I Resign

The three singles Crypta released from their recent LP caught me flatfooted with their manic compositions, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. “I Resign”, the single they released last year, already saw them departing from the straight death metal of their debut album. Besides more complex songwriting, Crypta incorporates sounds whose lineage doesn’t trace back to Florida circa 1989. There’s one riff that is metal in timbre only. It threatens to veer into upbeat rock (it doesn’t, though). While more amenable to guys who get off bragging about their varied taste in music, it isn’t softer or friendlier, as attested by all the pinch harmonics and absence of a hook.

The musicianship is solid as ever. Luana Dametto is at her least aggressive, and at the same time most active. She is all over the kit. You’re never far from another fill, and she pulls off this elaborate, everchanging performance without it becoming cluttered. Fernanda Lira’s bass lines stray further from the guitars than usual. In one section while the guitars are hammering away, she plays single notes with vibrato and enough space between for them to fade away. Then she bursts into a gallop at the same time as the drums. The song was recorded during the Echoes of the Soul sessions, though unlike most of the songs on that record, the guitars were written by Taina Bergamaschi instead of Sonia Anubis, explaining the difference in direction.

The B-side is a live version of “Shadows Within”. No stage banter or crowd noise. The bass is louder and it’s rawer overall. I want to call this the better version, but I’ve listened to the studio one so much I’m probably just resonating with the novelty of this one, and that’s what a live recording ought to do.