The Angry Scotsman
Swano may be gone, but his influence couldn't be removed!
The thought of EoS without Swano just seems wrong, and for hardcore fans is probably blasphemy, but this really isn't too bad an album and I'd say his time left a mark on the rest of the band.
I will grant this is not quite up to the standard of other EoS albums, and the songwriting may take a bit of a hit but when compared to death metal overall, "Cryptic" is still fairly atypical! I would also dare to say it's not very far removed from earlier EoS material.
The loss of Swano vocally is not an issue, while he was great Robert Karlsson does an excellent job and I really like his vocals. As for the music, "Cryptic" started just as I feared...with straight up blast beat death metal. Expecting this for the next 34 minutes, I was floored with what I heard next! A slow, kind of trippy section. Followed by a mid tempo groovy melody and a soulful and emotional guitar solo.
The intro "Hell Written" is an awesome song, and had me wondering what was next after that pleasant surprise. "Uncontoll Me" starts with a melodic and groovy rhythm that continues along, mid tempo, for a while. Sweet riffing with some awesome breakdowns which builds to a thrashy section, and another melodic solo. Another cool song and has a real sense of movement!
"No Destiny" is not really death metal, more a melothrash song, punctuated with a classic melodic rhythm and some slower, groovy breaks. Another winner. "Demon I" continues in this fashion, ripe with good riffing and drumming. "Not of this World" is another melothrash song with varied speeds and groove.
"Dead I Walk" is of the same fashion, decent song. "Born, Breed, Bleeding" is more intense than the rest, bordering on black metal speed at times, but still alternated with different sections, making those blast beats really intense feeling.
The album ends with "Bleed You Dry" another mid tempo song with some good, sometimes intriging, riffing. Varied tempos and feels, Larsson's tasteful drumming, (never over the top, sometimes powerful and always fitting) and less intense vocals. The growls are mixed up with "talking" vocals. Goes out with another somewhat rare EoS guitar solo and fades away.
So that's what we have. A largely mid paced album that really doesn't dive into death metal very often, (a third of the album I'd say)and is laden with melodic, groovy song writing and variation. Not outright progressive, since many of the sections repeat, but it is varied and the songs are short enough that they never really get stale. Besides, it is that variation, along with melodic and groovy touches, that separates this album from the vast majority of death metal, and is also why it's better. All that is also fairly comparable to early EoS material as well.
If you are new to the band I think you'll find this a refreshing change from the standard death metal, and EoS fans should be satisfied as well. You may just have to get over the fact Swano is not here and not compare it to works like "Crimson", but once you do you will see this is a fine album. Not spectacular but good and under rated.
Three Stars