Necrotic Flesh Bacteria

Germany’s bizarre and twisted death-doom metallers Cryptic Brood are back with their third album. Set for release via Lycanthropic Chants and War Anthem Records on November 1st.

Spacey drums rock into life before gurgling riffs drip from the walls, building a cavern of fetid soundscapes as the maniacally speeding instrumentals spew infectious pus across the room. The loose production sounds magnificent and the thick, tarry bass guitar and rhythmic six strings live in a gloriously grotesque harmony. Equally; the drums savagely beat with the neanderthalic vocals to ensure maximum primitive ferocity. As a fan of all their prior works, I already know this record will slaughter. The d-beating fury blends gorgeously into these sumptuously sickening doomy passages, adding more atmosphere from the tombs to this charnel experience. Each graven note lingering on the tongue like rotten human flesh, an odour that will stay with you. Rupturing the flesh further, the blasting menace sometimes just rabidly appears from nowhere to break the grooves with total insanity. Opening as they mean to go on, Cryptic Brood fill the air with the stench of the crypt in their uniquely disgusting manner. Let’s venture further in, the floor is getting kinda sticky though…

As you notice your visceral fluids spraying forth, you might wonder: “am I dreaming?”. The answer is no. You are falling victim to some of the sickest death metal torment from the underground that is more nightmarish than anything your simple mind can comprehend. The thundering of Autopsy-esque bass lines and eldritch guitars fuel the fetid furore while the mean drumming and even more menacing vocals singe the skin of all in the vicinity of speakers playing this diabolical music. Sometimes a record just grabs you and screams into your conscience that it is better than many of its contemporaries simply by feeling more authentic (as well as having cooler songwriting of course). This is one such example that just feels revolting in all the right ways and has the perfect blend of varied diversity while still sounding old and musty. Cryptic Brood have improved with each record and continue to do so. Also, these guys are crazy live if you get a chance to see them!

Slime erupts more and more from your body as we are dragged further into the catacombs of this record and its seemingly living core. What horrors may await?! Of course more viscid musical torment with volatile structures and stunningly septic layers of sepulchral sound. Every twist is a gripping, enchanting and gruesome discover that is cryptic and obscure in nature, drawing you in further and also ensuring you will come back to play this wondrous record again and again. There is so much below the surface that I am sure my review listens have glazed over and time will reveal even more. I have played it enough to know I love this album, which also tells me more spins will yield further revelations of rotten horror. Some bands just stick out as something special and more so than ever Cryptic Brood are demanding your attention if you are a real maniac of the underground death metal persuasion. Truly I am blown away but the continuous improvement this already great band has shown yet again.

A truly masterful blend of ecstatically archaic death metal venom. Blending the doomy, the punky and the cerebrally pulverising; Cryptic Brood are the masters of malicious abhorrence and this new opus is the strongest proof to date of this fact. Prepare for your heart to spew black bile and your bones to reduce to powder as the vitriolic bubonic assault possesses you. The band sadistically scythe with every song, so much so that your mortal form will be wounded by them. Or is it the necrotic flesh bacteria eating you alive? Either way, this is some death metal that belongs fastened in a tomb with any maniacs that are sick enough to enjoy such a twisted deformity of a record.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com