CRYPT SERMON - The Stygian Rose (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Philadelphia's very own Crypt Sermon aren’t really anything new these days, and with only three albums stretched across nearly ten years, you can tell a lot went into all of them. While the band has always been something I’ve acknowledged as pretty solid, they never did anything exponential for me. That is, until now. The Ruins Of Fading Light took the doom metal world by storm five years ago, but The Stygian Rose took me by storm this year.

Formulaically speaking, the band hasn’t undergone any serious changes between records, putting emphasis on the “epic” in epic doom metal for years. Our latest outing stays pretty true to this label, however this is the one that absolutely finished off what I previously acknowledged as kinda cool into something truly immaculate. The themes around religion and medieval occult haven’t gone away, either. So what’s the big deal?

Perhaps I’m biased, but I think it boils down to a few things. I think that The Stygian Rose put more force behind the vocal passages, sped up more of the innards, and offered some tonal expressions that assault the listener in a way that previous records didn’t do to me. Certain guitar passages feel like they could fit into a speed metal song despite their crushing doom metal weight, and the way it flows so naturally is beautiful. Moreover, there’s a clearer aura to the vocals that remain clean, mostly avoiding anything harsh save for some rasp, yet they carry more conviction than what I find in a lot of extreme metal. Packing this into six long tunes makes for a muscular narrative that would almost feel overwhelming if things weren’t placed so wonderfully.

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By that, I mean nothing overstays its welcome, and a common trope of starting and ending a tune on bludgeoning riff-stomps with fast and furious centers does the album so much good. Even melody manages to deal an important hand, just under a guise of imminent doom and absolute destruction. The fitting title “Thunder” achieves this with layer upon layer of advanced drum combos beside hoarse, slow rhythms, while breaking it into different passages that feel right at home. To the opposite end, the record’s shortest tune “Heavy Is The Crown Of Bone” is as to-the-point as it gets, breaking in crushing levels of weight immediately. It was a fitting follow up to “Down In The Hollow,” another galloping trip that gives the impression of riding right into a battle of horrors.
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The longest songs are found on the ends. The Stygian Rose opens things up with “Glimmers In The Underworld,” highlighting some of the vocal perfections that snap in catchy lines on an otherwise unsettling base. To the opposite end, “Scrying Orb” almost feels like the record’s calmest spot, ringing in cleaned guitars and softer singing, and maybe even a touch of emotion. It wonderfully leads into the closing title track that slowly burns from the same energy into arguably the band’s most epic song. For such a long one that utilizes a lot of repetition, they really made it feel far shorter than its actual eleven minute runtime.

To put it simply, Crypt Sermon has achieved the same feelings that it takes many extreme metal bands to conjure up in terms of feeling like I’m placed in the music’s setting, being dealt heavy proverbial blows by the music and lyrics. It’s like what Craven Idol did in 2021, but with epic riffs and powerful vocals in place of black metal madness and horrific distortions. It’s like what Savatage achieved many times in a far slower yet more aggressive fashion. It’s a captivating listen that took several spins to fully digest, and I mean that in a good way. “Trve trad doom” nerds will shy away from this, epic doom nerds will eat every bit of it up. I’m neither of those, but this is untouchable, and it’s so far the closest contender for album of the year for me.

Crypt Sermon - The Stygian Rose was released June 14th via Dark Descent Records. Find it here!

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Crypt Sermon can be found:
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