Some things in life seem to last forever. Or rather: they feel like an eternity, with time crawling by at a tormentingly slow pace. A sleepless night, an endless line at the checkout, a red traffic light when you’re in a hurry, stoppage time in a sizzling match with your team in the lead, or waiting for an important medical result. And what about that uncomfortable silence after a painful remark? In metal, we also know quite a few bands that seem unable to stop. Names like Bell Witch, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Ne Obliviscaris, Swans and Weakling don’t shy away from adding a few extra minutes here and there. The Leeds-based technical death and thrash metal band Cryptic Shift has mastered that art to perfection…
Six years ago, after previously releasing a substantial number of singles, demos and two EPs (Old Chapel from 2014 and Beyond The Celestial Realms from 2016), Cryptic Shift surprised us with their first full-length album: Visitations From Enceladus. A gem packed with highly intriguing technical thrash/death metal that captivated from start to finish. An album that also stood out because the opening track Moonbelt Immolator clocked in at over 25 minutes.
In contrast to the sprawling, cinematic opening of their debut, Cryptic Shift take a much more concise approach on their second full-length album Overspace & Supertime. Opener Cryogenically Frozen lasts ‘only’ just over nine minutes and immediately erupts in a whirlwind of jazz fusion-like patterns, before razor-sharp, lightning-fast technical riffs and countless tempo changes define the tone of the track. The musical approach on Overspace & Supertime does not differ fundamentally from that on Visitations From Enceladus. Here too, progressive thrash, death metal and an abundance of jazz elements are seamlessly interwoven. The quartet overwhelms you with a barrage of intricate riffs and solid, lightning-fast drums, unconventional time signatures, high velocity, abrupt tempo shifts and sudden changes in atmosphere. The music is richly layered and complex, with new details surfacing on every listen, yet despite that depth the band has managed to keep the songs – for the seasoned listener – surprisingly accessible. Ideas constantly emerge, are just as easily and quickly discarded, and make way for new creative outbursts. At times acceleration follows acceleration, only to abruptly ease off the gas or give way to a completely tranquil passage (Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm), Hyperspace Topography). The tracks are fast, detailed, razor-sharp, versatile and inventive…
… and long. And by long, I really mean long! Stratocumulus Evergaol runs for over thirty minutes – yes, you read that right: thirty! – while the title track Overspace & Supertime is ten minutes shorter. Cryogenically Frozen, Hyperspace Topography and Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm) are also generously stretched out at nine to ten minutes each. With nearly 79 minutes of hyperactive fretwork, Overspace & Supertime is a colossal album that offers not only a great deal to discover, but also demands a serious investment of time. And therein lies the album’s bottleneck; while one listener will revel in the swirling technical extreme metal and can’t get enough of the abundance of lightning-fast riffs, another may find it too disjointed and overly ambitious.
Lyrically, Overspace & Supertime also connects seamlessly with the previous album. The record revolves entirely around science fiction. Drummer Ryan Sheperson explains: “Although the themes of our sci-fi story have further evolved, it remains closely tied to the earlier storyline. The concept of Overspace & Supertime unfolds as an alternative reality to the events on Visitations From Enceladus, with our character entering new dimensions filled with greater adventures and even more bizarre encounters.” The story is packed with deeper layers that, even if you’re not a fan of science fiction, you can undoubtedly take something away from. Or have you already been so battered by the sheer number of riffs that you leave the lyrical content aside for now?
On Overspace & Supertime, Cryptic Shift color everything in more sharply and in greater detail than ever before. The quartet leaves no moment unused from beginning to end and presents an exceptionally vibrant and expansive album. Essential listening for fans of extreme, technical death and thrash metal, and for admirers of bands such as Atheist, Cynic, Nocturnus, Vektor and Voivod.
Score:
86/100
Label:
Metal Blade Records, 2026
Tracklisting:
- Cryogenically Frozen
- Stratocumulus Evergaol
- Hyperspace Topography
- Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm)
- Overspace & Supertime
Line-up:
- Alexander Bradley – Vocals, guitar
- Joss Farrington – Guitar
- John Riley – Bass guitar
- Ryan Sheperson – Drums
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