Review Summary: Classic and modern metal make a marriage we can all agree on.
Imagine a band that is capable of capturing everything you love about metal, gift wrapping it, and giving it to you in a nice neat package. Well merry chirstmas, because that's exactly what his album is. From the artwork to the fretwork, this is a love letter to all things metal.
The truth is, you'll either be hooked or decide it's too traditionally focused within its first two songs, as they clearly set the tone of what's to come. "Blackstar Horizon" hits immediately with a frantic riff that will be on repeat in your car for weeks because, holy balls it's awesome. The next song "Full Throttle" lives up to its name with a head banging riff that is difficult to ignore.
While there is some experimentation with the Doom metal tribute "Unto Elysium" and the thrashy "Waverider", Kryptos have really focused on mild paced traditional Metal that keeps the heads banging at just the right speed. You wont find a whole lot of double bass or breakdowns; instead you get songs like "One Shot to Kill" that play to the ears of every metal fan with its fast paced verses, and appease fans of the shred with an excellent guitar riffs throughout.
What stands out most is that there is not a single dud on this album. Even those that find "Into Elysium" to be too slow will agree the song is still structured excellently. The songwriting as a whole is top notch, which helps hide the fact that the production is a bit soft. Even while considering they were shooting for an old school sound, the bass and drumming are a bit soft on the lower frequencies.
But, none of that will matter because once "Burn Up the Night" hits its crescendo, you wont be caring much about that, and be focusing more on hitting that replay button.
