than six months. He gave the band's "inertia" as the main reason for leaving and thanked Crimson Glory for introducing him to the world as a singer (BraveWords, 2013). From then until its return in 2023 the band was largely inactive (Blabbermouth, 2023); in those years Lords worked with his own project Dark Matter and Jackson with his band Avenging Benji (Crystal Logic interview, 2018).

The return with Travis Wills and Mark Borgmeyer (2023-2025)

Ben Jackson says the spark for a return came from Mystique, a Greek singer a friend introduced to the band. His voice was close to Midnight's, and they wrote with him for almost two years, but they could not agree on the songwriting and he did not join. Jackson, Lords and Burnell were nonetheless excited about the new songs and went looking for another singer. Travis Wills sent them a recording of himself singing one of the band's classics, "Painted Skies", and caught its emotion in his own voice rather than imitating Midnight (Blabbermouth, 2024).

On 22 December 2023 the founding members Ben Jackson, Jeff Lords and Dana Burnell announced the band's return with Travis Wills, the singer of the Dallas, Texas, progressive power metal band Infidel Rising, and Mark Borgmeyer, the guitarist of the Sarasota-Bradenton hard rock band The Lost Boys, and released a new song, "Triskaideka" (Blabbermouth, 2023). The next day the founding guitarist Jon Drenning issued a statement saying he would have loved to be part of the new chapter, but that becoming a father had changed his priorities and they were not in step with the band's; he called Borgmeyer a good friend and the right person to take his place (Blabbermouth, 2024).

The lyric video for "Triskaideka" followed in January 2024 (Blabbermouth, 2024). On 18 June 2024 BraveWords Records announced that it had signed the band. Wills said he had never imagined singing for a band he had loved as a child, with its posters on his wall, and Jackson said the new album was close to the first two records but had a more modern feel (BraveWords Records, 2024). The new line-up played its first show on 5 October 2024 at Keep It True Rising IV at the Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany, the band's first concert in more than twelve years (Blabbermouth, 2024). By May 2025 the album was about three quarters finished; Wills said that Lords had written almost all of the music and that he himself had written the melodies (Blabbermouth, 2025).

Chasing The Hydra and 2026

BraveWords Records announced the new album, Chasing The Hydra, on 23 February 2026, and it was released digitally, on CD and on vinyl on 17 April 2026, with the vinyl editions made and distributed by No Remorse Records (BraveWords Records, 2026; Plastic Head). It was the band's first album since Astronomica and includes "Triskaideka" and "Indelible Ashes", the two songs named as singles when the return was announced in 2023 (Blabbermouth, 2023; BraveWords Records, 2026). In a statement after the release the band said that one of its aims had been to bridge the gap between the first two albums, the fans' favourites, and the new record (BraveWords Records, 2026).

The 2026 schedule the label published in May included Wacken Open Air (1 August) and Keep It True Legions (8 August) in Germany, ProgPower USA in Atlanta (11 September) and Blades of Steel in Madison, Wisconsin (18 September), along with festivals and concerts in Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden, Italy and Belgium (BraveWords Records, 2026).

On 28 October 2026 the drummer Dana Burnell announced that he was stepping down. In a statement posted on social media he stressed that the decision was his alone and that there was no rift in the band. He explained that touring had always been hard on him because of the travel, that the landscape maintenance company he has run for more than thirty years is busiest in the summer, just when the tours and festivals come round, and that he wanted a quieter, more private life with his wife. Burnell said that he, Lords and Jackson had put the current line-up together, praised Borgmeyer and Wills, and said he would always be part of the Crimson Glory family. The report of his departure did not name a successor (BraveWords, 2026).

Crimson Glory in the words of other musicians

In a 2018 interview Thomas Youngblood of Kamelot said that, for all its international membership, Kamelot is at heart a band from Tampa, Florida, sharing the convictions of Savatage and Crimson Glory; as a boy he looked up to both bands, which had made their name beyond Tampa, and was influenced by them (BARKS, 2018). Ida Haukland of Triosphere, the support act on the 2011 European tour, named Crimson Glory as one of her biggest influences as both a bassist and a singer (Blabbermouth, 2011).

When Midnight died in 2009, Jon Oliva of Savatage and Jon Oliva's Pain called him one of the most distinctive singers and lyricists he had ever come across and said he was proud to have sung a duet with him on a reworked "Painted Skies" (Blabbermouth, 2009). Oliver Weinsheimer, who runs the Keep It True festival in Germany, called the first two Crimson Glory albums unique American metal classics, above all because of Midnight's voice, and wrote that he had dreamed of having the original line-up headline his festival one day (Blabbermouth, 2009). The new line-up of Crimson Glory played its first show at Keep It True Rising IV in 2024, and in November 2026 the band was named for Keep It True Japan 2027 (Blabbermouth, 2024; CHROSH Bookings, 2026).

Members

The line-up as of November 2026 is the following four (Blabbermouth, 2023; BraveWords, 2026). The albums each member plays on are as the records credit them.

Member	Role	Albums
Travis Wills	Vocals	Chasing The Hydra (joined in 2023)
Ben Jackson	Guitar	Crimson Glory, Transcendence, Astronomica, Chasing The Hydra (a founding member)
Mark Borgmeyer	Guitar	Chasing The Hydra (joined in 2023)
Jeff Lords	Bass	All five, from Crimson Glory to Chasing The Hydra (a founding member)

Former members:

Member	Role	Albums
Midnight	Vocals	Crimson Glory, Transcendence, Strange and Beautiful
Jon Drenning	Guitar	Crimson Glory, Transcendence, Strange and Beautiful, Astronomica
Dana Burnell	Drums	Crimson Glory, Transcendence, Chasing The Hydra (stepped down in October 2026)
Ravi Jakhotia	Drums	Strange and Beautiful
Wade Black	Vocals	Astronomica
Steve Wacholz	Drums	Astronomica
Todd La Torre	Vocals	2010-2013 (no album was released in his years)

David Van Landing sang on the American tour of 1991 (Blabbermouth, 2023), and the keyboard player John Zahner joined the band for the 1989 world tour, for ProgPower USA in 2009 and for the 2011 European tour (Blabbermouth, 2009 and 2011).

Crimson Glory and Japan

CRIMSON GLORY's early Japanese editions came out on FEMS (Far East Metal Syndicate), a label of Sounds Marketing System. The 1986 debut, Crimson Glory, was issued in Japan in 1987 on LP (SP25-5302) and CD (MP32-5109), its Japanese title simply the band's name in katakana; the obi promised liner notes by Masa Itoh and lyric translations by Marie Nishimori. Transcendence followed on the same imprint in 1988, on LP (SP25-5334) and CD (MP28-5334), with notes by Masa Itoh and Hiro Arishima; its obi presented it as the band's second album and listed all five members. A three-inch CD single of "Dream Dancer", backed with "Lost Reflection" (MP10-1), was released in Japan the same year.

The first two albums were reissued in May 1991 with APCY catalogue numbers, and Strange and Beautiful came out in Japan that August (APCY-8045), its obi carrying both the FEMS and Roadrunner Records logos and naming four members: Midnight, Jon Drenning, Jeff Lords and Ravi Jakhotia. The first two albums were reissued again in September 1996 under Roadrunner Records' RRCY numbers (RRCY-2020 and RRCY-2021). In November 1999 King Records released Astronomica in Japan (KICP-688). The album introduced the singer Wade Black, but the Japanese edition added two bonus tracks, "Dragon Lady" and "Eternal World", which the obi describes as live recordings from the years Midnight was in the band.

In March 2010 Disk Union issued the 2008 Metal Mind remasters of the first two albums as imports with a Japanese obi and notes, Crimson Glory with "Dream Dancer" as a bonus track and Transcendence with a remix of "Lonely". Chasing The Hydra, the band's first studio album since Astronomica (1999), came out in Japan on 22 April 2026 through Rubicon Music (RBNCD-1467), with liner notes, lyrics and translations, and an interview with Jeff Lords.

The band played in Japan in 1989. When Keep It True and CHROSH Bookings announced the first acts of KEEP IT TRUE JAPAN 2027, the German heavy metal festival's first edition in Japan, on 8 November 2026, they billed CRIMSON GLORY's appearance as the band's first show in Japan since 1989. That announcement placed the band on the main festival at CLUB CITTA' in Kawasaki (12 and 13 November 2027) without saying which of the two days was the band's. Guitarist Ben Jackson said the band was excited to be returning to Japan, and singer Travis Wills said that playing Japan had been one of his personal ambitions.

About the sources

The sources are the announcements of the band's label, BraveWords Records (published on bravewords.com and on the website of Michael Brandvold Marketing); BraveWords; Blabbermouth.net, including the statements of the band and its members and a report from the band's home paper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, that it reprinted; interviews with Jeff Lords, Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson in the webzine Crystal Logic; BARKS's interview with Thomas Youngblood; the 1989 trade paper The Hard Report; the announcement of CHROSH Bookings, the promoter of Keep It True Japan 2027; and the product page of the British distributor Plastic Head. For Japan, the sources are the obis (as pictured on Discogs), CDJournal, the National Diet Library's catalogue and Rubicon Music's release page. The 2000 EP War of the Worlds was checked against MusicBrainz, and the English Wikipedia was used only as a pointer. Of Midnight's death, only the day, the place, his age and who was with him are told.