ALBUM REVIEW: Visitations From Enceladus – Cryptic Shift

Leeds’ CRYPTIC SHIFT may very well be, without much hyperbole, the UK’s answer to DEATH. That’s a pretty bold statement to make but for those familiar with the band it’s one that’s fairly hard to dispute. Mixing together the best of classic thrash and death metal, and coupling the progressive leanings of ATHEIST and GORGUTS with the stunning musicality of the likes of CONTROL DENIED and the aforementioned DEATH, CRYPTIC SHIFT have developed a respectable reputation within the UK’s underground. Their long awaited debut album, Visitations From Enceladus, stands as their best output to date.

Moonbelt Immolator is an ambitious way to open Visitations from Enceladus. A vast, slow burning monolith of a track, the 26 minute long opener blends a powerful, futuristic feel with eerie atmospheric  flourishes, gradually morphing from a dark and foreboding sound to a razor sharp, energetic blend of death and thrash. Moonbelt Immolator is a noxious mix of tight, demented guitar work, intricate drums, slick, bubbling bass hooks and acerbic vocals that works extremely well, with a slight, progressive edge to the sound. An extended section of this song utilises cleaner guitar sounds and almost jazzy chords, with the bass rising to the forefront of the sound providing a sublime virtuoso sound before resuming the more intense edge.

(Petrified in The) Hypogean Gaol adopts a more aggressive sound. CRUPTIC SHIFT use cutting guitars, savage thrash-inflected rhythms and rabid vocals to give a noticeably leaner, groove-laden sound. It’s also an incredibly catchy and interesting number, with some awesome guitars and impressive bass flourishes that really fill out the sound. The grandiose, ambience heavy second half of the song also works wonders, giving this song a great, epic quality that it’s hard not to love. It’s a great, stand out offering that boasts some extremely high musicianship on all fronts.

The Arctic Chasm has a bleak and engrossing sound with grating melodies and shrill chords giving this song a much more feral, vicious side. This heightened aggression is punctuated by some juggernaut drumming and a meaty bass sound that give this song an even more weighty and ferocious sound. The vocals really excel here too, carving through the mix and adding an acidic, visceral exclamation point on the music. As it reaches its climax, the song suddenly shifts to a much more measured motif with cleaner tones and a slower pace, making for a great contrast that draws the listener back in. Planetary Hypnosis proves to be a relatively punchy, but utterly frenetic, end to Visitations from Enceladus, with the proggier side of CRYPTIC SHIFT coming to the for much more prominently. The descending guitar hooks, abrupt time changes and rabid rhythms, courtesy of the bass and drums, make for an excellent, riff saturated affair with a lot of adventurous ideas and an urgent, cacophonous sound.

Visitations from Enceladus is by far the best material that CRYPTIC SHIFT have released to date – no easy feat considering the quality of their most recent output. CRYPTIC SHIFT‘s sound has notably gotten tighter, the songwriting is more creative and, throughout, Visitations from Enceladus is extremely impressive and memorable right off the bat. Not many bands would have the confidence to open their debut album with a 26 minute long masterpiece, let alone have the musical talent to make something of that magnitude work incredibly well. There’s not a single dull moment on this record, and it definitely sets a very high bar for their future records to overcome, as well as cemented their place at the forefront of the UK’s death metal and thrash scenes.

Rating: 9/10

Visitations From Enceladus is out now via Blood Harvest. 

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