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CRYPTIC DISSOLUTION
Morbific Reminiscences In Physical Forms

Dismal Fate (2022)
Rating: 7/10

Although it sounds like the drummer is bashing on cardboard boxes, the debut offering from this Moscow band is one seriously heavy affair. It’s a shame then that it runs for just over 20 minutes.

This is solid, murky death metal led by a really chesty vocal cough of Juri “Yuriy” Rusłanowicz who also plays guitar and bass on this release. He’s joined by drummer Nikita “Nick” Nikitski and the two of them make some abysmal noise. The chemistry between the guys is evident, but it’s no surprise as they both feature for another band called Exist Enslaved who plays a blackened thrash.

Cryptic Dissolution is a different beast, but there are thrashy, almost punky death metal aesthetics to the framework whereby guitars gnash with a Swedish sort of vibe. However, there’s also that languid death / doom menace too, which is evident with a track like ‘Venomous Tormentor’ where the drums really hit hard and the riffs lurch between gore-soaked gloominess and vile expressions of haste.

This is not necessarily standard death metal because there are varying levels of extremity within their sound and you’ll still get the expected blast beats and gurgling vocal splurges, but there’s a lot of catchy stuff on offer here such as the sordid chug of ‘Lucifer Chant’ where the strains of, say, Grave, filter through, more so with the intense, gravelled faster parts. So, it’s got a distinctly Scandinavian feel at times and I love how the vocals occasionally shift into a more dehydrated rasp, circa Asphyx, but if you like aggressive yet still foggy death metal then this Russian monstrosity might be right up your murky alley.

Neil Arnold

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