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CRYPTA
Shades Of Sorrow
Napalm Records

Spearheading the movement I've dubbed 'The New Wave Of Femme Fatale Metal' is the quartet from Brazil, CRYPTA. I've really fallen in love with their sound and I can't remember the last time I was so drawn to a new band. Yes they are all beautiful women but my admiration doesn't stop there. It's their musicality and their showmanship that, along with various videos posted online, I got to witness first-hand when they came through on tour with MORBID ANGEL. The little I knew at the time was that Bassist/Vocalist Fernanda Lira and Drummer Luana Dametto had separated from their previous band and formed CRYPTA. Another rising musician in that of Guitarist Sonia Anubis (ex-BURNING WITCHES) had joined them for the ride along with another shredder by the name of Taina Bergamaschi thus creating their debut masterpiece Echoes Of The Soul, not only my favorite album of 2021 but now 1 of my favorite albums of all time. Fast-forward to present day and the latest album by CRYPTA that was released earlier this year, no doubt I was eager to hear how they would follow-up on such an amazing record.

With the foreseen departure of Sonia, I couldn't help but wonder how much of an impact that would have on CRYPTA's sound. The answer; in many ways it makes a large impact but conversely none in any negative way. Replaced by the amazing Jessica Di Falchi, who in her own right wanted to make an impact as well, and quite an impact she has made indeed with her contribution to the new album Shades Of Sorrow. I know I speak for many of the HUGE (and growing) following that CRYPTA has when I say that we were anxiously awaiting this follow-up. We as listeners get the benefit of hearing the result of their efforts. Arguably they had a lot to prove on their second record, yet they've already proven so much with their highly intense live show (thankfully captured on video) and amazing music videos and playthroughs - all excellent ways to further your social reach and show off how great you are.

After a few months of listening to the album over and over again, I have to say that Shades Of Sorrow does not disappoint. With the songwriting position shifting a little, it was certainly obvious the direction they wanted to take on this album was to push their boundaries a bit more. Adding a lot more melody and groove to their style as well as some tasty Slam elements, while maintaining some of the Blackened Death Metal sound we've grown attached to.

The opening track "Dark Clouds", just like the previous album, right away goes for the jugular with Fernanda's earth-shattering growl. The song takes a twist and heads for that groove I mentioned before, then right back to some blistering blasting thrash. From Luana's outstanding drumming locked in with Lira's thunderous bass, and the guitar duo of Taina and Jessica - they crammed a lot of ideas into this one first song. The tandem shredding between the guitars just peels your face off. They are so smooth with their transitions from solos to riff. Luana's style of drumming has to be one of a kind. She makes it seem so easy. The fluidity of her drum-fills and approach to the songs have made her one of today's best drummers. I can't think of any modern drummer who's playing has made an impact on me like hers.

Stronghold is a whirlwind of sound and a great example of all this I described. It displays many of the elements they are trying to capture on Shades Of Sorrow where they obviously mean to show more of their versatility. With flamenco guitars and a tasty snare roll opening the track "The Other Side Of Anger", this song shows their Latin American side, and if you've seen the music video, you see how they show off their talents as well with a nearly live performance. "Lift The Blindfold" was an example of taking their sound to different places. Here it has that Modern Metal sound, that I haven't been too keen on as of late, (some would identify as The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal) that is a bit commercial nowadays mixing groove breakdowns with hints of thrash. Thankfully it doesn't dominate the song and redeems itself. Aside from that, the only other thing holding this album back was (depending on what sound system you are listening through), I felt the guitars were a little buried in the mix and made it hard at times to make out the rhythms of the guitars behind the bass and drums. Be that as it may, what could be described by some as a different level of maturity in their style, I myself wouldn't degrade them or their sound on this one with such an ignorant statement. Their "maturity" was already on display on Echoes Of The Soul. Through 10 solid songs (aside from the 3 instrumental intro, interlude and outro), the women from Brazil have shown Shades Of Sorrow to be an expansion of their talent and sound, incorporating so much depth in their songwriting while putting not only the combined effort as a band, but each of their own individual talents on display. All this translates so well in their performance not just on record but live as well. Shades Of Sorrow is a strong and healthy second effort and their energy and obvious camaraderie on stage matches their amazing talent and is why they lead the charge in this new movement, 'The New Wave Of Femme Fatale Metal' threatening to be one of today's and for the foreseeable future, best Extreme Bands in the world. If you're going to recognize a Metal band from Brazil, say it loud and proud - CRYPTA.

4.5 Out Of 5.0