2025 Iron Fortress Records (CD/CS)
ironfortress.com
7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS
This is almost Desultory-styled death metal mixed with Floridian death metal from Milwaukee. Cryptual is purposefully old-school, and authentic in its mission to bring the metal of death to your ears! One thing I've never heard a band do is combine normal distortion on one guitar with HM-2 style distortion on the other. That's a first for me. It's truly a unique sound, and I think it pays off. The atmosphere of the record is reminiscent of the masters I noted before, with the ambiance of the Swedish scene and the balls of the American scene. It's as seamless a blend of these two styles as I've heard, and combined with the excellent songwriting, a very worthwhile listen. Vocally, the singer reminds me a lot of LG Petrov, back when he actually growled on the early Entombed material. This all adds up to a unique record with an interesting sound, and I'll be tracking this down.
