The first thing that struck me about the new Crimson Glory record, Astronomica, is that it contains some amazing vocals with excellent screaming in the spirit of Queensryche, Judas Priest, and Deep Purple. And it's quite obvious why this is the case: Vocalist Wade Black received his training from Robert Barr (the same person who taught Geoff Tate) and lists as his influences the vocalists of the three bands. And in a way, the music and song writing is also a combination of the bands with a more progressive tinge to it, along the vein of Rush and Savatage (also not surprising given that drummer Steve Walcholz was formerly a member of the latter band). Each of the tracks comes off like a an epic composition and it's very clear the revamped lineup is very tight and together on this release. Some of the more compelling compositions include War of the Worlds, New World Machine (with a pounding bass track), Cyber-Christ, and Cydonia. Astronomica is one of the most compelling albums I've heard this year. I highly recommend giving it a spin!