CRYPT SERMON -THE STYGIAN ROSE

(Andy Synn goes on an epic journey with the new album from Crypt Sermon, out now)

I know what some of you are thinking – “but there’s clean singing in this!”

I know this because, without fail, someone will make some version of this comment on our social media without thinking, a) perhaps they’re fully aware of that, or b) maybe this suggests that the site’s name shouldn’t be taken entirely seriously?

Sure, we’re partly to blame (actually, it’s Islander who’s mostly to blame, as he’s the one who came up with the damn name as a response to the early 2000s trend of bands shoehorning in big clean-sung choruses in a desperate attempt to appeal to the mainstream) but… c’mon folks, if you’ve spent more than five minutes with us here at NCS you must have noticed that we cover a lot of bands who don’t just use harsh vocals.

And one of those bands, whom we’ve covered numerous times, is Crypt Sermon, who just released what might be the best album of their career so far.

Now, some of you might want to take the above statement with a small pinch of salt, considering the fact that I am on record as being somewhat disappointed by the band’s second album, The Ruins of Fading Light (even though, in my opinion at least, it contains some of the best individual songs – “Key of Solomon”, “Christ is Dead”, “The Snake Handler” – that they’ve ever written).

But whereas you could practically feel the band straining at the confines of their chosen sound during The Ruins…, struggling (and occasionally succeeding) manfully to establish a distinct and defined identity that would make them more than just the sum of their not inconsiderable influences – a little Candlemass, a little Mercyful Fate, maybe even a dash of Megadeth (and, thankfully, I’m not the only person who seems to think so) – on The Stygian Rose the group have successfully burst those boundaries, while still staying true to their Trad Doom core, unleashing their full creativity and charisma like never before.

And while much of this will, inevitably, be attributed to the live-wire, larger-than-life performance of vocalist Brooks Wilson – whose ability to craft instantly catchy hooks which are neither poppy nor predictable but which, on tracks like outstanding opener “Glimmers in the Underworld” and obvious second-half highlight (and potential song of the year contender) “Heavy is the Crown of Bone”, flow so smoothly and organically you can’t help but wonder why no-one else came up with them first – the more you listen to this album the more you realise that it really is a true team effort.

Part of this may be due to an influx of new energy thanks to the addition of some new members, which in turn seems to have inspired the rest of the band to throw themselves into the material even harder, with the unashamedly heroic leads and increasingly heavy (and, in places, subtly thrashy) riffage of “Down in the Hollow” and the aforementioned “Heavy is the Crown of Bone” showcasing the group’s increased musical muscle, while drummer Enrique Sagarnaga puts in what may well be a career-best performance behind the kit.

But there’s also a sense that the group’s collective songwriting skills have also improved even further, building on their previous successes and paying tribute to the traditional forms of the genre without being limited by them, as exemplified by colossal closer “The Stygian Rose”, whose combination of moody keys (courtesy of new ivory-tickler Tanner Anderson), majestic melodies, and gargantuan guitar-driven grooves – not to mention some absolutely hypnotic vocal and lead guitar hooks – somehow seems to fly by in the blink of an eye.

If there’s one minor flaw it’s that “Scrying Orb” takes a little too long, in my opinion, to properly get going (but, then, considering this is a Doom album, that’s not exactly unusual) – however, when it finally hits its stride it winds up delivering one of the biggest and best choruses on the entire record, making the early wait more than worth it for such a powerful pay-off.

Make no mistake about it, this isn’t just Crypt Sermon‘s best album, it’s the sort of album which should make people completely re-evaluate the band, and elevate them from being “the next big thing” to being full-on headliners… and, quite possibly, one of the biggest names in Metal one day, if things continue on this path.