There has been a void in my music habits ever since the separation of Howls of Ebb happened in all of its tragedy, and if you know anything of me, you know that their menacing and hypnotic approach to death metal still sticks immensely well in my brain to this day. I’ve had the audacity to compare a handful of other acts to them in their own respective styles, but none really felt like they could fit into those shoes while not leaning on what cult success Howls of Ebb achieved. As if a gift from the void itself, it’s with a staggering 18-minute monster that Cryptae make a tremendous case for themselves.

It’s hard for me to even describe this piece as it is just so much experimentation and expression balanced magnificently with mind-rending terror as we get an immensely calculated display of what could only be described as deliberate randomness. What gets me more than anything is how fucking entrancing it is especially given the fact that Cryptae is still virtually just starting out, this is their first officially released work that’s not a demo, and it’s such a shockingly visceral move in every single way. A single-song EP that goes over 18 minutes is the sort of thing that you’d normally expect from doom if nowhere else, but it’s through scathing but gorgeous experimentation in the most macabre way that makes this death metal the nastiest it could possibly be as “Vestigal” chugs along be it in the form of a soul-crushing riff or raw expulsion that could devour any light in its path. Even after listening to “Vestigal” for close to three hours straight now, it’s hard to describe this mind-bending work that actively goes against everything that makes music accessible to the average person, and should you dare to look deep into the darkness that Cryptae pours forth in this long-winded murder then you will discover something that bares further examination and admiration. Such works like this should not be heard once and then forgotten as that would be, in every possible form, a crime and you’d be missing out on a self-destructive listen that couldn’t be any more cathartic in the most fucked up way.

I cannot stress this enough: Cryptae fucking stuns with this EP and I will actively go out of my way to make sure this band is heard not only by me but many others. The vast background that this duo has garnered only further emphasizes how crazy this EP is, and I can’t help but feel “Vestigal” is merely the first step. These guys can do something massive. Granted, they’ve already done that here but holy shit they can easily do so much more!

“Vestigal” releases on July 5th via Tartarus Records and Sentient Ruin Laboratories! 

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