Four years ago, Cryptosis’ debut album ‘Bionic Swarm‘ completely blew me away. The sci-fi inspired thrash metal with prominent symphonic elements of the Dutch trio sounded unlike anything I had ever heard before, making it breath of fresh air that a scene full of Voivod and Vektor soundalikes needed. The new songs on their 2023 EP ‘The Silent Call’ hinted at Cryptosis leaning more into extreme metal, and their new album ‘Celestial Death’ certainly continues further down that path. While I like the riffs on ‘Bionic Swarm’ better, ‘Celestial Death’ is another unique album that highlights a different side of the band.

Stylistically, ‘Celestial Death’ owes as much to symphonic black metal as it does to thrash metal, perhaps even more. There are several things that set Cryptosis apart from that scene, however, the most prominent thing being that their primary focus is on what the band plays: the riffs and the rhythms. What’s also interesting is that it’s mostly the riffs by Laurens Houvast giving ‘Celestial Death’ its extreme metal character. The synths and mellotron sounds added by bassist Frank te Riet add a futuristic, almost psychedelic layer rather than aiming to overwhelm the listener completely.

One of the advantages of Cryptosis updating their sound for ‘Celestial Death’ is that there is more room for melody. There are no vocal hooks, because Houvast still employs a gruff, almost hardcore-esque bark, but there are memorable guitar themes galore. Also, and this might sound strange for an album this extreme, there is a much stronger focus on songwriting on ‘Celestial Death’. While there are still sections that will make your head spin, and drummer Marco Prij is still firing on all cylinders, a lot of attention has audibly been given to the song structures and making the most out of the dynamics those offer.

The back half of ‘Celestial Death’ – following the brief instrumental ‘Motionless Balance’ – does appeal to me more than the former, simply because the first couple of songs are notably more chord-focused. And that works, both in terms of atmosphere and songwriting, but I just prefer riff monsters like ‘Reign of Infinite’, ‘In Between Realities’ and the fantastic closer ‘Cryptosphere’, the latter of which probably comes closest to what Cryptosis sounded like on ‘Bionic Swarm’. That doesn’t mean the rest isn’t enjoyable, however, and ‘Static Horizon’ in particular is a great song that appears early on the album.

Admittedly, ‘Bionic Swarm’ was more my thing than ‘Celestial Death’ is, but I have nothing but respect for the way Cryptosis develops itself here. It shows a fearless hunger for musical innovation, and it makes me very curious to see how the trio will develop their sound. There are plenty of directions to go taking the style on ‘Celestial Death’ as a starting point, and it would not surprise me if nothing is off-limits for the band. Normally I would complain about the mastering job being too loud and trebly, but in a weird way, it kind of fits the themes of modernization and alienation on the album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Cryptosphere’, ‘Reign of Infinite’, ‘Static Horizon’