Hello traveler. You've clicked many links and read several letters to be here. Perhaps you've stumbled on this as random curiosity or you're desperate to hear what a stranger says about an album you should be listening to already. In any case, this time around we've got some spooky eyes ogling us from the cover of "Staring Through The Veil" by CRYPTIC FOG. Who is that peeking at us, Uncle Dracula? An old ninja? Pervert wizard? No matter, it's unsettling and it's ominous and it's a perfect intro for the coming dark forces this album channels.

CRYPTIC FOG bombards pure malevolence through your speakers. From the first ominous chords through the monstrous finish, "Staring Through The Veil" is condensed intensity. At no moment does this let up, you start with a pair of canines sinking into your throat and they're only clenching harder by the end. I recommend only people who like their Metal brutal to pick this one up lest they have the dainty ears sheared clean off their head.

The musicianship here is impressive. The riffing is delivered by a phlegmy set of strings that gurgle wickedness unrelentingly. It's a very thick style that requires several listens to discern how exactly songs lean in the Extreme Metal diaspora. The frenetic cacophony continues in such a way that breaking anything up for a solo would only stall the attack. No slowing down for gentle strumming or wailing emotional peaks here (Ok, once or twice for a few seconds), this is a straight charge through no man's land under heavy auditory assault. The drumming is both powerful and impressively tight. Considering the fact that all but one of the songs on this album is at least eight minutes long, keeping up this berserker pace for an entire track is pretty awesome. The bass is an ever-present tremor that belches out deep notes at a gallop that keeps pace with the flurry of drums. To round it all out, vocally we get some good old fashioned savagery. A hoarse Death Metal growl belts out madness throughout each song. It's as uncompromising as the rest of the instruments. There are a few moments of spoken word stuff said in an ominous voice like an evil wizard took over the track or something but they still give it an ominous feel. It isn't overdone, thankfully. I was surprised to find out this band was a duo, they make the racket of an outfit several times larger.

I can't say that there were any particularly standout moments from the album. This is a series of repeated blows to the head and I can't really say which one caused the brain bleed. Considering that each track is a lengthy composition (with an equally lengthy song title) where the chaotic pace never settles, it really makes everything easier to appreciate as a package. The constant breakneck speed, the ripping intensity and heaviness of the riffs, the sheer athleticism of the machine gun drumming - it all comes together to form a monstrous release of amalgamated brutality.

This felt like a throwback to the glory days of old school Death Metal. This could have easily come out with one of the classics. It's a very low-end heavy slog of carnage that will have the old vets nostalgic while still offering something of its very own. This is a beast and you should listen to it if you like your Metal to be fast, heavy, and evil.

For fans of (especially late 90's early 2000's): VOMITORY, GOD DETHRONED, PAGANIZER, BENEDICTION, THE CROWN, BEHEMOTH, HATE ETERNAL, and NILE.