CRYPTIC SHIFT
“VISITATIONS FROM ENCELADUS”
Album Review by Piers Renfree

8/10

What-ho there boys and girls and let’s see what we can find for today’s Covid-19 lockdown soundtrack. 

Ah, here we go – from Leeds in the UK, come the four piece Cryptic Shift. This year’s “Visitations From Enceladus” is their third album, following their debut “Beyond The Celestial Realms” in 2016 and “Cosmic Dreams” in 2017. The band claim to play Astronomical Death Metal. As I am not Professor Brian Cox, I shall not quibble over the “astronomical” claim.

Word of warning, if you have no patience, then understand that the intro to the opening song meets the four minute mark. As you might be aware, with Death Metal, the vocals sound nothing like any of the piss poor, weedy fakers from Cowell’s X Factor nonsense. The production is nice and raw, the drums sound like an artillery barrage and the guitar riffs sound like tanks, smashing through walls. Yet the guitar solos over the riffs are very clinical and fast, very much like DragonForce’s Herman Li.

The song breaks down into a quiet passage, which goes on for a while, then starts to build and brings us to a heavy chugging riff. Time changes, tempo changes, light and shade, growled vocals – think Napalm Death meets Emmerson, Lake and Palmer in Star Trek – this is giving my neighbours a headache. Heart FM have no idea that music this heavy and complex even exists. You will need more than one or two listens to fully digest this, and this is just the first song.

Nearly twenty six minutes later, and the first musical barrage of insane Death Metal scientist experiments is done with us. But, with no respite, we’re being wired up and shocked with the second song. Again, we’re pummelled with a brutal assault on the senses, but there is some melody in the guitars in here. Seven minutes later and its all over. Thunder and rain and melodic picked guitar intro’s the third song, a growled roar and we’re off, with a slightly slower tempo song than the previous two songs started off with. Blimey, you need to be careful with who you introduce this record to; some people might try to certify you if they catch you listening to this, there’s so much going on throughout it all.

The third song ends with a nice melody being played out on a guitar, and the fourth song, we’re off with buzz sawing guitars and pummelling drums. This could lay waste to a town! This album is nothing short of an experience. If you’re into very heavy and very complex music, then this is for you.

TRACKLIST

Moonbelt Immolator
(Petrified In The) Hypogen Gaol
The Arctic Chasm
Planetary Hypnosis

https://cryptic-shift.bandcamp.com/album/visitations-from-enceladus
https://www.facebook.com/crypticshift/

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