Cryptic Brood - Wormhead

CRYPTIC BROOD - Wormhead (WEED HUNTER - MC 2015)

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to the Cryptic Brood’s split they did with Graveyard Ghoul. Somehow I didn’t think it was anything exceptional, just very standard, not to say mediocre stuff. But lately Weedhunter Records has unleashed Cryptic Brood’s new release, which is “Wormhead” EP and damn, this one caught my attention much more and delivered some really crushing stuff. With four songs and around 16 minutes, this is seriously well executed old styled death metal; brutal, harsh, dark and heavy… just as we all love it.

I sincerely need to go back to that Graveyard Ghoul split and give it another listen, as I feel like “Wormhead” brings a great progress in the music of Cryptic Brood. It feels like it’s better written, performed, it’s more interesting, heavier and the riffs are simply killer. And let’s not forget the production! The split songs had cruel sound and “Wormhead” also has very raw, harsh production, but also better to listen to. I really like how this EP sounds, I must say, especially as it just fits such old school way of playing death metal perfectly. Imagine if you combine some influences from Autopsy, old Death, old Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Grave, Asphyx, Incantation into one deadly and fuckin heavy pot. This is sort of what Cryptic Brood does. They have excellent slower bits everywhere, which are simply crushing to the ground and leaving a total massacre, with piles of dismembered flesh behind. And I like those slower pieces the most. But there are also some faster fragments, which are also good. And the title song sounds almost like death / fuckin grinding tune. But my favourite is the opening track “Temple of Pestilence” for sure. Oh, what a fantastic piece of filthy, decomposed death metal, straight from the utter catacombs. And “Gargling Vicious Mass” follows in similar nasty, brutal way. Lovely! And there’s even Suffocation cover, renamed as “Infecting the Brood”, so what else can we expect? More such killer music? Yes, for sure. I have nothing else to add than recommend you “Wormhead”. MC is out through Weed Hunter from Germany and there should also be a CD coming through Xtreem Music.

Standout tracks: “Temple of Pestilence”, “Gargling Vicious Mass”

Final rate: 80/100