In a metal scene brimming with talent, Dutch heavyweights Cryptosis stood out like a shining diamond from the very start. Commencing their reign of cerebral terror back in 2020, this most distinctive and inventive of metal power trios sent shockwaves through the scene with their monstrous 2021 debut album Bionic Swarm. A raging cyclone of highly evolved extreme metal, it showcased the band’s dystopian vision, introducing the exhilarating sound of three ingenious virtuosos, and standing proudly apart from prevailing trends. Cryptosis remains determined to follow their chosen path, and in 2025, they return with a phenomenal sophomore record, Celestial Death.

An exercise in creative defiance, Celestial Death maintains Cryptosis’ core policy of making epic music that refuses to be pigeonholed. From the neck-wrecking intensity of opener Faceless Matter and the triumphant fury of Static Horizon, to vivid and venomous finale Cryptosphere, the Dutchmen’s second full-length is a sustained revelation. The songs are sharper, tighter and imbued with a powerful sense of skewed melody; the production is vast and destructive, but laudably organic and meticulously detailed. Everything that made Bionic Swarm so compelling has mutated and been magnified, and the band are ecstatic with the results. Underpinned by elements of black, death and thrash metal, combined with orchestral compositions, they have produced a sound that has no precedents in modern heavy music. Songs like Ascending and In Between Realities offer a box-fresh new metal hybrid, performed with furious skill and unwavering passion. This is melodic black/death metal taken to the next level.

An epoch-shattering force with endless potential, Cryptosis returns in 2025 with a new perspective, an enhanced sound, and a profound sense of urgency. The Dutchmen are ready to make every riff, beat and scream count. Celestial Death is a game-changer. The future has returned, and nothing can stop it.

Cryptosis have bloomed into a fascinating proposition, and Celestial Death is their refreshed manifesto.

Dom Lawson