Review: Cryptodira – The Angel of History

Style: Progressive Death/Post-Metal (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Chris
Country: US (NY)
Release date: December 4, 2020

This is it folks. This is the always inevitable right-at-the-end-of-the-year-sneaks-into-the-AOTY-contention-album. Now, if you were like me, Cryptodira‘s 2017 offering The Devil’s Despair was a fantastic album for fans of the earlier era Between the Buried and Me sound. What really made it great though was Cryptodira’s ability to retain a unique flair and sound within that was very much them, which can sometimes be hard to make happen for bands that so immediately invite a specific comparison to a unique act. The Devil’s Despair prided itself on the complete blend of mathcore, jazz, death, progressive metal, and -core styles, while retaining a certain glue between them to prevent the listener from feeling like they were being beat up by 5 very different feels and ideas.

The Angel of History continues this masterful blend of styles, while managing to further refine their blend and their individual worth. There are differences for sure between the two records; while The Angel of History still retains the “chaos” factor, the BTBAM feel, and the common feeling tying these together, it most definitely has more emphasis on the more post-rock sections throughout the album. Much more time is given to sections using clean ambience and chord feels than on the previous record, and I found it made for a more balanced and satisfying total package overall.

The record opens with a drum and vocals only section, with two separate harsh vocals playing off each other on top of a tom roll groove that finds itself resurfacing multiple times in later songs in varying forms. After a single guitar ominously plods behind these pieces, the band descends into a triple-vocal attack flurry as the clean vocals and previous two harsh vocals all spin on top of each other. It’s an extremely effective opening that immediately gives you a taste of what to expect vocally. “Self-(Affect-Efface)” further descends into chaos with guitar stabs and frantic drums a la Dillinger Escape Plan, before laying back that same style to fall into a more prog metal breakdown style. This track also further shows the great writing abilities of the band when the first full band section from the beginning returns, but with an altered feel and vocals. This keeps a sense of familiarity and standard song structure nod, but also keeps the song wholly fresh and surprising. The closing of this track is one of the first hints of the lighter peaceful moments that comes at times, though “Dante’s Inspiration” quickly destroys that.

“Dante’s Inspiration” is probably the most TDEP feeling song on the album with it’s constantly returning quick-stab style riff and unrelenting barrage of drums. However, this song also contains on of the first really great hooks around the 2 minute mark…before descending to chaos again. The descents into chaos are never unwarranted though, never really jarring in the bad way. Often the changes are hinted at just enough. right before they happen that you are always ready for it, just not necessarily the final destination. “The Blame For Being Alive” really sells this at the 4 minute mark, when the music is obviously preparing itself for a decline to something softer, only to still surprise with a wonderful female vocal (Sam Raia) taking over and leading one of the most heartfelt moments of the album.

The vocals really do a big lift on this record, as the 3 vocalist structure of the band itself (coupled with the guest features on a couple songs). really give a breadth of tones, styles, and moods that a lot of bands don’t necessarily have. There is as much abrasive vocal parts as there are more soar-style chorus hooks, as well as vulnerable, lamenting vocal parts. In terms of other instruments, the drumming is well nuanced throughout, balancing the need for math-core style double-stop chaos and blasting barrages with the more laid back drumming for the jazzier and lighter sections. Also as mentioned before, the momentary returns of the same fill motif from the very beginning of the album is a welcome self reference which ties sections of the album together nicely. The guitars manage to not fall into the normal guitars-in-prog trap of sacrificing good writing for a lot of notes or flashiness. The abundance of more chord focused moments in this record gives a greater cohesion to the record as well as never give moments where you stop and ask “okay but why this here? Why are we wanking?” There was not a single guitar part on this record that gave me any pause for questions of inclusion, which is a testament to the band’s attention to actual song writing and cohesion.

I don’t often talk lyrics in reviews, because I tend to get the feeling other people don’t care for lyrics as much as me, and they are more often obvious indicators of terrible writing than good. Simply put, terrible lyrics are always more obvious than great lyrics. Cryptodira manages to give some great lyrics throughout about the band’s personal feelings on ideas of isolation, masculinity and economical systems. The delivery and general writing style keep the lyrics feeling sincere and artistic in their intent. Honestly, reading the lyrics on Bandcamp is worth the time, as the the official lyrics show much more longform expressions of the thoughts the record is espousing, with the actual vocal lyrics being snippets from those lyrics.

So overall, this a really great album. While it may feel lighter than their previous output, it is no less heavy and dense when it wants to be, and atmospheric and beautiful when it wants to be that instead. It has superb writing and thought put into it, and Cryptodira really bring home their ability to do basically anything they want in a song while sounding like themselves. I hate continuous comparison, but this is where I find the inescapable BTBAM comparison most apt, as both bands share that ability to be your same sound no matter what actual genre or musical tangent you go on. It’s a rare trait to have, and when a band does have it, it really creates a sense of authenticity that cannot be replicated. Don’t miss this album, spin it a bunch, and have all of the earworm hook moments stuck in your head endlessly like me. And also, put it on your final AOTY list, like me.

Recommended tracks: Dante’s Inspiration, A Tendency to Fail, What Can’t Be Taken Back
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, The Dillinger Escape Plan
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Label: Good Fight Music – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Cryptodira is:
– Scott Acquavella (guitar, vocals)
– Mike Monaco (guitar, vocals)
– Jeremy Lewis (bass, vocals)
– Matt Taibi (drums)