Cryptic Shift have always been impressive with their brand of technical thrash/death but with their latest album ' Overspace & Supertime' it feels like they have taken a gigantic step forward. It is ambitious and challenging, and tonight sees them play Manchester as part of the tour in support of the album.
Local boys Xenith open up the evening. They are essentially a deathrash band and often they are a combination of those two genres but at other times they lean more to straight ahead thrash. They start out pretty fast with razor sharp riffs although there are a number of slower, crunchy parts which are equally satisfying. The musicianship is good, with both guitarists demonstrating some fret wizardry on the solos. As the set progresses the music becomes more refined, moving from an early Seputura influence to more of an '80s Metallica style although I think they are better with pedal to the metal speed and aggression. One passage has a bluesy lick which brings '80s Megadeth to mind. They even touch on a progressive death metal style in the vein of Pestilence or Atheist at one point. I get the impression that they haven't fully discovered their own style yet but it doesn't really matter as most of what they play is really good.
Unburier play technical death metal in the vein of Death or maybe even Nile although some of the guitar leads have a Kirk Hammett feel. It is extremely heavy but the guitars provide enough to melody to give it some accessability. The balance of complexity with riffs you can bang your head to is well considered. The drumming from Kim Hughes is excellent and he shows real stamina as constantly switches from high speed blasting to something more mid-paced, like an athlete constantly switching from sprints to jogs and back again with no rest in between. The band are extremely tight, the musicianship is fantastic and the vocals are suitably gnarly. The songs are labyrinthine but concise enough to demand your interest at every single point. Excellent.
Cryptic Shift's opening number 'Cryogenically Frozen' starts off with jazzy chords which leads to technical, progressive death metal which is furious and sounds punchier than the record. There are lots of jazzy flourishes sprinkled in and Atheist are an obvious influence. The musicianship is absolutely dazzling whilst Xander Bradley sounds rabid with a vicious Chuck Schuldiner edge to his voice. 'Stratocumulus Evergaol' opens with the same jazzy flourish but keeps it going for an extended period, getting gradually heavier and more discordant. There are some punchy, technical thrash sections reminiscent of 'Rust In Peace' too. It possesses more energy and power then the studio version and it is dizzying. The biggest compliment I can give is that it captivates for the full twenty nine minutes.
The tech thrash of old still makes cameo appearances with a number of passages which could be Coroner or Watchtower. It is much more rousing than I expected. 'Hyperspace Topography' is crushing throughout and the savagery and aggression is ramped up further on 'Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm)'. They keep up the intensity for the full ten minute running time and it is almost overwhelming. The sheer scope and ambition of what they are doing is audacious and to pull it of with this level of ferocity is mind-scrambling. It is a draining experience watching it so God know what it must be like playing it.
Cryptic Shift *****
Unburier ****
Xenith ****
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