Near to Insanity
The debut EP from Chilean death metal act Cryptic really took me by surprise. Although nothing shockingly original or adventurous, this is high-quality old school death metal from beginning to end. Like Undead, You Will Burn suffers from a handful of issues, but the sheer energy and power that Cryptic exhibits is enough to outweigh many of the detriments that plague this release. All in all, if you like old school death metal and are looking for something that's heavy, raw, and just pure madness, Like Undead, You Will Burn is something definitely worth investing your time into. After all, this EP is available for a free legal download. Fans of U.S.-styled death metal would be foolish to not give this a spin. This isn't a groundbreaking EP or anything like that, but calling Cryptic anything less than an extremely promising act would be cutting them short.
The music here is pretty brutal sounding death metal. It's played in the old school American style, similar to that of early Morbid Angel or Deicide. There's a definite raw, down-to-earth sound in Cryptic's music, and that's something I really love about this EP. Like Undead, You Will Burn is only 4 songs and just shy of the 20 minute mark, which is a good thing for me. Every song is of high-quality and never repeats itself - a definite asset in a scene filled with albums where every song sounds the same. With that said, I have a feeling that Cryptic can jump onto the full-length bandwagon successfully in the coming years as well. Despite all of my compliments, there are a few, albeit standard, problems with this debut. The biggest issue is that Cryptic sounds almost identical to the hundreds of death metal acts that populate the genre right now. If they really want to stand out in the crowded death metal scene, they need to develop a slightly more unique sound. Another (much smaller) issue is that the production here is a bit below my expectations. I love the raw vibe, but the drums (particularly a few cymbals) sound odd in the overall mix. That's an easy fix, though, and it doesn't affect my listening experience very much. With such a talented group of musicians from a technical and compositional standpoint, I'm sure that a more original approach to death metal will come with time as well. For a debut EP, their sound is already very well developed.
Conclusion:
Like Undead, You Will Burn is a promising debut EP by Cryptic. If they can develop a slightly more original approach to old school death metal while still retaining the energy that they present here, I can see a bright future for Cryptic. I'll go with a solid 3 star rating for Like Undead, You Will Burn. This EP almost guarantees a bright future for Cryptic, and I can't wait to hear where they go in the coming years. For a price tag of absolutely nothing, I would give these guys a spin - you won't regret it.
Track Listing
1. Undead 04:38
2. Look Around... There Is No Chance 04:52
3. Near To Insanity 04:33
4. The Empire 04:54
Total playing time 18:57
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