Album Review: Cryptworm - Infectious Pathological Waste
Reviewed by Sam Jones
You look to the scores of metal festivals, home and abroad equally, and Cryptworm likely occupy a slot somewhere on a lineup. Formed in Bristol, United Kingdom back in 2014, Cryptworm have become stalwarts of the British extreme metal scene and a rising force in death metal globally. With their early years spewing forth a selection of EPs, a Demo, a Split, Cryptworm raised eyebrows with their debut album, 2022’s Spewing Mephitic Putridity, many people’s first taste of the band’s repugnant flair. They only built upon that foundation where a year later they unleashed Oozing Radioactive Vomition, a personal favourite of mine from 2023. Now slated for late March, Cryptworm return with their third album titled Infectious Pathological Waste. Whilst its Cryptworm’s third record, it is their first full length where each member has a credit on the preceding record. Given how well their last record was received and knowing the same chemistry is likely to be found herein I was very excited to get stuck in. Cryptworm are always a great act to see live and once again they’re backed by Me Saco Un Ojo Records.
What better way to kick off a new Cryptworm album than with the band’s signature putrid, heaving vocals? A bastion of all things defiled, Cryptworm’s vocals seem to have deepened even greater as their vocal performance, provided by the immovable and band founder Tibor Hanyi, claws through the filth and detritus of sapient existence in the pursuit of ever fouler soundscapes. Where one experienced bludgeoning aggression across their past releases, this new work sees Cryptworm completely surrender to all things unspeakable, where no syllable is legible and vocal structure itself rots to pieces. Yet it only feels to be a natural progression of Cryptworm’s development as they strive for increasingly reviled and repugnant places to strike from.
Curiously, the band have opted for an approach to songwriting that sees the blocky and punching style of death metal previously adopted fall sway to a more free-flowing style where the impact isn’t so intense but enables easier access to follow along. Now, some could say the band have done so to allow wider accessibility to broaden the fanbase, but in decreasing the intensity of the impact herein Cryptworm aren’t barreling down on us so heavily, which in turn means newer audiences can come back to Infectious Pathological Waste knowing a return trip won’t incur punishment. In addition, their riffs exhibit a peculiarly bouncing, dancing flair as one imagines themselves swaying to and fro before the band lay the power out. Pits and walls of death continue to break out in their multitudes; there’s more breathing room present but not to the record’s detriment and may become the band’s, oddly, most accessible work yet.
More so throughout this record than their previous outings, Cryptworm demonstrate the surprising technicality innate to their riffs and songwriting on the whole. Prior to help breaking loose, the record offers windows in viewing their riffs as the technically arranged pieces they are; keen listeners will note how often and rapidly hands and fingers dart across the fretboard, and how integral such riffs are in conjunction with the bass and drumming. Moreover the overall tone is lighter, aiding the lessened pressure on the senses however it also results in a record that eases off the pedal and gives you perhaps the most detailed look at their riffs ever. I wonder if many understood how technical their riffs truly were, myself included, prior to their choice of production.
That opted production has favoured the drums in seeing the light of day for the general strikes are much tinnier, freed from any overpowering or superseding by the riffs and vocals. In doing so Cryptworm establish the pace more firmly and ensure we won’t perceive the record at going by either with a blur or drag. But on the other hand when blast beats are employed, the tinnier drumming lends heightened tempo to the performance. Whilst blast beats aren’t new to Cryptworm, the blast beats here deliver an urgency and severity new to Cryptworm’s arsenal.
In conclusion, Cryptworm’s third album takes the band into even darker recesses, utilising techniques and an altered style that sees them swerve to a more technically-fronted death metal attack. I do wish it were a little punchier mind you, just enough for their assault to leave a firmer impact crater. It still hits hard no doubt about that, but Cryptworm have clearly gone for a different angle with this release. It’s still the filthy and sadistically debuached band you know and love, only their soundscape isn’t as dense and doesn’t come down as hard or fast as we’ve previously seen. I think it’s more accessible to listen, especially for a newcomer, but it’s accessibility has not come at the cost of prowess or songwriting capabilities. This is a solid release for the band and a bonafide gateway record for those wishing to dive in to Cryptworm for the first time.
