Crypta - Shades of Sorrow (2023)

Following up an epic release such as “Echoes of the Soul”, is a hard job, luckily for us, Crypta manages to not only match the intensity but also surpass it with the killer “Shades of Sorrow”. Featuring 13 tracks and over 50 minutes of high-octane music, the band keeps leveling everything in their path to greatness.

Leading with the pummeling “Dark Clouds” after a short intro, we are instantly incited to mosh and headbang with the blistering guitar work of Tainá Bergamaschi and Jéssica Falchi. Chuggy riffs, crafty drums, and hellish vocals mark tracks like “Poisonous Apathy”, “The Outsider”, and “Stronghold”. All filled with intense tempo changes and waves of old-school DM mixed in with epic melodies and throbbing bass guitar lines.

Led by the charismatic Fernanda Lira, the band completely destroys with intense songs like “The Other Side of Anger”, “Trail of Traitors”, and our favorite “Lord of Ruins”. While the band’s core is quite heavy and chuggy, there are more than enough technical wizardry parts where the skills of all members shine and showcase killer solos and extremely engaging drum patterns. For a sophomore release, this album is superbly polished.

With an intense live presence, as we saw on their most recent North American run, Crypta’s music has a characteristic rawness that makes each song perfect in a live setting. We can only hope we can see the band come over to promote this release. Seriously setting themselves apart from the reset, “Shades of Sorrow” will certainly open more doors and gain tons of fans for the band. Setting an even higher bar for the next release, Crypta means business and their intense music speaks for itself.

Label: Napalm Records

Release: August 4th, 2023

Genre: Death Metal

Country: Germany