Crypt of Reason - Stargazer

Angry Metal Guy 30

Written by: Nameless_N00b_90

The death of a friend or loved one can spark an artist to pour their heart out. Swallow the Sun recorded the emotionally devastating When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light following the death of lead guitarist Juha Raivio’s partner, and Korn released their most mature and gut-wrenching album, The Nothing, following the death of Jonathan Davis’s wife.¹ Belarussian Crypt of Reason joins this tradition with their debut album, Stargazer. Stargazer is an album 8+ years in the making, delayed by the sudden death of the band’s lead songwriter, Pavel Minutin, in 2016. Doom is a fitting genre for ruminating on death, yet Crypt of Reason doesn’t play straight-up doom. Will their blend of genres hit you in the feels?

Unlike Swallow the Sun, Crypt of Reason did not compose their album for the deceased but completed his mostly-written album using drafts and demos. Pavel’s vision was a dissodeath band in the vein of Ulcerate mixed with a healthy dose of doom. Stargazer’s first few songs mimic Ulcerate’s intensity, and vocalist Alexander Naumenko’s throaty growls are more than adequate. But Crypt of Reason is not just an Ulcerate clone. They play at the trudging tempo typical of doom but often switch it up with crunchier guitars and spunkier drums. On top of death/doom, Stargazer is shot through with a post-metal feel and hints of industrial. The guitars become whiny, and the vocals lose their edge in favor of a quiet wispy sound. These disparate genres sometimes blend within songs (“Lemma”), while other songs go completely one way or the other. “The Origin Curse,” with its soft guitar tone and minimalist sound, contains none of the trappings of a doom song, while “Argon,” with its discordant drum beats, goes full disso-doom.

Stargazer by Crypt Of Reason

The first three songs of Stargazer give the impression the album will be straight-up disso-doom, so it’s a shock when “Lemma” switches gears. Naumenko begins performing what I can only describe as a growly mumble rap. Then halfway through, he switches to his harsh vocals and the band plays some of the album’s best doom. Was the strangeness just a blip? Then “Savior” begins and it’s clear that the tone has shifted. This is no longer disso-doom, but a sort of post-nu-metal with hints of Mushroomhead.² The drum beats become sparser and the lead guitars and synths more repetitive. Crypt of Reason even experiments with unusual sound effects, like a metronome in “The Origin Curse” and what sounds like a washboard in “Savior.” From here on, the album becomes like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll performs his growls and heavy doom, only for Hyde to come out of hiding to terrify you with his nu-metal and mumbling.

Sadly, even the doom doesn’t pull its weight. The compositions are underwhelming, lacking the emotional heft one might expect. It’s not a problem with the musicianship. The guitars by Alex Sedin are competent, and his solos played with a delicate touch, are lovely. Vladimir Izotov handles the drums with confidence,³ seamlessly switching tempos and anchoring Crypt of Reason’s sound. The fault lies in the production and mixing. The drums often sound flat and muted.⁴ The guitars switch from being crunchy and intense to dull and whiny. The vocals sometimes drown out the instruments and sometimes fade into the background. Worst of all, the instruments and vocals often feel disjointed, like they aren’t playing together but atop one another. As a whole, that’s the feeling I get from this album: the pieces don’t quite fit together.

Due to its odd mix of genres and struggles with production, Stargazer might struggle to land. Fans of doom will be confounded by the elements that don’t belong on a doom album, while fans of post-metal (if you can call it that) won’t find the compositions strong enough to give their full attention. Even for fans of industrial or nü-metal, only a few songs fit that bill. Crypt of Reason would have been better served by focusing on death/doom. That said, it takes tremendous effort to put together a complete album, and to do so in the aftermath of the death of a friend is even more daunting. While I must rate the music on its own terms, my heart goes out to the band, and I hope they achieved the catharsis that they sought.

Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: cryptofreason.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/CryptOfReason
Releases Worldwide: September 24th, 2024

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