Crypta – Shades of Sorrow
Crypta – Shades of Sorrow
Napalm Records
Release Date: 04/08/2023
Running Time: 51:45
Review by Victor Augusto
8.5/10
Before I start this review properly, I should go back to 2021 when I reviewed Crypta’s first album. I mentioned how I admire the hard work of bands that are really focused to achieve a huge success. If you’ve been following this Brazilian Death Metal band’s history, you know these four girls are battling extremely hard. Maybe what changed for them are the different challenges they are passing by, like their recent American tour with all the issues and tragedy that occured, but looking at the bright side, the maturity coming from all of it is reflected on their second album “Shades of Sorrow”.
Musically, you can expect something very similar to the first record, but it would be unfair to omit important details in this writing, like the lyrical side of the songs that are even harder and heavier. Basically, it’s like talking to someone who doesn’t feel part of this world. Actually, someone who feels like a prisoner in the world of pain and suffering that we live in, as the examples below:
‘Poisonous Apathy’ creates the feeling of being numb or stuck in something, created by few slow melodies and enchanting you to stay powerless to react in front of any problem. ‘The Outsider’ shows how disconnected from this world this person is, and ‘Stronghold’ shows a person hidden from the real world, in a fortress, which could be his own mind as a mental fortress.
This last track I mentioned also includes a Black Metal sound, with a few guitar leads to increase the dark atmosphere. It is a genre addition that I heard on the band’s sonority since the beginning, but it is more present now. I noticed it, previously, when Fernanda Lira’s vocals sounded lower than before. This time, this darkness and Black Metal influences are more diluted throughout the entire band.
The guitar work of Tainá Bergamaschi and the new member Jéssica di Falchi is still amazing. Maybe the arrangements chosen were not so clear a sound and, again, I think it was thought to offer the more negative sensations around the lyrical concept.
I must mention what I wrote about the drummer Luana Dametto in my last Crypta’s review, in 2021: “Organic drums! I already knew Luana was an incredible drummer, but she has exceeded my expectations on this material. It is a lesson of brutality and versatility. She has mixed incredible blast beats with many tempo changes. The production gives the drums a very organic sound, it’s amazing how they have extracted a natural sonority.” The only thing I could change of my words from two years ago is just that Luana not only did the same insane work, but surpassed her ability to play. For me, she could easily figure on a chart of the best drummers playing nowadays. Her work on drums is what I most enjoyed here.
On Crypta’s last album, the intro song was repeated at the end of the last one like a reference of constant renewals we live in our lives. Now, we have the same repetition with the piano on ‘The Aftermath’ and on ‘The Closure’. Maybe the repetitive cycle now is about the endless pain and delusion we see over humanity, where we start becoming apathetic and fragile, until we get strong
enough to start fighting. The song ‘Lord of Ruins’, the last song before the piano finishes, seems to talk about this overcoming.
Well, it is a long album, full of good details and references to the main theme and you can expect brutal Death Metal music which is easy to digest by the versatility of the compositions. They weren’t afraid to mix good Black Metal influences, allied with good melodies as you can hear on ‘Trial of Traitors’.
Let me remind you that everything I’m saying here about the lyrics and music is the interpretation, or impression, I had while hearing it. Maybe Crypta is trying to say something else, but I’ll let you all discover for yourselves. I hope to see the band constantly surprising us with new albums and to keep this constant growth to become one of the new important bands that recently appeared with a world-wide visibility.
CRYPTA – Trial Of Traitors (Official Video) –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUYKDdwDidY&list=RDxqRfV-mMyUo&index=4
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Aftermath
02. Dark Clouds
03. Poisonous Apathy
04. The Outsider
05. Stronghold
06. The Other Side of Anger
07. The Limbo
08. Trial of Traitors
09. Lullaby for the Forsaken
10. Agents of Chaos
11. Lift the Blindfold
12. Lord of Ruins
13. The Closure
LINE-UP:
Fernanda Lira – Bass, Vocals
Jéssica di Falchi – Guitar
Tainá Bergamaschi – Guitar
Luana Dametto – Drums
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Victor Augusto and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
