Cryptic Tales - Anathema

Anathema is actually one of the first albums by Cryptic Tales, only to be re-released in 2009 by Redrum666 Records. Compared to the original there isn't much different from the original early nineties version; the production is still raw, vocals gritty, and the guitars have that evil, necro production that the early albums by Vader and Behemoth had. Hailing from Poland as well, it is understandable how Cryptic tales could be lumped into the category.

For its time, Anathema was one of those 'death metal' milestones. It was quite different from its death metal counterparts in the sense it had a funeral doom atmosphere, especially on the first track. At times the guitars made such weird sounds the music sounded almost symphonic at time, especially with the solos. The gritty production made an ambiant haze to distort everything, but not so much you couldn't hear the vocals or guitars. Today, it is still a gem to hold, but the production standards should have been cleaned up for modern times. Even without the touch of modern times, there's still plenty of Anathema to be memorable. The absolute brutality of "Living In Vineless" set the stage for bands like Vital Remains. "In Graves..." was a raw, but beautifully constructed death metal instrumental for the most part with a few roars here and there and the guitar 'wind-chime' effect near the end was a progressive nail to be remembered. "Voices Inside..." definitely has some keyboard work, but it doesn't make the music cheesy or take away from the raw, death metal ambiance the music creates. Finally, "Purtrid Mutants" is just raw, filthy death metal with little ambiance or atmospehre but plenty of riffs and rawness to give fans of whatever concept of 'pure death metal' they have that that song is IT.

While this is a short album, and fans may raise an eyebrow as to why a label released a classic almost ten years later without adding anything like demos, live tracks, or any sort of bonus material, Anathema's 2009 re-release is still awesome to behold. For those new to the band, one could call this raw, melodic brutal death metal of the prehistoric kind. There's no Gothenburg tinge to it at all; just straight up death metal with a few progressive elements. Fans of Godless Rising, early Vital Remains, Vader, and Convulse will seriously get a kick out of this.

  1. Anathema
  2. Steeple Of The Nightmare
  3. Live In The Vineless
  4. In Grave Rotting Is Slowly
  5. Voices Inside The Beast
  6. Putrid Mutants

Redrum666 Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Apr 19, 2010

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