The adventure begins for Cryptorium.
After a demo released last year, Fabbe (guitar/vocals, Charnel Stench), Knalle (bass/vocals) and Albin (drums/vocals, Ereminium, Charnel Stench) offer us their debut album, Descent Into Lunacy, via Personal Records.
The band kicks off with Incarcerated, their first composition of raw violence, on which their abrasive riffs are expressed through savage howls. They’re joined by Hugo Lundqvist for a cutting solo before moving on to the equally brutal Horrid Exultation, which keeps that ripping sound on the fast passages, but becomes darker and more anguished when it slows down. Old School sounds and patterns multiply on Inner Decay, which strikes relentlessly, alternating blast and crushing double kick, then some Doom influences appear on the opening moments of A Distant Dream, laying down their oppressive tinge even as the riffs accelerate between more moderate moments. Void of Life keeps up the frenetic pace for the first half of the track, but the sound breaks up and becomes incredibly slow before the explosion that leads to the final, followed by Obscure Reality, which returns to the savagery with a very direct approach, but also a few more harmonious points at times. Mournful Dawn allows us a moment’s respite with its melodious introduction, but the sound becomes more haunting after a good minute, imposing its slimy lethargy on us before letting a bell begin Descent Into Lunacy, the eponymous track, where the slowness is transformed into a thick rhythm packed with cavernous vocal parts, which will be disturbed by a very calm and soothing moment before the final assault.
There’s no denying that Cryptorium take advantage of their Swedish roots to create pure, fat and aggressive Death Metal, but Descent Into Lunacy is still a little short. Still, it’s a high-quality album that will satisfy fans of Old School sound.
85/100