Tracks :
1. Intro
2. The Righteous Wrath of Mars
3. The First Counterbirth
4. The Malediction of Tif'eret
5. Axiomatic Fatalism
6. Interlude
7. In Elementum
8. Progeny
9. The Black Chrysalis
10. The Firebrand Soliloquy
Open The Crypt is Krypts debut demo which was released in 2009 by the band themselves. These guys are an old school death metal band hailing from Finland. A few years ago, I decided to check out the old school death metal scene. After hearing bands such as Obituary and Autopsy for the first time, I dismissed the whole old school death metal genre as being worse than R&B. I thought it was all generic, slow and boring. A couple of years later I decided to re-visit the old school death metal genre in the form of Krypts. After hearing this demo, I realised that I made a huge mistake a year ago. This demo has really opened my eyes to the world of old school death metal. It was nothing like I’ve ever heard before (which was a good thing). This band gave me one hell of a surprise!
This demo features everything you could possibly expect from an old school death metal band. The guitars are down tuned and have a vintage sound to them. The music itself is distorted raw and bone crushingly atmospheric. Also the vocalist has chosen to keep it “old school” by only utilizing growls. There are no screams/shreiks or vocal changes in this demo, but that doesn’t automatically make it boring. The drumming have a snappy distorted sound to them, the drum skins sound like they are done up tight (really tight). It almost sounds like he is hitting tin cans. The recording quality of this demo is below average, just to emphasise all the other aspects to their music. This is what I imagine biker gangs listen to because there is nothing juvenile about this release. This is just 23 minutes of serious death metal. The only catch is that this demo was released in 2009, because I think that Open the Crypt could easily be passed off as a demo from the late 1980’s.
What makes this band different from the others? Because it’s clear that these guys are inspired to be the very bands that I loathe so how is this different? The main thing about this band that makes them so unique is that they aren’t afraid to push the boundaries of the genre. They have opened up a whole new dimension to this, once boring genre. There aren’t many old school bands out there that I’ve heard to go all out like these guys. I’m not sure if it’s because other old school bands prefer not to travel down the same path as these guys or if they are too scared to make a move. Either way, I truly believe that this is as extreme as the old school genre is ever going to become.
It is almost too hard to comprehend how powerful and energetic this band is compared to the rest. The drumming and guitar work are both extremely quick and powerful. The music is quite technical for an old school death metal band but the best thing about it is that they also have a sense of song structure in their music as well. Unlike a lot of the incoherent/mindless banging that goes on in more modern death metal but somehow, this is equally if not even more extreme. The best thing I like about this album is that it’s not the same damn pace all the way through the whole demo, and this is the very thing that makes these guys stand out from the rest. There are times when the music is slow and raw/heavy and there are times when the music is extremely fast an energetic. This is essentially what makes this band stand head and shoulders above most other old school death metal bands.
Overall, I think that this band has the potential to revolutionize the whole genre. This band is definitely a treat to all those who heard it. I think that this will appeal to all extreme metal fans from deathcore to old school death metal fans. This is one of the best death metal releases out there and it would be a shame if this band was to pass unnoticed and remain unknown. What a better way to start releasing music than to release something like this. I recommend the opening track on this demo Day Of Reckoning because it displays the sheer awesomeness of this band and what we might be in for in the future. Krypts has the potential to be one of the biggest and badest old school death metal bands around. I give Krypts’s Open the Crypt a 17/20.
Tracks :
1. Thy Saviour: Your Kingdom's Gone
2. A Coma Patient's Death Wish
3. Climb the Highest Mountain
4. Azrael's Not Green
5. Crusade of Modern Age Slavery
6. Orphans of Metropolis
Antiego is Toscrew’s debut album and second studio release which comprises of 8 tracks. This album was released in 2011, and wasn’t produced by any recording label. These guys have labelled themselves as being blackend death doom metal, and I wouldn’t disagree. These guys feature practically all of those elements in their music. Especially the death and black metal elements. So in short these guys are basically an extreme metal band, which have mustered everything about extreme metal and created this extremely extreme band!
These guys have taken three extreme metal genres and have tried to manipulate all of them into their sound. I have to say, they have done an impressive job at this. The first and most obvious genre that has influenced these guys would have to be death metal. Almost all extreme metal bands nowadays that create hybrid genres have elements of death metal in their sound, and these guys are no exception. This album features death metal style riffs, and a pace that a typical death metal band would normally play at. There is also a strong death metal vibe in their music, I’m not exactly sure what it is about the drumming, but it seems to have distinctive death metal influences. Also, the song structure of most of the tracks seems to be a death give away of the death metal roots involved as well.
The next primary influence in their music would definitely have to be black metal, no doubt about it. Sometimes they appear to have similar feelings and atmospheres as a regular black metal band. From what I can tell, they have utilized two different styles of atmosphere which are 99% of the time present in black metal. The first style to mention is the style you would normally find in bands such as Darkthrone, it’s fairly dark and eerie but it doesn’t exactly sound sad. For some reason, this adds a sense of rawness to their music and makes it sound quite abrasive, hey what do you know, this is also another trait extreme metal bands have. The next atmosphere these guys have that is also commonly found in black metal. But it’s more from the brutal side of things and almost all brutal black metal bands have this and this does include bands like Marduk and Endstille. The primary cause of this would have to be the guitar work and tuning/distortion of them. The notes that are played in such a way that there aren’t any gaps in between them, which gives the music a similar atmosphere that is normally present in modern day brutal black metal.
I think that the vocals sound awfully black metalish as well, the vocalist utilizes are extremely high shrieks of despair rather than a typical black metal shriek. When I mean despair, I really mean sheiks of despair that are commonly found in many depressive suicidal black metal bands across the board. But I believe that this has as much to do with the next extreme metal element which is in their music. These guys do have a strong doom metal influence in them, which is just the thing these guys need to wrap their music up. The music sounds quite depressive at times, this EP probably has one of the heaviest atmospheres I have ever heard and is maintained throughout the whole thing. But they have also maintained the severity of the music in a way that is unlike anything I’ve heard. This is most likely due to death and black metal elements in their music.
Musically these guys are pretty decent as well. All of the band members have seemed to pull their weight for the creation of this album. There might be a few glitches here and there but that’s made up by the overwhelming power of the rest of the music.
The vocals, like I’ve mentioned before sound very much like shrieks of despair commonly found in black metal bands. They are extremely raspy and very high pitch as well, at times the vocalist might slide up to a higher pitch to add a little variety but most of the times he just uses the same style. But, for whatever reason, the only connection I can make with other vocalists would have to be Burzum. The vocals on here sound just like a turned down version of Varg’s style of vocals on Det Som Engang Var. Sure, they might not be as high pitch or as powerful, but they do have a very similar tone to them.
Now the guitars have a very strong sound and edge to them. There are times where it can get to the point when it can even seem overwhelmingly powerful (in a positive way). This is most likely because of the distortion of the guitars, the distortion they have used is extremely harsh. They basically scream extreme metal at you when listening to this. I also think that the guitarist has done a great job of utilizing this to make sure that the music sounds filling at all times because after all, this is a three man band. So I’m guessing that leaving holes in the music could be an issue for the band. But luckily there aren’t any holes that I can pick out and I think that this is mainly due to the guitar work.
Ok now to the drumming, the drumming in particular has the characteristics of a death metal. They are at just the right pace and tone, not to mention the style that is used. Although the drumming is of a death metal style, I don’t feel that the drummer have fully satisfied the extreme metal requirements. For some reason, the blast beats don’t seem to be as potent as what I would have expected from such an extreme metal influenced band. At times, I feel that drummer lags behind the rest a little in terms of speed. When it comes to softer parts, he does do a fairly good job at keeping things together and basically the only time where the drumming comes to its full potential.
In terms of variety, I have to admit that these guys actually have very little in here. Sure they might differ in speed and feeling at times, but they all seem to have the same base line. This is only an eight track album so it doesn’t really matter that much. The opening track is titled Semmibe születés and it’s a musical track. This is basically the depressive musical that you normally find in extreme metal, especially in black metal and doom metal is the perfect intro to start something like this. The next track is Időből and it is probably the track that summarises what this band is all about when it somes to the black/death metal department. The riffs are played in a black metal style and the drumming is of a death metal style. But these are times where the guitars sounds like the riffs are from neither genre, there are times, where it almost sound like alternative rock. It’s a very modern twist to and otherwise classic realm of metal. I guess that Időből is the only track really worth mentioning, it’s not because the rest is bad, it’s just that this track summarises the whole release.
Overall, this is not a bad way to go about releasing a debut album. The music is fairly clean and solid, and thank god that these guys have chosen to record this is high quality, it would have been horrible in crappy quality. I really like the way they have integrated three genres into one to create something that can only be described as extreme metal. These guys basically shout extreme metal. But this album isn’t exactly perfect though, there are times where the music can sound a little loose, especially with the drumming. Also, there is little variety in terms of style and atmosphere. Almost all of the tracks have the exact same musical styles and vibe to them. That’s why I’m going to only recommend one track. I recommend the track Időből because it will give you a good indication of what this band is about. So if you like it or you think that these guys might have something new to offer, try the rest of the album because it won’t kill you. Overall, I think this would make a nice little addition to any extreme metal fans collection because these guys would fit right in. I give Toscrew’s Antiego a 14/20.
