How did you like the show, Jon?

I liked it a lot. We had a good time, and I really enjoyed it. Having all those singers out there was wonderful. Just an opportunity to be on stage with so many great singers, performing in honor of Midnight, and to play all those great songs... it was a real honor and a real pleasure.

It was obvious that you guys were having fun, but at the same time it was very emotional.

It certainly was very emotional. Having just lost Midnight... unexpectedly, really... it's still a shock to me. We knew that he was ill, but it still came as a shock. We loved each other dearly, we were all brothers, all five of us. We all grew up together as kids.

This may seem a bit tactless, but did it really have to take Midnight to die before (A) he became appreciated by the metal world and (B) Crimson Glory came together and played a show in America?

Honestly, we never felt unappreciated. Our fans are die-hard fans and have been since the very beginning. They've always done much for the band: spreading the word about us, sharing our music with their friends, with other generations even, their families... Crimson Glory has always been a "fans' band." We never really cared about the media and all the other stuff. We always tried to maintain this status of a "mythological" underground band.

A true legend... or more like a myth!

That's right, a myth! But one thing for sure: we never felt unappreciated or underappreciated. At all. Ever. We've been blessed with a terrific fans' support. I don't know if there are fans of any other band that keep the memory alive as well as they have.

As for the second part?

We were definitely going to do an American show. Sooner or later. And we were definitely going to do another record. Our anniversary is coming up. The tragedy of Midnight only expedited these processes. We were planning to do the show here for a while, but after Midnight passed, we thought it was only too appropriate to both honor him and play a show here, at ProgPower.

ProgPower has been here, in Atlanta, since 2001. And people were talking about you playing here for as long as I remember!

We were approached several times by Glenn. And we always felt honored. But the timing has to be right. Everybody in the band has things in life that they have a genuine interest in. Some of us have families: Dana has children, Ben has three children, and once you become a father you have less control over your time, and your family becomes your priority. Some members have solo projects.

Do you have any musical projects?

No, Crimson Glory has always been my only musical project. I went back to college, got a degree in radiology. It's actually a lot of fun: I enjoy going to school. I love being educated. Like I said: a genuine interest in things outside of music. But Crimson Glory has always been and will always be very special in all of our hearts.

I think most metal fans would agree that your first two albums, "Crimson Glory" (1986) and "Transcendence" (1988), were nothing short of life-changing. Out-of-this-world great!

Thank you. In al honesty, when we were making these records, we seriously wanted not to just make good records. We wanted to make records that would stand the test of time. We wanted people to go back to these records twenty years later. We knew, we had this strong feeling that people would be judging our music many years down the line. We certainly did not want to be a "flash in the pan" kind of a band.

How did you acquire this sense of "eternity"?

It was actually very simple. One day, after we already started Crimson Glory, we saw a Pink Floyd show. And it was so grand, so larger-than-life, we knew it was "timeless." So we came back from the show and thought to ourselves: "how can we make our music feel timeless?" I mean, image-wise, yeah, we were tied to the era, somewhat -- it was pretty "flashy" (going to back to the "flash in the pan" comment), but we wanted our music to have a strong substance. Ultimately, that's what makes the band great. That's what gives it longevity and determines its fate in time. And we are very happy with the outcome, because we feel our music has stood the test of time. But again, even though this would sound strange, we consciously knew it. Always.

So, after "Transcendence", what went wrong? Why didn't you evolve into the next QUEENSRYCHE or whatnot?

Two main reasons: poor management and Midnight's problems. Midnight had issues and started drinking heavily at the time. And it took its toll on him and the whole band. Creatively, among other things. Besides, anyone who has ever had to deal with an alcoholic on a daily basis knows: this can be horrifying. It was a nightmare.

What was his problem? Was he a loner? Was he angry?

I am not really sure to this day. And nobody is. Midnight was a sweet guy, he loved people, he loved his fans. And he was loved too: loved by his family, loved by his friends, and adored by his fans. None of us could ever figure him out. He was just on this self-destructive, annihilistic mission for himself. He certainly did not see himself an old man. He just expedited that process. And he was very stubborn, that's for sure. He didn't die because of the liver failure, by the way. He died because, when he first started bleeding internally, he refused to go to the hospital. Just refused. By the time his family finally overcame him and called the paramedics, it was too late.

Two things that I got out of your performance last night were that: (A) you truly wrote a lot of superb songs and (B) how incredible was Midnight as a vocalist that it took 2 or 3 singers on every song to do what he could do on his own, and so seamlessly, so effortlessly! No passagio, covering the entire scale, from the low end to the high end...

Like I said on stage last night: "It's taking us 17 singers onstage at one night to replace Midnight!" To have that kind of stamina, all the highs and lows that he did. Incredible! And I was always pushing Midnight to improve and do better, and he used to tell me that I was out of my mind. But I always had very high expectations for this band and even higher expectations for Midnight, because I knew how special he was and how rare -- perhaps one in a billion! -- his talent truly was. He had enough talent to be anything he wanted to be.

It's my understanding that you and Ben wrote most of the music, and Midnight wrote all the lyrics.

Some things he has done on his own. "Lost Reflection," for example. He just played that song on an acoustic guitar and sung along to it, start to finish, in one take. And that's the version on the album. That was pure magic.

That's even more impressive. Ultimately what made you guys so special was the songs. Nowdays, there are a lot of talented musicians playing rock music, but how many of them consistently write good songs?

Indeed. I tell bands all the time: "You might be excellent shredders, or drummers, and all that, but ultimately it's all about writing great songs, together, as a band." And it's all about the vocals too. Bands need to truly focus on the vocals -- the vocalists and the vocal melodies -- because this is where the magic lies. The band is canvas, and the vocalist is paint. This is why we worked very closely with Midnight.

You can write the greatest riff in the world, but with a bland melody on top of it, it won't last more than a week!

That's right. We always tried to be dynamic. All of our favorite bands were dynamic. The fact that we came from different musical backgrounds, like I loved JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN, and Midnight was from the PINK FLOYD / LED ZEPPELIN camp, that also helped. And obviously we all grew up listening to DEEP PURPLE. All of these bands had dynamic. Not just one catchy melody, but layer upon layer of musical depth, to a point when you ask yourself: "How many layers is enough?"

You have not released an album in ten years. Was it your committments outside of music that kept you busy?

Totally. We always wanted to make another record. When we wrote "Astronomica" (1999), we intended Midnight to sing on it. Some songs were already written in the "Strange & Beautiful" (1992) era, with Midnight, like "Touch the Sun" and "Edge of Forever." And Midnight agreed to do it. Many people don't know it, but "S&B" was meant to be two records, the "Strange" and the "Beautiful."

It was strange, alright.

Crimson Glory was not a progressive band because we were overly sophisticated. We were progressive because we were different. We dared to be different. But the heavy element that was meant to be on "S&B" was put on the back burner by the record company and eventually ended up on "Astronomica". We were slightly ahead of the time and also ahead of ourselves here. We wanted to make the record heavy, but we also wanted to show the other side of Crimson Glory, the more "beautiful" side of it. If the record company allowed us to do things the way we envisioned them, I guarantee you, "S&B" would have been talked about by the fans the same way they talk about "Transcendence".

I guess we'll never know. So, you say you have another record in the plans.

Yes, we have our 25th anniversary coming up, and over the years we have written some great songs too.

Is it going to be with Wade Black?

We haven't decided who's gonna be singing on that record.

Whoever it is, could you tell him to scream a little less?

Of course, thank you. When Wade was making "Astronomica", I would tell him: "Wade, you are not Midnight, you're never gonna be Midnight. However, you can be Wade. Just do what you do! Fans will either like you or not like you, but you have to be true to yourself and be on your own side." And when he was Wade, that's when we've heard some of his best singing on "Astronomica". So, no, we haven't decided who we are gonna be working with on the next record. We may even use several singers. You see, I always have these grandiose ideas, I always dream bigger, and larger, and beyond.

That's a dangerous path though. It can be either a masterpiece of versatility or it can be missing the vibe and the unity of the songs.

Indeed. That's why we don't know yet. But I guarantee you that we're gonna take great care in approaching this new album. It's gonna be something that Crimson Glory will be proud of.

Just don't make us wait too long.

Oh no!

Out of 17 singers on the stage last night, who did you like the most?

I liked different singers, on different songs, for different reasons. I thought Danilo from MINDFLOW had a beautiful talent. He had a really warm, genuine, heartfelt tone to his voice. Nils of PAGAN'S MIND is, of course, a vocal shredder. He comes out with great power. Andy Franck of BRAINSTORM has a great voice.

His voice is very different from Midnight's, but, man, he just powered away on "Azrael"! It's all about the emotions, and the emotions that I felt were exactly those that I wanted to feel when listening to "Azrael."

I know Andy's got a lot of fans here, and they certainly loved his performance. But, again, everybody was good. This guy, Todd Latour, we have discovered only three weeks ago. He didn't even know our music, and yet he came in a sang some songs better than we've heard them sung in years! We were really impressed with that guy.

That's all great, but it still kinda makes me feel uneasy when it takes a big tragedy like that to bring you guys together and on stage.

Well, like I said: this didn't have to happen, but when it did, we all felt the moment was appropriate and we had to do this. It was the right thing to do. I mean, you are right: had Midnight not passed away, we would not have done it. We would have waited until the next record, because we haven't had one in so long. But in retrospect, I wouldn't miss a chance to play here for anything.

Glenn never ceases to amaze me with his ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

When Midnight died, and when another headliner pulled out, he called me, and we both knew this was the right thing to do.

Honestly, I loved the change in the roster. I am more of a power head.

So am I, actually. I thought that Crimson Glory would appeal more to the power fraction of the audience. Our direct influences are all traditional metal. The progressive elements comes from the creative approach to our songwriting, our ideas. But, ultimately, the songs must be good. You gotta do whatever it takes to write a good song that will stand the test of time. I don't care how simple it is, as long as it's a great song. When the song is completed, it must be catchy, and you must feel good about it.

Over the past 10 years, which artist, in your opinion, had the biggest impact on the world of music and particularly -- on the world of heavy music?

This is a very interesting question. To be honest, I can't think of a band between 1999 and now that had nearly the impact that the original heavy metalers had on this genre in previous decades. That's why many bands from the past, particulary the 80s and early 90s, are coming back now. There's a big hole needing to be filled, and it's fallen to the rest of us to pick up the slack until the next truly great band comes along to carry the torch. I'm waiting to see who comes out and does it.

Do you think artists these days think at all about "longevity" and "timelessness" of their music the way you did with CRIMSON GLORY?

No. I think most of the bands lack true originality and are short-sighted; they're hoping for instant gratification as opposed to longevity. The music lacks depth, the songwriting lacks true emotion. The songs are not written, arranged, or created to be long-term and withstand the test of time. I think that this could be the reason behind my response to the question about bands over the last ten years and their impact (or lack thereof). Until these bands realize that it's not about the number of albums you put out; it's the calibre of the music you offer the rest of the world, there will be no major impact on the genre by a single solitary one of them.

Do you think "albums" as such are dying out, with the mp3 / individual tracks replacing them?

I think so, yes. No longer are kids rushing to the local record store in anticipation of the next great album from (insert band here.) Now people are purchasing songs and albums through iTunes, or worse, downloading it for free from a torrent site or some other file sharing site, and it's caused a lack of connection between the bands and their fans. We've traded nostalgia in the future, for basic convenience right now. It makes life easier, I suppose, but you can't pull out an old mp3 from a storage box, blow off the dust, and show it to your kids.

Name a few of your favorite heavy bands of the day.

The most recent project that I've been checking out lately is ALTER BRIDGE; I really liked what they were doing, but now I hear that they've broken up. I've also enjoyed some recent efforts from bands like IRON MAIDEN, PAIN OF SALVATION, SYMPHONY X, and PRIMAL FEAR, but none of those groups are new by any stretch of the imagination. Most of the heavy music I listen to is at least ten to fifteen years old, or older... actually I've been listening to more bands outside of my own genre. I'm really enjoying music from CHROMA KEY and MUSE, for example.

Did you hear MORGANA LEFAY's cover of "Lost Reflection"? What did you think of it?

Yes. I thought it was quite good, and I give kudos to the band for taking on such an important piece of our legacy. That being said, "Lost Reflection" is one of the songs that probably should never be covered as Midnight's performance was truly legendary; literally one of a kind and can never, will never, be accurately duplicated.

Rank the following guitarists on the scale of 1-10 ("10" being a guitar god and "1" being the worst person to ever pick it up):

-- Chris Degarmo (QUEENSRYCHE)

(6) Chris DeGarmo is not necessarily an original-sounding guitarist, but he's proven himself to be a truly excellent songwriter.

-- Michael Wilton (QUEENSRYCHE)

(5) He is an average guitar player, and since DeGarmo's departure he has not been able to lead the band in new and creative directions. He is not in the same league as DeGarmo and the evidence of that is apparent in the band's recent releases.

-- Glenn Tipton (JUDAS PRIEST)

(7) Glen Tipton is one of the original metal guitarists and has lasted all these years because of his excellent songwriting skills; he also has an original style of playing which I find interesting.

-- KK Downing (JUDAS PRIEST)

(6) I respect KK Downing for being one of the forebearers of metal guitar; I like his Jimmy Hendrix-influenced whammy bar technique.

-- Dave Murray (IRON MAIDEN)

(7) Dave Murray has a very fluid style; he has an original sound and tone and he's proven himself to be an excellent songwriter as well. Tasty licks? Yeah, he's got 'em.

-- Adrian Smith (IRON MAIDEN)

(6) Adrian Smith is more traditional-sounding to me. He's not as original as Dave Murray, but is every bit as important to the classic style and sound that Iron Maiden is known for.

-- Criss Oliva (SAVATAGE)

(8) Criss Oliva was a truly special guitarist. He was original-sounding for sure and he was highly under-rated as a rhythm guitarist as well. I got to see them play as Avatar several times back in the day and I knew that he was destined to be something great. His tone and talent were in his hands, not his pedal boards. He was a friend of mine as well as a fellow guitarist, and his untimely passing was a huge loss for the genre; I can only imagine what Savatage and Criss himself would have gone on to write and create if he were still alive today.

-- Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE)

(7) Chris Caffery is a talented guitar player and proved himself worthy to take the place that he did. He's got chops for sure, and his talent is undeniable.

-- Yngwie Malmsteen

(8) Yngwie is truly an amzing guitar player from a technical perspective. He's amazing. I particularly liked his earlier work with Alcatrazz and Rising Force. However, he lacks believeable emotion in his playing, particularly in his later and most recent efforts. I prefer Ritchie Blackmore and Uli Roth for their bluesier style, which comes with much more feeling.

-- Ritchie Blackmore (DEEP PURPLE)

(9) Ritchie Blackmore has all the elements that make a guitar player great: technique, style, originality, feel, tone, and longevity. He's got it all. He's been a powerful and ongoing influence to the hard rock and heavy metal genre and has solidified himself as a legend in the guitar realm.

-- Tore Ostby (CONCEPTION / ARK)

I don't know him well enough to comment here, unfortunately.

-- Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)

(4) Kirk Hammett is my least favorite on this list. I think he lacks originality, emotion, and feel. He sounds stiff to me, and some of the notes he picks out in many of his leads just don't seem right. His best work was on the Black album when Rob Rock got him to play with more feel and less notes. He is very popular but I feel that he's highly over-rated, and if it weren't for him being in Metallica, I'm not sure that the world would ever have known who he was.

What is your own Top 10?

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Uli Jon Roth

3. Randy Rhoads

4. Eddie Van Halen

5. Ritchie Blackmore

6. Jimmy Page

7. Michael Schenker

8. Eric Clapton

9. David Gilmour

10. Neil Schon

Thank you very much for your time!

You're welcome.