Band:	Cryptosis
Album:	Celestial Death
Style:	Technical thrash metal
Release date:	March 07, 2025
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Prologue - Awakening
02. Faceless Matter
03. Static Horizon
04. The Silent Call [2024 version]
05. Ascending
06. Motionless Balance
07. Reign Of Infinite
08. Absent Presence
09. In Between Realities
10. Cryptosphere
11. Coda - Wander Into The Light


Cryptosis takes us on a futuristic voyage that ventures beyond the realms of thrash and leads towards Celestial Death.

Until 2020, the technical thrash trio Cryptosis were known as Distillator; the renamed band consists of the same trio as prior to the name change, comprising Laurens Houvast (vocals/guitars), Frank te Riet (bass/synths), and Marco Prij (drums). They released the debut album under this new title, Bionic Swarm, back in 2021, and with it came a fresh modern style of sci-fi dystopian-themed technical thrash, putting them in the same bracket as bands such as Vektor, Voivod, and Coroner. The trio now return 4 years later hoping to take listeners on a futuristic cinematic voyage that expands beyond the celestial horizon of the debut.

The theme loosely follows a concept about humanity as it uploads its consciousness into a vast digital cloud that lies somewhere between reality and virtual existence. The consequences of feeling disconnected from the physical world are reflected through 11 immersive tracks that cannot be simply considered old-school, nor even technical thrash, but rather something much more. This album features a staggering array of influences and styles, ranging from epic symphonic orchestrations, to diverse and often progressive song structures, with powerful ethereal builds, and an equal measure of melody and technicality. 

The rhythm section relentlessly merges complexity with groove, as the drums pummel away in harmony with the bass. The guitar work mostly consists of intertwining semi-melodic ferocious blackened tremolos, technical thrash riffs, and wailing/shredding leads, while the aggressive gnarling vocals narrate the album's theme. The synths, keys, and symphonic choirs play a major role in shaping the album's futuristic dystopian setting, and this works hand in hand with the instrumentation. All these elements are then masterfully mixed and layered thanks to an outstanding, evenly balanced production.

The album's structure is shaped by 3 symphonic-based interludes. The first of these is the dramatic sci-fi intro "Prologue - Awakening", which offers an insight into the ruthless devastation to come. The first half of the album is then broken up by the interlude "Motionless Balance", which offers a momentary breather from the record's relentless ferocity, before it finishes with "Coda - Wander Into The Light", a sorrowful instrumental closer driven by melancholic symphonies that reflect on an apocalyptic soundscape surrounding the dying world.

Each track has a slight variation in style, offering their own cinematic reflection on the album's futuristic sci-fi theme, but 3 songs in particular threw me off guard more so than any other, the first being "Absent Presence". Beginning in an out-of-character manner with a slow instrumental passage (featuring gentle melancholic guitar strings and enchanting keys that sound almost Burzum-esque), the song gradually escalates as the instrumentation becomes heavier, unleashing some of the album's most stunning tremolo melodies, as well as harsh vocals that shout and wail out with passion and desperation, before the song abruptly ends just as it hits full momentum. The following track "In Between Realities" represents a sudden U-turn, offering something far less epic in its scope but a lot more blackened and ferocious as Cryptosis let rip, thrashing, shredding, and blasting away with full devastating force. Finally, "Cryptosphere" goes another route entirely, stripping back on the melody in favour of a far more technically advanced and structurally complex approach.

Not only do I believe Celestial Death outshines the debut, on which I suspect Cryptosis were merely toying us with, I'd argue that this is the trio's peak offering to date, including their work under the Distillator name. There's so much more on display throughout this album's 42-minute runtime to keep you engrossed than most bands in modern thrash can currently offer, making it ideal for those craving something fresh and original.