Crypt Sermon - The Stygian Rose

Angry Metal Guy 80

Over the last few years, I’ve slowly morphed from the traditional/trve/doom metal guy into the rancid death metal guy. It seems 85% of the promos I grab these days are death-related or death-adjacent. Questionable tastes aside, I was still excited to change things up and bask in the latest from Philly’s doom wardens Crypt Sermon. When last we saw them nearly 5 years ago, they’d released their sophomore outing The Ruins of Fading Light. While I wasn’t as enamored with it as I was with their killer Out of the Garden debut, it had some stellar moments and it’s grown on me over the years. I hoped The Stygian Rose would trend more toward the debut, but instead, the band found a slick middle ground between the classic doom of the debut and the more exploratory style of The Ruins. The Stygian Rose reasserts the mighty influences of Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus while allowing a large volume of traditional metal ideas to flow through the material like a refreshing blast of ice-cold beer. A slightly proggy edge surfaces at times too. In short, this is one fragrant corpse flower!

Opening monolith “Glimmers in the Underworld” wastes no time establishing its classic doom bona vides, sounding like a long-lost Solitude Aeturnus track with trve metal muscle included for added impact. The guitar work is stellar, switching from massive doom grooves to Judas Priest-esque dueling solos and Maiden-friendly harmonizing. Cutting through all this are the larger-than-life vocals of Brooks Wilson who sounds reborn, projecting might and majesty everywhere. Over the song’s 8-plus minutes, the band varies mood and tempo but never takes the boot off your neck or lets the momentum lag. It’s a triumph. The classic doom goodies continue on “Thunder (Perfect Mind)” which could have been on the debut. It sounds like a product of the doom revival of the late 80s/early 90s and the mournful guitars hit hard and chill the soul. Brooks completely owns this one with a tremendous performance, commanding the mic like a true Doom Lord.

The album highlight arrives with “Scrying Orb” where the band goes deep into classic doom for a massive, sweeping experience full of despondency and epic dimensions. There’s more feeling feeling here than on some entire doom albums and this is a Vegas-backed Song o’ the Year candidate. Brooks sounds wounded and vulnerable until it’s time to invoke the Elder Gods in a haunting, liturgical chant when the brilliant chorus arrives. This is a show-stopper and I can’t escape its wickedly mystical powers. Then comes the gigantic 11-minute closing title track to celebrate your interment in the mausoleum of metal excellence. Beginning with somber piano lines, things slowly climb toward doom grandiosity with Brooks joining the battle around the 3rd minute, delivering some of his best vocal work as he swings from leather-lunged raw bellowing to softer, poignant crooning. The guitar work is stunning and elegant, especially during the song’s final act. No song is weak, though the middle section is slightly less tremendous and a bit more proggy than the bookending moments. At 44:50, the album is the ideal length and even the long-form cuts avoid feeling fatty due to excellent structuring. The production by Arthur Rizk is spot on, giving the guitars mass and force and allowing tons of room for Brooks and company to hawk their sonic wares.

I couldn’t be more impressed by the guitar maelstrom generated by Steve Jansson (Daeva) and Frank Chin (also Daeva). They dig deep into Mount Doom for inspiration, plunging well below Balrog depths to reach the real gems. Their lusty infusion of traditional metal influences adds a glossy, vibrant coating to the heavy doom core, reminiscent of the glory days of Candlemass when Mats Björkman and Lars Johansson were on shred detail. The doom riffs are present and accounted for and all the extra embellishments are rich, meaty gravy. Brooks Wilson sounds completely renewed vocally. Where he sounded strained and thin at times on The Ruins of Fading Light, he sounds colossal and unstoppable here. He glides from strength to strength effortlessly while giving the material a ton of gravitas and power, like Rob Lowe in his prime sprinkled with Magic Dio Dust™. The songs are well thought-out, well-executed, and packed with sticky staying power.

I knew Crypt Sermon had better days ahead of them, and here they are. The Stygian Rose builds on the prior releases to create a towering doom edifice with an unshakeable foundation. If this isn’t the doom album of 2024, someone made a merger deal with the Devil. Now get to your morbid florist and buy a dozen of these long-stemmed doom wonders. Let the Sermon recommence.



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent
Websites: cryptsermon.com | cryptsermon.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/cryptsermon
Releases Worldwide: June 14th, 2024

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