CRYPTIC HATRED - FINLAND

CRYPTIC HATRED - INTERNAL TORMENT - TIME TO KILL  
Internal Torment is an adventure in death metal. Let me explain. The opening track Death Is Upon You (simultaneously the opening phrase out of singer Eemil Lajoma’s mouth) has a Raining Blood effect that leads to a torrent of death metal that inserts something of a mixture of elements. The tracks have a bias towards the shorter side. The band’s publicity insists that the quartet draws inspiration from the “old-school Florida death metal scene,” which is surely accurate one supposes, but to be clear the band’s sound is much more expansive - within the confines of death metal - than the confidence of that quotation allows. Similarly, the band is much more true to death metal and heavy than the publicity suggests. It is easy to expect the worst with a Finland-based band. The band deliberately incorporates snippets and medlies of different kinds into each song, as something of a signature characteristic, yet remains completely respectable. This essence established, let us write a few words track by track.
The aforementioned Death Is Upon You is a storm of pestilence, hatred and death. The vocals are comparable to Corpsegrinder and settle into a barrage of death metal that hits up both the mid-pace and faster sections. The time changes are almost surprising given how often they occur and how seamlessly they are executed. The track has a tasteful, albeit too short, a lead. There is an old-school feel to the band’s barbed rhythms that take one back to the Demigods or God Macabres of the world. That is despite the almost incessant brutality there is consistently this smidgen of melody implicit in the music. Breeding Of Evil is a frontal assault with vocals that spurt and spew. The music takes no prisoners and has wild riffs thrown in our faces with abandon. Creepy effect. Violent music. Wild riffs. What’s with the tinker bell? Well, again, it’s part of the motif. Chasm Of Void is again vomiting the vocals with that incredible mix of ferocity, crushing verifiable riffs and gentle iota of melody - one hell of an effective beefy riff on this one - that make these songs exude a sense of adventure. The transition with ease from speed to heavy riffs; from slam to rollicking death stands. Yet, unfortunately, there is deviation from the essence of death metal. This one has a dual melodic solo, but alas they are Finns and cannot help themselves. It is a national addiction. They are all junkies for what they were fed at elementary school. The song ends with keyboards. Yes, it is a part of the deliberate pattern of the record, but they just can’t help wuss out somewhere. The next track is the fourth one and called Homicidal Intentions. It begins with pseudo-Voivod (from when the Canadians were good) technicality. It is both melodic and harsh and kicks in with a technical blast before the gurgling vocals kick in. The bass has a nifty sound and creepy run. The singer remains the star of this show, but boy can this band accelerate more smoothly than any other. Mesmerised By The Malignant Gaze is violence, is pounding grinding death, is a classy lead, is a singer with a vomitous delivery and keeps the dynamism of the songs on course. This one’s extraneous element is a whisper and fades out like a pop song. The amount of variety and the number of elements on this record is almost cause for a game of surprises by now. Still, for metal fans, it must emphasised that the band somehow manages to avoid making an arse of itself or lose the thread of heaviness (stupid synthesizers aside). Tomb Of Desecration must have the time-change of the year. What a nifty cool song. Death metal supremacy drips from it even if the song does hint more than any other here at Cannibal Corpse before, of course, changing pace! Effective riffing with a touch of dissonance is this song. For a couple of tracks the vocalist has been the star of the show. The riffs have made the guitars the main attraction on a couple of tracks. On Mauled To Flesh, surely, the drums are the aces the band pulls out of its Finnish hat. Good time to mention the heavy sound the band has gotten out of its kit. A warm and heavy snare sound, that skews the pots and pans and any other kitchen appliance, is the tone of choice at Metallian Towers. Good solo too. Like Grave? You will like Mauled To Flesh. Another obvious and deliberate insistence on having a medley or other sound element is on Beyond Hatred, which contains a short acoustic interlude. Then it is time for the bass to show off impressively. Not far behind is the melodic soloing. Again with Cryptic Hatred, the lead is too short. Either way, one is reminded of how mature the young band’s compositions are. The Passage is a minute-long instrumental written by a guest almost at the record’s end leading to the closing cut, the title track. Internal Torment is a pounding crushing blast. Enjoy the old-school Finnish melodious guitar on top of the brutal as hell raucousness. Here is also the album’s most intricate solo. Darn, if you can solo like this, what is stopping you from adding two to each and every song? Sadly, the background synthesiser reappears. Exorcise the goddam Visage Finnishness out of your existence, boys.
The cover artwork’s victim is in for a world of pain like an Amophis fan force fed Cryptic Hatred. Death metal fans, however, are in luck. - Ali “The Metallian”