When frontman and founder (and progressive metal legend) Dan Swano left Edge of Sanity following the release of 1997’s Infernal, paving the way for the perpetual demise of the band. Understandably suffering heavily due to the loss of the dynamic and multi-talented Swano, Edge of Sanity attempted to carry on, quickly releasing 1998’s Cryptic. While the album tries to retain as much of the previous band as possible, it’s clear where the new de facto leader in guitarist Andreas Axelsson’s influences were set, and where Swano had influenced the sound of the band in the past. That divide proved to show fans more than enough that without Dan Swano, Edge of Sanity was more or less done as an active band. Possessing a couple of decent tracks, Cryptic could be easily mistaken for any other generic metal band’s offering, and remains largely forgotten in the band’s catalogue.
