Decibel Magazine is hosting the public debut of “The Reflecting Pool,” the original recording of the beloved anthem found on TWISTED TOWER DIRE’s Crest Of The Martyrs Demos – an alternate/demo version of the bands admired third album – as Nameless Grave Records prepares to make the recordings available for the first time.
Recorded in 2002 at Killabrew Studios, produced by Matt Crooks and TWISTED TOWER DIRE, and mastered by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studios, Crest Of The Martyrs Demos is completed with artwork personally done for this release by guitarist Scott Waldrop.
The CD version of Crest Of The Martyrs Demos features bonus tracks not included on the vinyl, including a second demo as well as a live track from Wacken 2003, and both the CD and vinyl editions bear liner notes from the band. The LP will be pressed in a total run of 500 copies, including 300 on Black and 100 on Silver. No Remorse Records (Greece) will have an exclusive 100 copies on Light Blue vinyl. The album is highly recommended for fans of Visigoth, Pharaoh, and Omen.
Guitarist Scott Waldrop delves on the writing process of “The Reflecting Pool,” “The main structure of that tune was mine, but it was a perfect example of group effort. It was one of those song ideas Tony really latched onto with the major intro and main verse riff; he immediately dug it. I feel like Tony and I were inspired by Saxon and Uriah Heep on this tune although the years may have made my memories more idyllic rather than accurate. I also remember that song (albeit a long one) came out rather effortlessly with everyone quickly including their own details – there’s a lot of intricate guitar harmonies and I remember those writing sessions with Dave. I remember playing it over and over in my basement with Jim and Marc. Sometimes we write an epic and I then dread playing it (example: “Beyond The Gate”) but I always thought this was a fun jam to play.”
Writes Decibel, “American power metallers TWISTED TOWER DIRE are an unsung gem. Formed in Virginia in 1996, the brave outfit set course on a genre that had all but caved. Nevertheless, TWISTED TOWER DIRE persevered through low and high times (they played Wacked in 2003), and are continuing strong–despite the uptick in power/heavy-informed metal–without following the guidelines of what’s trending or why… check out the Saxon and Uriah Heep-inspired tuneage on the premiere (or re-premiere) of the demo version on ‘The Reflecting Pool.’”
Stream TWISTED TOWER DIRE’s early recording of “The Reflecting Pool” now at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.
Crest Of The Martyrs Demos will be released through Nameless Grave Records on March 4th. Find preorders at Bandcamp where “Some Other Time, Some Other Place” and “Fight To Be Free” are streaming HERE and the label webshop HERE.
Additional portions of Crest Of The Martyrs Demos will be leaked over the weeks ahead preceding its release.
In the days of olde, after classic heavy metal was supplanted by extreme music and before the current reignition of interest that the genre has enjoyed, Northern Virginia’s TWISTED TOWER DIRE tirelessly defended true heavy metal in all forms as they sought to breathe new light into a then largely dead genre. By the time their now-legendary third album Crest Of The Martyrs was written they were on top of the world, having played Wacken for the first time a couple years earlier and having released two full-lengths on The Miskatonic Foundation, run by Rich Walker of Solstice fame, as well as a wide array of EPs, splits, compilation tracks, and more.
Crest Of The Martyrs was the next step: a bigger power metal label, sleeker production, and TWISTED TOWER DIRE’s biggest hooks and choruses yet. Underneath the gleaming power metal edge provided by the production provided by the label and studio still lurked the same triumphing true metal band, however, and for the first time Nameless Grave Records is proud to present Crest Of The Martyrs the way the band originally intended it: as a devastating, lean set of heavy metal bangers untouched by modern power metal production, and alternate studio decisions. Here, old fans of the band can rejoice to have this different set of recordings available for the first time, and new fans can marvel at the powerhouse of one of America’s finest bands playing at their best.
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