Artist: Cryptic Age
Release: The Aftermath [Demo]
Genre: Power Metal/Folk Metal
Label: Self-released
Released: 23rd October 2011
Cryptic Age are described as a folk metal band that mix dynamic female vocals with Celtic-inspired medleys and heavy riffs. A quick Google search leads to some quite positive reviews of the band, slightly surprising for a young band (by young, I mean formed within the past year, not pre-teen young). Last year saw the release of their debut EP Homeland which received some very good reviews. It was recently I stumbled upon the demo version of a song, entitled The Aftermath that will be featured on their upcoming album. It’s not really a release as such but I thought it should get a review anyway.
The song starts with a very Ensiferum sounding riff, displaying the obvious folk metal influences on the band’s compositions. The vocals come as a big shock. To put in bluntly, they’re what you’d expect to hear on a Nightwish album [any of the albums before Dark Passion Play] but they aren’t as hard on the ears as Tarja’s voice is. The keyboards inject a safe dose of power metal sounds to the song. There’s a small Christopher Lee-styled narrative part half way through that leads into something heavier than what you’d expect from Cryptic Age. It still sounds epic though. The track soon goes back to the aforementioned Ensiferum-influenced riffs before finishing in a powerful manner.
Cryptic Age certainly have a way of mixing power and folk metal together like barmaids mix drinks and The Aftermath is no different to this rule, though it is a bit more on the folk metal side of things but it’s still a good track. Just hopefully, the album won’t be too Ensiferum-sounding.
Arran Wright
Cryptic Age are:
Jenny Green - Vocals, Keyboards
Hallam Smith - Guitars
Tom Keeley - Bass
Alex Brandsen - Drums
http://www.crypticage.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/crypticage
http://www.myspace.com/crypticageofficial
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