ALBUM REVIEW: Cryptdweller – Inevitable Obliteration

Here I review the debut album from US Death Metallers CRYPTDWELLER! Out now independently. I believe this to be the first official release of the band, certainly a new band to me, which always makes for intriguing review material.

1. Labyrinth Of Forsaken opens with drum battery and intrusive riffing that fires us right into the crushing Death Metal assault, tied together by gruesome vocals. The brutally pounding rhythm of the song is typical of American Death Metal with a tried and tested formula, the band utilise this to create a fun, grooving and punishingly heavy sound to set things off with a reliably decimating attack. There is some really tight cutting bass work that punches beautifully through the mix. With plenty of hard riffing, guttural vocals and blasting drums, this was a wicked opening track.
2. The Precursor slows things down with bleaker guitar riffs before building quickly back to blastbeats and tremolo picked barrages but interwoven with some more melancholic touches, filled with atmosphere and with some true clarity to the lyrics that is appreciated. Before long we are taken back to whiplash grooves and menacing instrumental work that creates a nice backing to the growling maniacal vocals. The convulsive rhythm of the song was enticing with some nice melodic flare and pounding double kicks to add to the punch. Excellent.
3. Vile Nexus slams right in with walls of instrumentals nicely broken then lurches right into monolithic violence and surging guitars over insanely drive drum hammering. Vocals rip over the cataclysmic instrumentals, giving the really meaty full band experience in a way that is obnoxiously devastating, for all the right reasons. The production is crystal clear which although I think can be detrimental to many old school sounding bands, it does suit the modernised brutality of this material. Great work.
4. Inevitable Obliteration violently crashing in with freight-train force and thrashing guitars over pounding drums to create a ferocious instrumental base that thunderously roars under the bellowing vocalist. There is some awesome technicality used in a way that doesn’t feel unnecessary or overly flashy but adds some interesting rhythms to the piece. In terms of structure the song is rather volatile with an enjoyably unpredictable progression to it. Finally we are given some stunningly old school attacks briefly that add some well-needed variety to the brutal barrages. Brilliant.
5. Throne Of Grief uses tension building guitars and cymbals that grow into nice slower, doomy sections filled with a macabre and unnerving sense of dread. Totally epic old school tremolo riffs and blast beats shine through the more modern grooves at points that sound so damn evil and filthy, adding some putridity to the polished nature of the music. There is a really mesmerising sense of frenzy that has a genuine malevolent vibe in this track but also nicely balanced melodic work too. Utterly glorious.
6. Heaven In The Void opens with nice howled vocals over sparse guitars and slow tempo drums with some nice doom flare to the band breaking in. The slower tempo crawling assault of this song are beautifully executed in a primitive and nasty manner that is much more akin to the type of Death Metal which I generally listen to, giving me a sense of familiarity. There is a lively and punchy feel to the song with passionately performed vocals and well-timed drumming. The track progresses into more discordant grooves that work well with the growling bass and blasts. Fantastic.
7. Pounds Of Flesh comes in with an awesome dual attack from snappy drums and thunder-like bass before the guitars creep into the mix, an effective way to bring the song in for certain. Blasting into melodic yet chaotic assaults with a high-octane wave of total anarchy, the band use their forceful and well-executed skills to pummel through some totally class Brutal Death Metal that just rips away at you. There was a really entertaining simplicity to this tracks structure and good harmony use. Nicely done.
8. Proxima Centauri falls into place with melodically atmospheric riffing, a dissonant ringing in the guitar notes over grinding bass and crashing drum work that with the vocals makes for an intimidating crawl into extremity before totally hellish and noisy warfare is let loose. Violence and aggression is fuelling this piece with full force and an unrelenting sense of energy from the full band. Some slamming sections that do not overstay there welcome also add a nice breakdown effect. Good stuff.
9. Of Legion follows in the brutal grooves of the previous tracks ending with some really meaty riffing that with the tearing vocals and concise drums feels like perfect mosh pit fuel, totally barbaric and hideously crushing with a wall of total mayhem hitting hard. The snare drum pummels certainly cut nicely through the wall of guitar and bass groove as do the grisly growls of the vocals, making for a well rounded and punishing listen. Epic.
10. Abhorrent Realities begins with surprisingly aggressive assaults for a final song, clearly wanting to pack as much action into the final piece as possible with menacing grooves and intricate drum work. The tremolo riffing madness and technical instrumentals that ensues is really fierce and we are given one final piece of totally maniacal and decimating slice of utter brutality. The broken up sections sound really punchy before descending into more typical USDM grinding madness with tight production as has been present throughout for a consistently well-cut experience. There is some soulfully played lead guitar, something we have not had much of on the album but that worked really gorgeously in the song. A killer closing piece.

This album was some really enjoyable modern sounding Brutal Death Metal that did offer some nice older style influence in part which gave a nice diversity to the music. For a first album especially, this is some really tight material that may not be the most original stuff you have heard, but certainly a band with skills that should be checked out.  The rage-inducing ferocity and tight musicianship / performance from the whole band was unfaltering. -7/10