Band:	Cryptic Shift
Album:	Visitations From Enceladus
Style:	Technical death metal, Technical thrash metal
Release date:	May 04, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. Moonbelt Immolator
    1 - Detached From The Xenoverse
    2 - Skirmish Above HD 10180 h
    3 - Interstellar Lands
    4 - Black Ore
    5 - Lair Of The Time-Ghouls
    6 - Progeny Echoes
02. (Petrified In The) Hypogean Gaol
03. The Arctic Chasm
04. Planetary Hypnosis

How confident do you have to be in your ability to open up your debut album with a 25 minute long tech death/thrash metal song?

This is precisely what happens on England's Cryptic Shift (formerly known under the much cooler name of Crÿptic Shift)'s debut full length album, Visitations From Enceladus, and honestly just that track along would be enough to turn some heads, but the other three tracks, none of which are over 8 minutes in runtime, wrap this up to be a very promising debut. You'll find this album often compared to Blood Incantation's Hidden History Of The Human Race, and not only because it follows the same tracklist formula, but with the long song as an opener instead of a closer, but also because... well... tech metal about eldrich aliens.

This is a genre that has had its fair share of popularity, from cult classics like Timeghoul, Nocturnus, Atheist and Gorguts to newer cases like the aforementioned Blood Incantation, as well as Nucleus and Chthe'ilist. Each with its own nuances and specifics, but Cryptic Shift don't owe their dues just to the death metal side of the eldrich tech sound. They seem keen on splicing some thrash as well, mostly of the Vektor, Obliveon and Watchtower variety. That's a lot of namedropping of some really esteemed bands. Following up the path of bands past isn't enough, but Visitations From Enceladus earns its comparisons, by playing around with both of these sounds, and by making some of the most feverish cosmic metal out there.

Though the death metal side of the coin is heavier than the thrash metal one, it is the combination of the two that makes this sound so interesting. Though the vocals don't really leave the grunty death territories, having thrash riffs sprinkled through the bass noodling is always a plus. The execution of this blend of sounds is absolutely amazing on this record, constantly shifting gears and switching riffs, knowing when to be chaotic and when to mellow things down, moving in between thrash and death territories, and offering some ambient breaks in between sporadically, there is always something demanding your attention even if it sounds familiar. And most importantly it all complements itself really well, in the sense that it doesn't feel like the band just threw whatever technical noodling they had at a wall and saw what stuck, there's clearly an ebb and flow even through the massive opener, but also in between the other tracks as well.

All things considered, Cryptic Shift have enough dues to pay to their influences, but they do more than just rehashing an old sound, both by blending two similar ones and by being absolutely terrific at it. When the time comes, other reviews of similar stuff will namedrop Cryptic Shift.