Review by Sonny for Cryptosis - Bionic Swarm (2021)

I'm returning to this now after a gap of nine months from it's release as I failed to connect with it at all first time around due to it's technical edge, me not being the biggest fan of so-called "technical metal". Now that I have given it chance to settle in I am much better disposed towards it than I was last spring. Yes, there is a degree of technicality to the Dutchmen's thrashery, but it isn't as wanky as some technical thrash bands and the tracks still do what I like thrash tracks to do which is provide sufficient neck-wrenching aggression to facilitate headbanging overload. The musicianship is excellent and the songwriting is great, as I said, it does provide a degree of technicality but never loses sight of the fact that it is first and foremost a thrash metal record and ensures that it delivers on that front before incorporating the technicality into the songs.

I love Laurens Houvast's vocals, they are plenty aggressive and just the right side of ragged to give the impression of a singer pouring his all into his art. The riffs are sufficiently memorable and are tight as fuck with not a single note out of place, no matter how fast they are played and the soloing (always a bellweather in thrash metal) is impressively white hot. So with these thrash fundamentals firmly in place I am more than willing to overlook the odd bit of technical bollocks as it in no way detracts from what I turn to a thrash album for. Better late to the party than never to party at all I guess.

What is of particular interest is the incorporation of that old favourite of 70's prog outfits, the mellotron. It is actually utilised extremely well and doesn't impinge on or blunt the album's aggressiveness in any way. It is most obviously felt, I think, on Prospect of Immortality, which seems to be the track everyone is talking about due to it's slower pace and it's more diverse and even proggy feel. Ostensibly the album is a science fiction concept album, which is no problem for me at all as I love both sci-fi and concept albums, but in all truth I don't think this should be a deal breaker for those who don't as it still works merely as a damn fine thrash album. Nearly everyone is comparing this to Vektor and I will concede to those who know the work of the Arizonans better than I, but I prefer this to Vektor as this just thrashes harder.

So, to summarise my thoughts, this is a great thrash album that happens to have a bit of a technical bent and some interesting use of keyboards that enhance the band's thrash credentials rather than detracting from them. More of this, please.