J-Man
Haruspication is one hell of a brutal album if I've ever heard one. In case the gory, zombie-infested apocalypse cover didn't show you that this is going to be a brutal ride, take a look at what Haruspication actually means. "Fortune-telling through inspection of the entrails of animal sacrifices" is what I ran across when doing a quick online search. That's right folks, Crypt Infection's debut EP is named after deceased animal intestines being used as tarot readings. And make no mistake, this EP sounds exactly like that imagery put to music. Haruspication isn't for the faint of heart by any stretch of the imagination, but anyone who enjoys their death metal on the more extreme side should find plenty of enjoyment here. Crypt Infection may not have crafted a flawless masterwork, but it's a solid debut EP from these California death metallers.
The music on Haruspication is brutal technical death metal characterized by deep guttural growls, relentless drum patterns, and super-technical fretwork. Crypt Infection doesn't play anything terribly original here, but they do what they do extremely well and are clearly very skillful musicians. The drumming from Jeremiah Taylor especially stands out to me - the man dishes out blast-beats and uber-technical patterns in every song, and is extremely fun to listen to from the perspective of another drummer. Ken May's deep guttural growls will also impress fans of John Tardy and the like. The songwriting is a bit less impressive than the musicianship, but it's still solid nonetheless. Even if it's lacking in variation, there are plenty of solid riffs here. Haruspication's production is pretty raw and unpolished, but it's still clear enough to understand what's going on. I would've liked a bit more of a professional sound, but at least the production doesn't serve as a detriment to the technicalities of the music.
This debut EP from Crypt Infection is satisfying and powerful throughout its entire 26-minute playing time, and that's the most important thing when we're talking about brutal technical death metal. I'd like to see a bit more variation on the band's next release, but Haruspication currently stands as an impressive and highly promising debut EP. I have a feeling that Crypt Infection have a bright future ahead of them, and I'll be keeping a very close eye on them in the coming years. 3 stars are warranted for this solid release.