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Ben Jackson (musician)

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Ben Jackson
Birth nameBenjamin Donald Jackson[1]
Born (1963-07-17) July 17, 1963 (age 61)[1]
GenresHeavy metal, progressive metal
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, bass
Years active1979–present
LabelsRoadrunner, MCA, Spitfire

Benjamin Donald Jackson is an American musician and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist of Crimson Glory.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] He is also known for his short-lived band Parish, and his solo career consisting of two albums Here I Come and All Over You, and his current project Avenging Benji.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Biography

Crimson Glory

Ben Jackson co-founded the group that would eventually become known as Crimson Glory along with four other musicians, including drummer Dana Burnell, in Sarasota, Florida in 1979 under the name Pierced Arrow (later changed to 'Beowulf'). This group underwent multiple personnel changes before Jackson and Burnell were joined by the other three musicians who would compose the classic lineup of Crimson Glory - vocalist Midnight, lead guitarist Jon Drenning, and bassist Jeff Lords. Jackson and Burnell played on the albums Crimson Glory and Transcendence before leaving the group in 1989.[2]

In 1999, Jackson reformed Crimson Glory with Drenning, Lords, and new vocalist Wade Black for the recording of their fourth album, Astronomica. The band toured over a one-year period in support of the album before going on a second hiatus.

In 2006, Jackson reunited with the original lineup of Crimson Glory as they performed sporadically for about a year until Midnight was arrested and charged for charged with driving under the influence, prompting the band to call on Wade Black to rejoin.

In 2010, Crimson Glory reemerged with new vocalist Todd La Torre and tentative plans for a fifth album. The band toured for three years before La Torre left the band, citing the band's inactivity and apparent lack of interest in writing. La Torre moved on to join Queensrÿche and Crimson Glory was on hiatus once more.

Other musical projects

After his first departure from Crimson Glory, Jackson went on to form the band Parish with vocalist John David, guitarist David Edward, bassist Bernard Hernandez, and then ex-Crimson Glory bandmate Dana Burnell on drums.[9] Burnell co-wrote the songs that would appear on the band's 1995 debut album, Envision, but departed for family reasons during the recording sessions. He was replaced by Rich Tabor, who would finish the recording. Envision would be Parish's first and only album. Musically, the offering sounds much like Crimson Glory's Transcendence, but not vocally. In January 2018, 20th Century Music announced via their Facebook page that they would re-release Envision with a DVD and bonus material.[10]

In 2001, Jackson released his solo debut, Here I Come, on which he took up lead vocals for the first time and played most of the guitar and bass parts;[1][4] while his former Parish bandmate Rich Tabor contributed drums.[11][12] In 2005, he released his sophomore effort, All Over You, under the name "The Ben Jackson Group". He described the album as "more of a band effort with the result being more heavy metal in style."[4] The other musicians on this album are guitarist Mark Borgmeyer, bassist Danny Binz, Tabor on drums, and backing vocalist Rose Marie Sexton.[13] Keith Bergman of Blabbermouth.net gave the album a 5/10 rating and concluded his review by writing, "Bump the rating up one point if you can name every ex-member of Royal Hunt, and two if you've ever had anything autographed by Ted Poley."[5]

In 2008, Jackson announced he was announced that he was putting the finishing touches on his third solo album, Gold and Dragons.[6] This album was officially released two years later under a new band name, “Avenging Benji”.[7] The band quietly released a very limited edition four song EP, Out for Blood, in 2016. In 2019, they announced they were planning to release a second full-length album entitled, Love Angel Sex Devil, adding vocalist Wade Black (ex-Crimson Glory) to the line-up.

Discography

With Crimson Glory
Year Title
1986 Crimson Glory
1988 Transcendence
1999 Astronomica
With Parish
Year Title
1995 Envision
Solo
Year Title
2001 Here I Come
With The Ben Jackson Group
Year Title
2005 All Over You
With Avenging Benji
Year Title
2010 Gold and Dragons
2016 Out for Blood (EP)
Guest appearances
Year Album Artist Track(s)
2005 Sakada Midnight Bass on "Berber Trails"

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ben Jackson". Metal-archives.com. 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  2. ^ a b c Bush, John. "Crimson Glory Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  3. ^ a b Chadbourne, Eugene. "Ben Jackson Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  4. ^ a b c d van Poorten, Toine. "BEN JACKSON GROUP: The Mean Machine From CRIMSON GLORY Hits Back!". Truemetalfan.org. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  5. ^ a b c Bergman, Keith. "CD Reviews – All Over You Ben Jackson Group". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "CRIMSON GLORY Guitarist's BEN JACKSON GROUP Putting Finishing Touches On New CD". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. January 29, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c "Avenging Dragons – Gold & Dragons". Grande Rock. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  8. ^ a b Papadakis, Chris (February 27, 2019). "AVENGING BENJI (featuring BEN JACKSON) releases new song from their upcoming album". Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Parishs eneste album blir nå gitt ut på nytt". PowerMetal.no. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Parish Envision rerelease". Facebook. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  11. ^ "Parish". Metal-archives.com. 2002-08-12. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  12. ^ "Ben Jackson Group – Here I Come". Metal-archives.com. 2005-07-05. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  13. ^ "Ben Jackson Group – All Over You". Metal-archives.com. 2005-07-05. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
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