CRYPTIC REALMS
Iron Blood & Death Corp / Death in Pieces Records
Featuring members from Romania, Mexico, Brazil and Greece, Cryptic Realms play a style of brutal old school death metal reminiscent of early Pungent Stench, Benediction, Autopsy and the like. Starting off with an ominous intro, the title track wastes no further time. There is impressive tremolo picking and very fast double kick work on the drums. This album is perfectly produced for the style. Warm, but not overdone like so many other releases saturating the market. Both the solo work and the bass playing is exemplary. “Doomed Cathedrals” as the name implies showcases a very subtle doom influence contrasting with the furious buzz of the tremolo. This band work very well as a unit and whilst the vocals may be the weakest part, they suit the style without detracting. The astute detail of contrasting doom riffs with fast death metal moments is what sets this band apart. The variations of tempo from fast to slow seems to have been lost on most recent death metal and adds to the overall atmosphere of menace with this release. With 8 tracks varying from three and a half to five minutes, this band are anything but generic. Standouts are “Total Demise,” “Begging to be Dead” and the title track but all songs are thoroughly enjoyable. Released 28th November 2016. Most highly recommended. -Simon Brown
Track list:
1. Enraptured by Horror
2. Doomed Cathedrals
3. In Mortal Distress
4. Total Demise
5. Sinister Force Descends
6. Vulgar Exhumation
7. Begging to be Dead
8. Act of Derangement
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