Cryptic Realms - Eve of Fatality

CRYPTIC REALMS - Eve of Fatality (WEED HUNTER - MC 2015)

I am very happy to be able to work with some nice underground labels, who deliver some great music for review. And Weed Hunter is among my favourite, small but so damn nice label. They’ve released some great tapes and this is their newest one, from another unknown band, called Cryptic Realms. It’s an international act, with dudes from countries like USA, Romania, Mexico and Greece (Kostas plays also in Abyssus, whose debut album “Into the Abyss” was recently released on Memento Mori… and it’s surely a CD I am looking forward to hear soon!). They gathered and composed four songs, which compile “Eve of Fatality” demo. And yes, it is death metal. Yes, it is old school. And yes, it sounds damn awesome.

Stylistically this quite close to the US death metal, but not that brutal stuff like Cannibal or Suffocation, but I was rather thinking of early Death, Obituary, Massacre… Soooooo, Florida death fuckin metal! Hey, Massacre even had a song called “Cryptic Realms” on their classic debut album, right? So, it does say everything about their influences. I would also add some European bands, like Pestilence, Grave and Bolt Thrower and you know everything. It’s nasty, sick and brutal stuff, with some truly excellent riffs, great vocals and also quite nice, rough but good production. It’s awesome that the music is as vicious as it is also catchy; it’s not technical and complex death metal, the songs are short, riffs are few, but all has been played in the proper and good way, which I enjoy a lot. Song like "Necrophagous" stands out, but basically all four are damn good and keep the quality on the desired level.

Very nice debut then and I can only hope to hear some more stuff from Cryptic Realms as soon as possible. This cassette is limited to just 166 copies.

Standout tracks: "Necrophagous", “Total Demise”

Final rate: 75/100