Echoes of the Soul

Crypta use social media the right way. Following the release of their debut album, Echoes of the Soul, they posted a series of videos showcasing members playing through songs (and are doing the same for the recently released sophomore album, Shades of Sorrow). No music video will ever be as good as a video of the band’s drummer playing the same song. They upload videos of the guitarists and bassist too, and yeah, fine, but drumming is inherently more interesting to watch, and Crypta specifically have one of the scene’s most exciting drummers, Luana Dametto.

Dametto turned heads on Downfall of Mankind, the one Nervosa album she appeared on before her and founding member Fernanda Lira were booted from the band (or left or whatever), but Crypta, their next project, was the perfect stage to show off her drumming prowess. Instead of flirting with death metal like Nervosa, Crypta is full-on fucking death metal. That means drumwork that is more dynamic, more demanding. Fills dominate her writing; just listen to the gloriously busy latter half of “Shadow Within”. She reins in when necessary, like the at times minimalist lines of “Under the Black Wings” that add some textural variety focusing on the steady rattle of cymbals. Blastbeats feature heavily, though not as a crutch. They are but one tool in her belt, and speed is not valued to the detriment of all else. There’s power in her playing. Check out the floor tom hits at the start of “Blood Stained Heritage”.

Echoes of the Soul is steeped in the early days of DM, though without the slavish nostalgia that would justify adding OS to their genre. Death is the most obvious parallel, one acknowledged by the band themselves; they end lives sets with the riff from “The Philosopher”. Fernanda Lira’s vocals have a similar shrillness to Chuck Schuldiner’s especially on the later Death albums, though she alternates her highs with a more trad growl. While not replicating Death’s sound down to the molecule like Gruesome, Crypta owe a lot to the DM pioneers. They’ve got the thrashiness of Leprosy, and the technicality of their later albums without the progressive tendencies. Thrash is part of their sound not in a Master or Strappado way, but in the way it was once a given that death metal was derivative of thrash. Crypta prove so much is possible within genre limits. There’s the assault of “Starvation”, the sinister march of “Death Arcana”, the triumph of “From the Ashes”.

When they bring in outside elements, it always hits. The amphetamine-fast solo of “Blood Stained Heritage” breaks up the most pummeling song, and would’ve blown the hairspray-encased minds of 80s rockers. Black metal is thrown around a lot when people talk about Crypta proving the total buzzwordification of the term, but “Dark Night of the Soul” is one time it’s appropriate, with its tremolo picking and pervading darkness. They work Egyptian chords in there too. The clean production is the most modern element of the album, but it’s not like all those classic Morrisound albums were raw and filthy. Only the bass mixing warrants complaint. It’s there. You can find it, and on some tracks (e.g. “Blood Stained Heritage”) it’s out in the open, but no reason it shouldn’t have been that prominent throughout.

Even the cover art recalls the glory years. It’s more Dan Seagrave than Wes Benscoter despite being painted by the latter. Crypta really showed up for this one. Normally I prefer uglier, dingier, stupider metal than this, but Echoes of the Soul has earned a permanent place in my rotation.