No respite for Cryptosis.
While their previous release only dates back to the end of 2023, Laurens Houvast (guitar/vocals, ex-Face the Fact), Frank te Riet (bass/mellotron/vocals, Omgeving) and Marco Prij (drums, Blasphemy Night) are already announcing the release of their new album, Celestial Death.
Prologue – Awakening ushers us into its futuristic universe with soaring keyboards, before confronting us with the complex riffs of Faceless Matter, launched at full speed. Vocal parts and other ominous leads naturally follow the rhythm, but the track soon comes to an end to meet Static Horizon, where fans of unpredictable Progressive Metal will be delighted by the heady harmonics. The composition remains full of contagious fury, as does The Silent Call, which allows us a brief moment of respite before continuing with its cutting riffs and intense modern sounds that give the band its personality. Ascending takes a slightly rawer approach, offering catchy jerky parts between two majestic layers of keyboards, but in the end the track is quite short, and gives way to Motionless Balance, a celestial interlude where we’re allowed to breathe again. The musicians follow up with Reign Of Infinite, which returns to its cosmic saturation and fury, blending the two into a sci-fi bedlam that develops at length before giving way to Absent Presence, which begins in soothing quietude. The track is much slower and haunting, allowing the musicians to weave a heavy dissonance before accelerating into the technicality of In Between Realities, where the trio show us the extent of their talent with long instrumental parts. Back to rage and Thrash influences on Cryptosphere which offers a powerful and uncompromising sound at high speed, without forgetting those little more polished touches, then the album comes to an end with Coda – Wander Into The Light and its more moderate impressive approach, once again recalling the band’s space universe with a slow, heady instrumental.
Although I’m usually reluctant to Progressive Metal, I must admit that I’ve been hooked by Cryptosis since their first album. Celestial Death adds a major stone to the edifice, and the band gives itself no limits, whether in terms of violence, complexity or atmosphere.
85/100