CRYPTIC SHIFT have concocted a debut album of futuristic, technically insane, thrashing Death Metal. Set for release via Blood Harvest Records on May 4th, this promises to be a weird one.
Cosmic synths and sampling start our journey into space with whammy bar assaults before fading out into bleak, churning and brooding guitars. The alienating soundscapes warp melodically in Voivodian fashion to create a dystopian sound as the cymbals chime in. The thunderous kick from the bass and cascading dissonant guitars forcefully drive out an isolated atmospheric brilliance with a ferocious bite in the estranged progressions. A drearily drawn out groove comes and goes while thrashing instrumentals twist into uncharted territories with gruesome growling vocals.
Chopping in and out of melody, ambience, discordance and utter frenzy, Cryptic Shift have a monolithic sound akin to that of bands like Nucleus and Portal that really is unique. Fabulously dark and twisted, the record draws on a huge amount of musical diversity and complexity while never feeling obnoxious or too prog-reliant. This is far more messed up than a prog-death album with visceral and convulsive time signatures shrouding vortex-shifting riffs, monstrous vocals and hammering drums with samples and shredding to further space out the sound. Definitely an unhinged listen from start to end.
The insanely skilful abilities of the musicians allows the four-track record to know no bounds with limitless shifts in ideas thrown together in a transcendentally brilliant manner that never rests. Whether gliding through space of being sucked into a black hole, the soundscapes always remain interesting and captivating. Viciously aggressive and masterfully executed, these pieces clearly took a lot of work and refinery to become such monolithic slabs of cosmic oddness. Certainly a record to be beloved by those who can get their heads around it.
All in all this is an astoundingly good debut album from a supremely tight band. Working as a unit to create a marvellous disarray that feels like a punishing space trip gone wrong, there is an endless amount of intricacies and nuance making these spectral pieces perfect for repeated listens. For those who allow themselves to be mesmerised by the cosmic sounds of Cryptic Shift, there will be a reward of a truly impactful and wonderful experience from this record with its majestic and memorable, totally crazy songs. Excellent work. -8.5/10
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