Gelap Pekat

The current members of CRIMSON GLORY — whose former lead singer, Midnight (real name: John Patrick McDonald, Jr.), passed away last week — have released the following update:

"We are proud to announce that CRIMSON GLORY have been asked by ProgPower USA founder/promoter Glenn Harveston to headline the ProgPower USA tenth anniversary festival on Friday, September 11, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.

"It is both a privilege and an honor to perform at this now-infamous American metal fest, and we see this as a beautifully serendipitous opportunity to pay a final and meaningful tribute to Midnight in a truly special manner by including the fans, as well as a stretching of our collective wings in anticipation of a new era of CRIMSON GLORY.

"Initially we had only intended to come to ProgPower as a band to commemorate Midnight by presenting a memorial dedicated to his life and his work with CRIMSON GLORY. We had, of course, hoped for the chance to play the festival at some point in the future, but from the ashes of circumstances beyond Glenn's control, this opportunity arose for CRIMSON GLORY to perform sooner rather than later.

"This was totally unexpected, but after much deliberation between all members of the band, we feel that it is absolutely the 'right' thing to do.

"We see this as the perfect scenario for us to reconnect with the many fans who have followed CRIMSON GLORY over the years, as well as to present our music to those fans who have never seen the band play live. Indeed, we plan to use this performance as a bridge between the past and future of CRIMSON GLORY. As one door closes, another opens; as one chapter ends, another is begun; this promises to be a very intimate, magical and memorable event for us as well as for the fest.

"Wade Black will be the main vocalist for the show, but we are making plans to have several guest singers performing the classic CRIMSON GLORY songs and honoring Midnight's legendary legacy in their own personal and unique ways.

"John Zahner (SAVATAGE, CRIMSON GLORY, JON OLIVA'S PAIN) will also be joining the band for this performance and we feel very fortunate to have him sharing his talent with us again.

"We plan to film the performance in its entirety for a DVD release later next year as part of the 25th anniversary of CRIMSON GLORY.

"While we had remained hopeful to write and perform again with Midnight, the cosmic powers-that-be clearly had other plans, both for our departed brother traversing the stars, as well as for the rest of us still here, surviving together on this beautiful little blue planet.

"However, it does not mean the end... it never really ends."

Midnight passed away on Wednesday, July 8 from "total kidney and liver failure." He was 47 years old.

According to JON OLIVA'S PAIN guitarist Matt LaPorte, who played on some of Midnight's recent solo recordings, the singer spent his final hours surrounded by his mother, brother, daughter as well as members of CRIMSON GLORY, SAVATAGE, and JON OLIVA'S PAIN. His death occurred at 3:30 a.m. EST at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Midnight sang on CRIMSON GLORY's first three albums — "Crimson Glory" (1986), "Transcendence" (1988) and "Strange and Beautiful" (1991) — before going into self-imposed exile for almost a decade. He eventually rejoined CRIMSON GLORY in 2005 but was dismissed in January 2007.

Last fall, Midnight announced plans to release a new solo CD called "All Souls Midnight" which was to feature the "Acoustic Crimson" EP (four songs) along with the lost "Midnight Mass" recordings from the late '80s/early '90s plus some other "cool rarities."

CRIMSON GLORY's classic "Lonely" video (off "Transcendence"):



CRIMSON GLORY performing "Lost Reflections" live at Rockwave festival in Greece (2006):

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