Artist: CryptStalker
Title: II: It’s A Trap!
Type: Album
Label: Sokol Keep
Aha! You say (in my head anyway) shouldn’t this be in a Mausoleum Monday? No! Say I (out loud this time) because this is not Dungeon Synth; This is Dungeon Atmospheric METAL!!!! And this is a hill… ok a mole hill…that I will die on! If the mole doesn’t mind that is. Serious geezers, moles.
Ahem.
But seriously it took me a stupid amount of time to wrap my head around and fall in love with the debut by CryptStalker. Which is a mystery looking back as here from the opening rumble and bludgeon of ‘Room 1. Tomb-tuff, kicking up skulls (He’s Back!)’ my sword is already out and I’m beating my shield to get the blood up for the FIGHT! This is all instrumental, guitar based heavy metal. The sound is wonderful; dense but clear and with a huge low end engine room rumbling away. This is power lifting levels of metal with a fine glint of prog in its eye but never in its snarl. It is the sound of a start of low, dark, delving adventure and the irrepressible spirit of the CyptStalker.
‘Room II: Bad Day At Undermountain’ (don’t you love these titles?), is a winding, sinuous exploration. Discordant guitar breaks as the pathways try to confuse you, but the determination, the glitter of adventure and gold, keeps sparkling and bringing you back. ‘Room III: The Wizard Is Late’. The wizard is always fucking late! Pointy hatted, leaf smoking bastard…. *Cough* Sorry. Oh this is just lovely. We find ourselves in somewhere ominous to our eyes but the guitar with its beautiful rising break brings a glittering fascination to the scene. Spirals of melody, crystalline light, entrance us, circle around us. Where the CryptStalker stomps onwards the eyes of the esoteric see the threads and tapestry of the magic in this place. The party move swiftly but the wizard is entranced at the ageless slow dance of power here. The melody that stays with you forever, or you stay with it. Choose….
‘Room IV: 99 Problems But A Beholder Ain’t One’ is a nasty chug, a thick bass thumping through as a eerie melody echoes around. There’s a feeling of inevitability, that whatever is blocking the way is blocking nothing for long. A heads down, teeth clenched hammer fest. ‘Room V: Battlecries And Stalactites’ is somehow with the drilling down of the riff and bass, a claustrophobic sound. Swinging your sword is hard, enemies and rock everywhere but the music has no give in it. It presses onwards. Honestly the dark, down tuned sound here is absolutely glorious. My shoulders feel a foot wider and bunched with muscles from just listening. Just brilliant.
‘Room VI: Cane The Lich’ is almost celebratory. The energy leaps from the guitar runs which have that 80s US hard rock feel but the riff itself keeps everything heavy and violent. We get an engine of fantastic stoner groove of the most fuzzed out, heavy kind pushing the fight on. One Lich, utterly caned.
‘Room VII: DEMO: I Beat The Borderlands’ is again heavy in the stoner/psyche feel. The pace deliberate, heavy, determined. The guitar break, the melody has an open feel, vistas earthly or of the void opening up for exploration.
Man, this is just music to make you glad you’re alive and a nerd. It’s metal AF, it rocks like a bastard, it threads melody like glistening pearls on a golden string and it stomps through shadows with a growl and a hefting of a steel weapon. CryptStalker is on the warpath and you best get behind him.
Brilliant.
Oh and yeah. That cover!
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 