Cryptorium is a Swedish death metal band who formed in 2022. Their latest release, “Descent Into Lunacy” is their full-length debut album; they have also released a demo.
And what a debut this is! “Descent Into Lunacy” isn’t going to reinvent the wheel but what it does is consist of eight tracks of blistering, old school death metal across just over 30 minutes. It’s a very convincing sound that goes out of its way to pulverize with a deadly groove. I absolutely love the way the album sounds: raw and gloomy as hell. More so than a lot of other OSDM worship bands, this one truly embraces the values of the late 80’s/early 90’s underground death metal scene.
Vocalist/guitarist Fabbe is a disgusting human being–and I mean that in the nicest way possible. His vocals are depraved, ridged growls with a lot of heft behind. The dude is truly a beast but it doesn’t end with his monstrous vocal abuse. His guitars are fantastic, thick and swampy yet injected with the cold-as-a-grave riffs that are actually infectious as hell. Bassist Knalle shines through the album, his bass always audible. He doesn’t simply rise up from the muck—he is part of it, embracing the putridity of it all.
Albin’s drums embrace the deadliness of it all by supplying a foundation that is a battering ram but zeroed in on deadly attacks with tight, focused drumming that compliments the songs but supplies its own personal ravaging.
What I appreciate the most about this album is the band has an uncanny knack for understanding when to take the songs down a lane that’s just under “fast as fuck” but isn’t afraid to hang back and let it all breathe when the need arise.
The opening song, “Incarcerated” is a powerful example of which I speak. The beginning is blistering, the band seemingly in a race to finish before it begins. But, later, swaths of groove are injected in between these faster, hellish parts. It’s a dynamic that works well, especially when used alongside the guitar leads, such as near the song’s ending.
The fade in for “Inner Decay” is a clever idea for letting the perfectly toned drums to the front of the song, leading the way for a short song that’s so brutal that it probably couldn’t be any longer without destroying my headphones. The bass has a strong presence in this song, working its way out from the guitar even while working in tandem with it.
The band, and album, is at its best when the groove machine all comes together as a definite, evil wall of sound. “Void of Life,” is such a moment–a monolithic song with pulse pounding rhythm and deep, rumbling bass. Around the 1:55 mark, the band stops for a few precious seconds to let the bass set up one of the nastiest drops I’ve heard all year. Fan-fucking-tastic!
Dizzying grooves and crunchy riffs alternate to form the unhinged beginning of “Obscure Reality.” This is one of the more frenzied and uncompromising songs on the album. This is the type of song that exemplifies what death metal is all about and even though I love modern DM, in the end, old school is always the way to go. If this one doesn't induce whiplash, then maybe you don’t like death metal and should go find better taste.
The title song, and the longest at over six minutes, ends the album. Church bells ring out in the opening seconds before slow, doomish riffs snake their way in like a predator stalking its victims. The guitar tone is insanely great—this is what death metal should sound like: cold, evil, yet fueled by the warmth of blood and decay. As the seconds ram their way though, the song gets meaner and faster. A surprising, and well written, twist of clean instruments makes its presence known near the end before the song returns to its final, crushing moments.
There isn’t a shortage of bands playing OSDM these days but Cryptorium are up there among the best with a surprisingly strong debut in “Descent Into Lunacy.” Losing your mind never sounded so good. If you like death metal, you’ll love this. And if not, like their bandcamp page says, then you’re a whimp and poser. Sorry, not sorry.
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