CRYSTAL VIPER – At The Edge Of Time EP (June 29, 2018)

Crystal Viper‘s latest studio album Queen Of The Witches is still hot, (Check out the Decibel Geek review here) but the band has wasted no time and strikes back with a special, limited edition EP entitled At The Edge Of Time, which will be released on June 29, on AFM Records. The effort, which will be available as a 10″ vinyl (!) and digital download, includes 5 new recordings: 3 brand new Crystal Viper songs (the title track in both English and Polish version), alternate version of the fans’ favorite “When The Sun Goes Down”, and “Tell Me Why” – previously unreleased cover of the NWOBHM hard rockers Quartz. The cover artwork, once again painted by the amazing Andreas Marschall (Blind Guardian, Running Wild, Kreator), perfectly matches the lyrics which were inspired by the works of the legendary British fantasy writer Michael Moorcock.

Crystal Viper is a Polish heavy metal band, founded in 2003 by Marta Gabriel.

In the summer of 2006, the first official line up got established, and Crystal Viper turned from a project into a regular band, with Marta Gabriel as a vocalist and composer, Andy Wave (real name: Lukasz Halczuch) on guitar, Tomek “Golem” Danczak on drums and Tommy Targosz on bass guitar.

The same year the band recorded first official track (a cover version of “Flaming Metal Systems” for the Manilla Road tribute album) and inked a deal with the German label Karthago Records. The debut concept album entitled The Curse Of Crystal Viper came out in early 2007 and was followed by The Last Axeman EP (2008).

The second studio album, entitled Metal Nation – featuring new bass guitarist, Tomasz Woryna, and co-produced by the King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque – was released in 2009. Between 2006 and 2009 Crystal Viper was a four-piece band in the studio and a five-piece band on stage, featuring different musicians at the position of the live rhythm guitarist, until Marta took over the duties of a rhythm guitarist as well. Since then, Crystal Viper is a four-piece act both in the studio and on stage.

In 2009 Crystal Viper signed multiple record deal with AFM Records. The third studio album entitled Legends (with lyrics based on old Polish legends and stories) came out in 2010, and in 2012 was followed by Crimen Excepta, a concept effort about witches and holy inquisition. Due to occupational obligations, Tomasz Woryna was forced to take lesser part in band’s activity, and most of the bass guitar parts on Crimen Excepta were recorded by Marta Gabriel.

The band didn’t stop touring, so Michal Badocha stepped in as the new bass player. In 2013, after several live shows in countries such as Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Denmark, Crystal Viper returned to the studio to record a fifth studio album, Possession. Sadly soon after its premiere, due to health issues relating to the band’s frontwoman and founder, Marta Gabriel, the band was forced to stop its activity. In 2013, for the first time since 2006, after regular touring in 15 countries, and after releasing 5 studio albums, 7 singles and compilations – the future of Crystal Viper was placed into question…

In the fall of 2016, the band finally broke the silence: the witch was back! The comeback album entitled Queen Of The Witches was released after a four-year silence, in the February of 2017. Like all the previous ones, the album was produced by Bart Gabriel.

So now, hot on its heels comes the brand new EP, At The Edge Of Time, available via AFM Records from June 29, 2018. Crystal Viper has also become, once again, a five-piece with the welcome addition of guitarist Eric Juris.

PRE-ORDER: THE EDGE OF TIME