Cryptic Shift

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review

By Dear Hollow on March 27, 2022 in Reviews, 39 comments

“Good brutal death albums ruin your day. You swing your fists and frown, letting the caveman slams and moist leads saturate your eardrums in a coat of red mist as the mosh-pit hysteria results in a few too many lost brain cells. Astral Tomb does just that, featuring all the hallmarks of a good slam/goregrind/brutal death album: opener “Transcendental Visions” fitting this to a tee, the thirteen-minute opener reeks of Carcass-meets-Devourment-meets-Blood Incantation gore in its brutal emphasis on excess.” Star tombs, raw wounds.

Slow Burning Rage – Slow Burning Rage Review

By Dear Hollow on February 26, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Sludge Metal, 12 comments

“Slow Burning Rage is a one-man crew consisting of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Parrish, who you may know as the former drummer of melodeath heavyweights Darkest Hour, as well as other varying acts like Iron Reagan, Mammoth Grinder, City of Caterpillar, and Bleach Everything (to name a few). What can you expect from Slow Burning Rage, then? Well, for as varied and crazy as his resume is, it’s nothing like any of his acts. Slow Burning Rage’s self-titled debut is deemed “jazz sludge” by the promo gods.” Rage for change.

Tardus Mortem – Armageddon Review

By Dear Hollow on September 20, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 33 comments

“When the mighty ape (He who reigns forever, Amen) says “I’d like to see a review of Tardus Mortem,” after a few well-deserved tantrums I raced to stuff my earholes with as much of Armageddon as I could. My feet are stamping, but is it because of the tantrum it causes or the groove that it evokes?” Dane death demons.

Huck N’ Roll’s and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020

By Huck N Roll on December 30, 2020 in Blog Posts, Lists, 112 comments

Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch Elitist will now hold court with their well-thought-out Top Ten(ish) lists. Appear or be held in eternal contempt.

Doom_et_Al’s and Dear Hollow’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020

By Doom_et_Al on December 27, 2020 in 2020, Blog Posts, Lists, 114 comments

Doom_et_Al and Dear Hollow have their big boy lists. Did they use that great power responsibly?

Cryptic Shift – Visitations from Enceladus Review

By Eldritch Elitist on October 17, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 68 comments

“While I’ve traditionally identified as a basic black metal bitch, my listening habits of late have hovered firmly above death metal territory. The art of the Big Dumb Riff has held absolute command of my Spotify search bar, and it’s all thanks to the diversity the genre pool has spawned in over three decades of evolution. Just as I finish my most recent round of dick flattening at the hands of something as unflinchingly savage as Black Curse, I know I can hop to the opposite end of the technical axis to enjoy similarly aggressive highs in a fresh context. Cryptic Shift’s debut is about as far from something like Black Curse as you can imagine on the caveman riff spectrum, but those same thrills are all here.” Up Shift’s creek.