Hailing from Phoenix, AZ, Crimson Reign is the brainchild of Titus Medina. Although Titus was new on the scene, as he had just moved to Phoenix from his home state of Colorado, it didn’t take long before he could find himself at home within the local music scene and team up with some of the most talented local performers.
Crimson Reign’s early line up was established in 2002, and after a few changes and adjustment eventually the band settled with Titus on lead guitar, James Eden on drums, Darren Tuchawena on bass, Steve Estrada on rhythm guitar and Donovan Bosworth on vocal duties.
The band set out to perform extensively throughout the local scene; performing for any venue, stage or contest who would have them; from battle of the bands to small club gigs. Live show after live show helped the band find their true identity and cohesion, which resulted in their growing popularity and in the increasing demand for a full-length debut album. The band decided to fully focus on their recording and song-writing process in 2005, and before long, the group had something amazing to look forward to. Produced by Titus Medina and James Eden, the recording process was not as easy as Crimson Reign would expect. Artistic differences, personal issues and drug abuse led Steve Estrada and Darren Tuchawena to leave the band.
James and Titus persisted, working on their music with the same passion, integrity and motivation.
The band’s bad luck didn’t seem to be over yet: Soon after the recording sessions, James tragically passed away because of a sudden heart attack. The loss of a band mate and a friend had a strong impact on Titus, who couldn’t focus on recording until 2009; when he decided that it was time to complete these songs. Donovan Bosworth managed to sing most of the vocals, but he also quit the band way before completing the sessions, leaving Titus to handle the remaining vocals.
After a long and suffered gestation, the album was now complete. The band was also resurrected from its own ashes, with Titus and Darren joining forces again, accompanied by Tony Giedraitis (vocals) and Daniel Beck (drums).
The band’s power metal sound, their perseverance and D.I.Y. ethics gave something back to these committed artists: the recording is still a success, sparking interest from all corners of the world. In spite of it all, things will happen if you want them to happen, and Crimson Reign is living proof. Crimson Reign’s sound has been compared to Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Metallica just to name a few.
Genre:
This Genre is chosen because it has and requires the most skilled of musicians. No ONE member can lack exceptional skills. It is challenging and very athletic at times yet, it takes you on a journey. It’s influenced by the best of all Heavy Metal including bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Megadeth, Dio, Testament, Queensryche, Yngwie Malmsteen, Evergrey (our future direction), etc.•It means everything to us! It’s a way of life, not a hobby or occasional event. It’s our “CALLING”!
Ideas about the album:
We “nailed” the performance and writing of the material. We want the sound quality of the tracks to step up to the highest level. We did amazing for what we had to work with, but we were limited financially and couldn’t drop the better part of a million dollars or MORE to get it done. We are however very proud of the final product and it is still high quality, just not the ABSOLUTE highest.
Reception:
It is being received quiet well! We have fans and sales throughout the world! The mountain in our way with this album’s success is exposure to the masses. Most people don’t know it exists. The right marketing campaign would really take it where it needs to be. Many people that hear it are extremely enthusiastic in their response and say things like “Why aren’t you guys HUGE right now?!” and “You should be playing arenas!”. It seems everyone has a different favorite song on the album as well. It’s awesome to hear that because it lets us know we did something right. We made a great album. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Not one or two good songs with “filler ” tracks that don’t interest you on the rest of the album.
Next step; live or studio:
We are very close to being prepared for live performances again and we are VERY excited about that! The line-up has changed a bit so we are getting everyone up to par with the demands of Crimson Reign’s standards. We refuse to deliver less than a great and entertaining show. We expect to gig starting in June. We have tentative gigs at a couple festivals that month and throughout summer in the U.S. but no dates are in stone yet.
We will begin the writing process of the second album throughout the summer as well and hope to have it ready for the studio by 2014.
Lyrics, themes and concepts:
Lyrically, most songs are based on real life experiences of our own. And like any movie that is “based on a true story”, the songs are not limited to strictly the facts of what did indeed occur. They are inspired by true life events but not necessarily ENTIRELY true. Hahaa J
We will continue to have a storyline in our future songs and not just random meaningless words that perhaps happen to rhyme here and there, at best.
Future plans:
Musically, we want to take it to the next level of musicianship of what we love and our potential. More progressive and powerful. Intricate and heavy yet, melodic and beautiful with dark/haunting elements as well. High energy, yet epic sounding.
We have been stuck in the studio like wild animals in a cage. We’re hungry and we want out! It’s exciting to see and hear a new song developing but there’s nothing like the excitement of live performance. It is after all, a party right! ,,/
Composers:
Currently myself (Titus Medina) and Darren Tuchawena are the band’s composers and lyricists but I am really looking forward to what Daniel Beck will bring to the table with the drums. To combine his death metal style and energy with the intricate/disciplined writing styles of Crimson Reign is going to be awesome!
Preference; cater to the audience or music for its own sake:
Catering to the music AND the audience is of equal importance and in that respective order. We could’ve slapped together a few mediocre albums with all the time vested in “The Calling” but I personally couldn’t live with something I’m not proud of. Every effort will be our best at that point in our lives and we don’t intend to get lazy when it brings us massive success like a certain band not to be named. As I have mentioned before, we strive to deliver a great performance and entertaining show to our audience. Bands should earn the time and attention of its audience and definitely the money spent to support them. This is still the entertainment business, isn’t it? I rarely find bands that make that effort but when I do, I’m a fan for life.
Greatest Accomplishment:
So far, the greatest accomplishment is completing “The Calling”! It was a lifetime in the making and we hope and pray it will bring us the opportunity to carry on and move way up and forward in the music business. Everything is riding on its outcome. It took everything to create it as there were MANY struggles and mountains that were in the way of its creation and many sacrifices were made and even tragedies endured. Thank you James Eden (1961-2008) for your faith and efforts!
To all the the Crimson Reign fans around the world, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your support!!! ,,/ KEEP THE FIRES OF METAL BURNING BRIGHT!!! ,,/
Want more of Crimson Reign? Visit their website and Facebook! You can buy the album on their website or cdbaby.com, or stream on Spotify, download the tracks on iTunes.com and amazon.com, purchase their merchandise on their website.
To join their fan-club and mailing list, send your contact info to fanclub@crimsonreign.net
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