Until not so long ago, Cryptosis was known as Distillator and they made tight, somewhat technical thrash metal that was energetic, but not too unique. ‘Bionic Swarm’ is their first album under their new name Cryptosis and immediately proves why the name change was necessary. While parallels can be drawn to Vektor, Voivod and Havok’s more technical work, the music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is a unique blend of science-fiction inspired thrash metal, more extreme metal and subtle symphonic and atmospheric touches that don’t detract from the aggression. ‘Bionic Swarm’ is already a contender for the best debut album of the year.

While the tight, busy riffing and whirling lead guitar work on ‘Bionic Swarm’ puts the Dutch trio firmly within the technical thrash metal realm, the plentiful dissonant chords, tremolo picking and bassist Frank de Riet’s characteristic synth arrangements bring to mind some of the more adventurous black metal bands. However, Cryptosis does tend to keep their songs blunt and to the point, no matter how atmospheric they are. Song structures are very interesting as well, with tracks like the slower ‘Prospect Of Immortality’ reminding me of how a band like Suffocation often doesn’t have a clear verse-chorus structure, but still moves the song forward in a completely comprehensible fashion.

Thrash metal albums that take you on a journey are quite uncommon these days, but that is exactly what Cryptosis’ debut album does. The music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is clearly sci-fi-themed, but not with the usual spacey synth sounds. Instead, Cryptosis takes an almost psychedelic approach here. That may be an odd term to describe such fast music with so much precision in the drum and guitar work, as well as the harsh, almost hardcore-ish bark of singer/guitarist Laurens Houvast, but there is just something otherworldly about the sonic tapestry here.

Additionally, ‘Bionic Swarm’ has a very pleasant flow. Every song is exactly where it should be on the album in order to retain the listeners’ attention. Because of this, ‘Bionic Swarm’ is best listened to in one sitting, but there definitely are some highlights. My favorite moments of the album are mainly characterized by high-quality riffs that find the middle ground between Coroner and the technical melodeath of bands like Revocation. ‘Transcendence’ leans towards the technical death metal side of things, while ‘Conjuring The Egoist’ proves that the trio can still thrash like the best of the genre. ‘Mindscape’ and the aforementioned ‘Prospect Of Immortality’, on the other hand, stand out due to their more proggy approach.

For me as a journalist, it can be frustrating to review albums like ‘Bionic Swarm’. While all above descriptions of the band’s music are somewhat accurate, none of them paints a complete picture of what Cryptosis actually sounds like. This frustration is quickly nullified by how excellent the music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is. It is truly the first debut album of the year that completely blows me away and the fact that it comes from the Dutch thrash metal scene – which I used to be a part of myself – makes the surprise all the more pleasant. If you like any of the bands mentioned in this review, give Cryptosis a chance. They don’t sound exactly like any of them, but that might just be what makes them so great.

Recommended tracks: ‘Conjuring the Egoist’, ‘Flux Divergence’, ‘Transcendence’