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CRYPTA
Shades Of Sorrow

Napalm (2023)
Rating: 9/10

Upon reflection, although I really enjoyed the 2021 Crypta debut full-length Echoes Of The Soul it didn’t have the eventual impact I was expecting. For this new album, guitarist Sonia Anubis is replaced by Jéssica di Falchi who joins fellow guitarist Tainá Bergamaschi, vocalist Fernanda Lira and drummer Luana Dametto. The big question here though is does Shades Of Sorrow hit the sweet spot?

Well, this latest effort is certainly an improvement on the debut. The guitars here really do cut deep as the combo serves up ripping death / thrash that combines the chunkiness of Death with the rawer, savage aspects of classic Sepultura yet with added contemporary zip and technicality.

There is no doubt this is a monstrous record as from the off Crypta delivers the serrated assault of ‘Dark Clouds’, a venomous retaliatory strike that pounds and twists like a devilish mix of Sadus, Atheist and the brash South American underground scene. Fernanda Lira comes into her own on this opus, finding a range that sits demonically between hostile snaps and guttural coughs. Several listens in and I’m still trying to grasp the flurries and constant tempo shifts, especially with the frantic percussion of Luana Dametto who impresses throughout.

This isn’t the heaviest death / thrash album you’ll hear, but it’s one which scratches, scathes and scorches violently in its unpredictability. When you are of sound mind enough, and fully armoured, you dive in to each track and will marvel at its ferocity, arrogance and crunch as the clan tears through the sniping ‘Trial Of Traitors’ and the angular anomalies of ‘Poisonous Apathy’ where bass is king.

This is a thorny adventure to say the least, a platter with an abundance of spikiness and swagger as it hectically lashes and swipes. ‘Stronghold’, with its piercing solos, is brooding yet melodiously fluid as it displays traditional elements, ‘The Outsider’ begins with a doomy aching whine before embarking on another blitz of pace, while ‘Lord Of Ruins’ has an almost black metal aesthetic in its initial rise before the speedy death thrash scowling takes over. But for me it’s about how the members operate as a unit and as you replay the album time and time again you can only salivate over the memorable hooks, the savage solos and the frantic yet seamless transitions.

Many may find their initial listen rather inhospitable, but given the time and space to breathe Shades Of Sorrow will ultimately unravel into the gargantuan tapestry of terror that it is.

Neil Arnold

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