Crypt Sermon – The Ruins of Fading Light
Band: Crypt Sermon
Title: The Ruins of Fading Light
Label: Dark Descent Records
Release date: September 13, 2019
Country: USA
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording
The time has come!
In 2015 the Philadelphia based band CRYPT SERMON released their debut album “Out of the Garden”, and since then only had a split and a single. However now, it is time for the second full-length album “The Ruins of Fading Light”.
Formed in 2013 what is obvious is that Crypt Sermon puts tremendous work into their music before it is considered for a release, and absolutely nothing is half-arsed. The debut album was a good proof of such work ethics, and the second album is no less of evidence.
Throughout the whole album the vocals were spot on. From the melodic screaming, to the softer ordinary power metal vocals, to the harsher ones which reminded me of Russ Anderson.
“Key of Salomon” as a follow up to the starting choirs, horses and clinging swords of the opening track brings a certain Iron Maiden-ish unisonic guitar melodies before going back to the heavy metal of the early 90´s, vocals kicking in the likes of Alice in Chains on the verses, quite inspirational to say the least! Surely they stand for their doom metal label which suits this sort of sound quite well.
So far we have had remnants of Forbidden, Iron Maiden and Alice in Chains, and as if that wasn’t enough “Our Reverends Grave” has somewhat of a slower Slayer stuff going on as it starts out. The track is up to the same speed as the previous two, which certainly cements the Candlemass doom feel with the aggressiveness without being played particularly fast.
As the album goes on the Slayer-element becomes even stronger. Apart from the choirs and vocals I could very well imagine early Slayer work which is a point in my book and the overall old-school sound is something which can be admired they have managed to pull off so elegantly.
“The Snake Handler” stood quite well out riff wise. The track itself has a certain Egyptian feel to it along with some James Labrie sounding vocals. Quite dark while at the same time manages to add some light to it. Usually, I am not a huge fan of lengthy tracks, but this time I was willing to overlook that part due to the riffs and solo.
As the end of the album rolled around with “Beneath the Torch Fire Glare” and “The Ruins of Fading Light” it has come clear that the album has matured throughout the tracks. The riffs, solos and vocals are more polished in the end; however, I can´t help but feel like the album should have been closed with “The Snake Handler”.
Overall, the album was a fascinating entertainment. Many bands attempt to reach the old school sound of the 90´s metal, although often just sound like cheap sounding production with today´s standards. However, I don’t feel as if that has been done here. The sound is authentic with the inspiration from oh so many bands who have been around forever and we all love so much. It was quite the nostalgic hour and kudos to those guys for what they have done. 7.5/10 Julia
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