Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

CRYPTS OF DESPAIR - All Light Swallowed (Review)

4/22/2021

0 Comments

 
Huge thanks to today's guest reviewer for the words! John Angel typically writes over at (the venerable) Noob Heavy, and can be found on twitter as well. Follow accordingly, dear readers! - Ed.

Picture
Guest post written by: John Angel

If you’ve read my previous reviews (hey mom) you might know that I lean towards the modern side of the old-school/modern divide of the current death metal scene. I like the crisp production and blending of a wider variety of genres that seems to be de jure in modern death metal. But there are OSDM records that catch my attention. It’s hard for me to put my finger on exactly what draws me to said ear-catching OSDM albums but I think it's having a little more aggressive riffing, production that keeps that lo-fi and cavernous vibe so many like about OSDM, but also allows the music to be legible to the listener. Today I’ve got a review for one such record, All Light Swallowed by Crypts of Despair.

All Light Swallowed is the sophomore effort from the Lithuanian death metallers, and it’s one muscular yet haunting OSDM record. I’d say that’s where the magic really lies for this record: its juxtaposition of muscular riffage and seething vocals against its moments of sublimity. Since we’re talking about death metal let's deal with the riffs first. You can definitely prepend the “blackened” genre tag to the death metal part of this record. The songwriting has a bigger emphasis on atmosphere than perhaps memorability but there are still some chunky riffs in here. I love the pile of beefy riffs that is the song “The Great End." Starting with a bass intro that showcases the excellent bass tone put down by Simonas Jurkevicius, the song quickly morphs into a stank face inducing riff fest. While the riffing here is more atmosphere and texture driven the flow between each riff is perfect for getting your horns out and banging that head. By the time the tremolo and double kick drum crash into your ear drums around the 2:30 mark the track has built up the tension to a boiling point and releases in a cathartic wall of sound. 


As mentioned earlier, many of the tracks on All Light Swallowed have a sublime quality, both beautiful and absolutely haunting. “Choked by the Void” is my favorite example of this. We have an intro featuring a melody presented by the clean guitars of Dovydas Auglys and Denas Juskus, followed by the entrance of the rest of the band and the dirtying up of said clean guitars. Now heard is the lead guitar, the melody of the clean intro is re-contextualized into a stunningly haunting melody. The tone on this lead guitar is absolutely perfect for the sublime quality Crypts of Despair is chasing. We’re never without the aforementioned lead guitar for the rest of the track and when not taking center stage as the melody it offers the perfect textural accompaniment to the riffs. Another great example of this use of lead guitar used for a haunting texture comes on the very next track, “Condemned to Life.” A chugging beast of a riff is interrupted at about the :20 mark with another beautiful texture from the lead guitar. Not as constant a presence as “Choked by the Void,” the haunting, textural leads still enter at regular intervals and serve as great contrast to the more muscular riffing in the rest of the track.

I’ve gotta talk about the production on All Light Swallowed because it’s a big reason why this album appeals to me. I think it sits in this nice sweet spot between the more lo-fi tendencies of OSDM and the more “polished” sounds you’ll find in modern death metal. It’s got the vibe and the atmosphere one expects from an old-school inclined group. You can call it “cavernous” but you’re also sure that it wasn’t actually recorded in a cave. All the riffs are clear to the listener’s ear. The vocals have that seething, scream-into-the-void quality essential to this style but they don’t wash out the rest of the band. You can pick out all the notes from the drumkit and hear the excellent fills and cymbal work. Speaking of drums, Henri Mall has turned in a spectacular performance on this record! Unfortunately I can’t find production credits for the record. Real shame because I’d certainly lavish praise on whatever name is behind this phenomenal mix!


My one real criticism of this release is that I feel there’s a bit of fat that could be trimmed. Clocking in at an even 38 minutes, All Light Swallowed still feels a bit long. There’s A LOT of tremolo picked guitars paired with blast beats on this record. A texture that’s most definitely a hallmark of death metal and black metal but it starts to feel a bit monotonous to me over an entire record. While I could do with one less song on this record I think everyone should take that with a grain of salt. OSDM isn’t my favorite subgenre and I’m more than willing to admit that I may not have the familiarity with it to appreciate the nuances. All that being said, I was still drawn to the record enough to review it and it’s definitely worth a listen for any death metal fan, old-school and modern alike! 

All Light Swallowed is one badass old-school death metal album and Crypts of Despair should be proud of the effort they’ve put forward and the record they have. Be sure to check it out when it drops on April 23, 2021 via Transcending Obscurity Records​! Pre-order here.

While we aren't typically in the business of number ratings here at the Village, this album receives a Noob Heavy certified 7/10. - Ed.

Crypts of Despair can be found:
Bandcamp
Facebook
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!


    What are ye
    ​ 
    looking for?

    All
    2020
    420
    Acoustic
    Adam Paris
    Albums Of The Decade
    Albums Of The Year
    Alex Bringer Of Payne
    Alternative
    Alternative Metal
    Alternative Rock
    Alt Metal
    Alt Rock
    Ambient
    Ambient Metal
    Americana
    Ancienthand
    Ancient Hand
    Anti-imperialist
    AOR
    Aoty
    Apocalypse
    Art Rock
    Arzou
    Atmoblack
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Black Metal
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Avant Garde Black Metal
    Avant Garde Death Metal
    Ballad
    Band Merch
    Bane Ov Silence
    Baroque Metal
    Beaston Lane
    Beatdown
    Bestial
    Best Of The Year 2018
    Blackened
    Blackened Crust
    Blackened Death
    Blackened Deathcore
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Grind
    Blackened Metal
    Blackened Punk
    Blackened Sludge
    Blackened Thrash
    Blackgaze
    Blackie Skulless
    Black Metal
    Black N Roll
    Black Thrash
    Blastbeasts
    Blastbeats
    Blood Metal
    Blues
    Blues Metal
    Blues Rock
    Breakcore
    Breakdown
    British Metal
    Brutal
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cantina
    Captain's Chronicles
    Captains Chronicles
    Capt Graves
    Carlos
    Cavern Death Metal
    Chaotic Death Metal
    Chaotic Hardcore
    Chaotic Metal
    Chinese Metal
    Chiptune
    Christian Metal
    Classic Albums
    Classical Crossover
    Classic Doom
    Classic Metal
    Classic Rock
    Comic
    Community Favorites
    Compilation
    Continuous Thunder
    Core
    Cosmic
    Cosmic Death Metal
    Country
    Cover Songs
    Crossover
    Crossover Thrash
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Cyberpunk
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Metal
    Dark Pop
    Dark Rock
    Dbeat
    D-beat
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death-doom
    Deathgrind
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Debut Album
    Demo
    Depressive Black Metal
    Desert Rock
    Digital Hardcore
    Disco
    Dissonant
    Dissonant Black Metal
    Djent
    Doom
    Doom Death
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doom Punk
    Doomviolence
    Double Review
    Dreampop
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Dsbm
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Synth
    Dungeon Synth Sunday
    Ecological
    Editorial
    Edm
    Electronic
    Electronic Rock
    Emo
    EP
    Epic Doom
    Epic Heavy Metal
    Epic Metal
    EP's
    Experimental
    Experimental Black Metal
    Experimental Electronic
    Extreme Metal
    Fantasy
    Favorite Music
    Finnish Metal
    Florida Death
    Folk
    Folk Black Metal
    Folk Metal
    Folk Rock
    Free Jazz
    Fresh Meat Friday
    Funeral Doom
    Fuzz
    Garage Rock
    German Heavy Metal
    Glam Metal
    Glam Rock
    Gore
    Goregrind
    Goth
    Gothic
    Gothic Metal
    Goth Metal
    Goth Rock
    Grind
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Guest Review
    Hair Metal
    Hallucinatory Black Death Metal
    Hardcore
    Hardcore Doom
    Hardcore Punk
    Hardcore Sludge
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Grinder
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Heavy Rock
    Hip Hip
    Hip Hop
    Horror
    Hxc
    Icelandic
    Immigrant Core
    Immigrind
    Indie
    Indie Rock
    Indonesia
    Industrial
    Industrial Metal
    Industrial Rock
    Instrumental
    Italian Metal
    Izzy
    Japanese Metal
    Jazz
    Legends
    Lichtmensch
    Lord Hsrah
    Lovecraft
    Loveloth
    Lunar Fanatic
    Mathcore
    Mathgrind
    Math Rock
    Melodeath
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Death Metal
    Melodic Doom
    Melodic Metal
    Memorial
    Merch
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Metalhead World
    Metallic Hardcore
    METAL MENAGERIE
    Metal Reivews
    Metalreviews
    Metal Reviews
    Mid Year List
    Mid-year List
    Miscellaneous
    Modern Rock
    Murder Metal
    Music Review
    Music Video
    Mystic
    Negative Reviews
    Neofolk
    Nerdy
    New Age
    New Music
    Nintendocore
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Nu Metal
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Occult
    Occult Rock
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Ozzy Osbourne
    Pagan Metal
    Peasantrys Picks
    Pirate Metal
    Pop
    Pop Metal
    Pop Punk
    Pop Rock
    Portal
    Post-black
    Post Black Metal
    Post-black Metal
    Post-classical
    Post Doom
    Post-doom
    Post-genre
    Post Hardcore
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post Punk
    Post-punk
    Post Rock
    Post-rock
    Post Sludge
    Post-sludge
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prehistoric
    Preorder
    Prog Metal
    Progressive Black Metal
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psychedelic
    Psych Rock
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Raw Black Metal
    Raw Sludge
    Record Label
    Reese
    Reissue
    Relaxing
    Release Day Roundup
    Remix
    Re-recording
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Review
    Review Off
    Review Redux
    Reviews
    Riffs
    Rock
    Rock N Roll
    Roots Rock
    Sabbath
    Sabbath Sunday
    Sadboi
    Saxophone
    Sci Fi
    Sci-fi
    Scorpi
    Screamo
    Shane Thirteen
    Shoegaze
    Short Reviews
    Singer-songwriter
    Ska
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sleeping Village Records
    Sleeping Village Sampler
    Slipknot
    Sludge
    Sludge Metal
    Soliloquist
    Solo Act
    Sound Design
    Soundtrack
    South America
    Southern Rock
    Space
    Space Rock
    Speed Metal
    Split
    Star Wars
    Statement Of Intent
    Stenchcore
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Story Review
    Stream
    Surf Rock
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synth Metal
    Synthpop
    Synthwave
    Talesofdeception
    Techdeath
    Tech Death
    Technical Death Metal
    Texas
    The Administrator
    The Dungeon Awaits
    The Voiceless Apparation
    Thevoicelessapparition
    The Voiceless Apparition
    The Voiceless Appartition
    Thrash
    Thrashcore
    Thrash Metal
    Threefoldtreatise
    Tom
    Torture Doom
    Track-premiere
    Track Review
    Track Reviews
    Trad Doom
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Trad Metal
    Tribute Album
    True Doom
    Trve Doom
    Underground
    Usbm
    Vaporwave
    Vattghern
    Visual Review
    Volt Thrower
    War Metal
    Weird
    Zombie

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!