Normally, one would not think of combining thrash metal, death metal, black metal and even prog on the same album unless you are extremely confident in your musical ability to master your instrument. These genres usually stay separated with only a handful of bands I can name who attempt to combine some of these genres together. This is where Cryptosis enters. The Dutch three-piece cannot be categorised under one specific metal subgenre. This is evident throughout Celestial Death, their second studio album. With a new outlook into song writing, this type of album has the potential to change the game in the heavy metal world.
The album kicks off with a short instrumental opening track before going straight into ‘Faceless Matter’, the first full song on this record. Pummelling drums and soul crushing riffs bombard you instantly. As you progress into the song, the drums switch from progressive styled beats to more traditional death metal rhythms as guitarist and vocalist Laurens Houvast steals the show for the first of many times here.
‘The Silent Call’ is one of the longer songs on the album. With being just over five minutes long, it has more freedom to be progressive in the song style and structure. Drummer Marco Prij plays some incredibly fast blast beats, and mixes them with slower, intricate parts in the more mellow parts of the track. At times, the bass can be heard in the mix which helps elevate the atmosphere of this song which really helps some of the tracks here stand out, as the bass is not always audible throughout this album.
‘Ascending’, the track that follows is the catchiest song on this record alongside ‘In Between Realities’ as both tracks have choruses that are easy to catch, as some songs do not feel as structured as these couple of tracks feel. All the same elements that have appeared so far during this album remain here. ‘Ascending’ may be catchy, but it is still heavy and is very intricate musically making this a standout track.
After a short interlude, the longest song on the record appears. ‘Reign Of Infinite’ has the time to be exactly what the band want the song to be. It is filled with melodic, thrash metal-esque riffs and is once again packed with amazing drumming. The synth sounds throughout this track really give it a black metal feel which made me enjoy this one even more. The instrumental bridge in this song is led by a very odd drum beat which could easily be found on a Dream Theater record, showcasing the insane level of musicality on display here.
‘In Between Realities’ despite already having a mention, deserves another one for the way Cryptosis used symphonic and electronic elements through the synths to really make this song come to life. The chorus has a sound a band such as Septicflesh would be proud of, making this another standout song on this album.
Some of these songs really feel cohesive together and are written incredibly well, but there are others on this album that feel like a few ideas put together, and even if the musicianship is consistently top notch, some tracks feel as if they are constructed by segments with no connection to whatever segment came before it, or whatever comes after it, making this listening experience a tad bit inconsistent at times. The songs that do work together though, are absolutely fantastic.
That is why to conclude, I need to say that even though some tracks are inconsistent and feel jumbled at times, the musicality alone persuaded me to continue listening, and the tracks that are better put together are fantastic. With this being the second album Cryptosis have put out, there is a definite sign of maturity within these songs, and by the time record number three comes out, the band will most definitely mature even more, and their songs will only get better and better.
Cryptosis: Celestial Death – Out 7 March 2025 (Century Media)
– Static Horizon (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
