Review & Photography by Andy Payne for MPM
It is a hot and humid evening in Camden and the energy is palpable as a queue of black shirts and studded battle jackets snakes its way around the entrance of The World’s End.
As we wait for the doors to open into the legendary Underworld there is only one topic on everyones lips, Crypta have come to the UK.
Despite only releasing their debut album in 2021, the Brazilian Quartet have established a loyal and devoted fanbase, spurred on by their hugely successful 2023 sophomore album ‘Shades of Sorrow’ with one fan having travelled all the way from Finland to see them tonight.
As soon as the doors open, a swarm of excited metalheads shuffle their way downstairs and straight to the merch stand (which conveniently is also the venues one source of air-con).
Kicking off proceedings are Perpetual Paradox, London based metal-core quintet and members of the ever growing London Metal Coalition (an organisation of local independent metal bands).
This is metal-core with a capital M; drawing influence from the bands of the mid 00’s such as Killswitch Engage and God Forbid over the sub-genres more contemporary styles.
It is really refreshing to see such a large turnout for the first band of the night and the crowd are lapping it up. Perpetual Paradox have riffs for days and their onstage energy is infectious as fists are raised
in unison to the chant of “The King is Dead, Long Live The King” during The Vice.
The band are clearly in their element and make no effort to hide their excitement to be playing at such an iconic venue.
Between songs, vocalist Adrian Caucelo is grinning from ear to ear before launching into another visceral vocal attack with snarls and roars reminiscent of Lorna Shores Will Ramos.
As the band begin to play Omen (not a Lamb Of God cover); Caucelo promises the crowd that if they
start a mosh-pit then he will join in.
The eager crowd don’t need asking twice and within the opening chugs, the vocalist has launched himself off of the stage and into the newly formed pit before then darting up the stairs and around the rest of the crowd who are stood further away.
Crooked Smile continues to up the intensity as the death metal and thrash influences are dialled up and the band play at ferocious speed before they take a dramatic left turn with an unexpected ballad.
Harbour is the first time we hear any clean vocals and a seemingly bold move as the song starts with clean guitars and Caucelo asks the crowd to raise their phone lights, but the song lands as the instrumentals twist and turn between stripped back slow sections and Architects style frantic riffs.
The band continue to alternate between clean and heavy sections with their final two songs Speaking in Tongues and Defiance, but manage to steer clear of ever sounding cliche in doing so.
Closing song Defiance in particular brings the Killswitch Influences back to the fore with some fantastic finger tapping sections alternating between the two guitarists (a fact made even more impressive after finding out that one of the guitarists is filling in as a last minute replacement).
With only a short turnover between support slots, everyone stays put as the crowd continues to grow; nobody dares go for a drink in case they are unable to squeeze back in.
A few minutes later and it is time for Phobetor to take to the stage. Playing a more blackened form of death metal, inspired by the likes of Behemoth; Phobetor take no prisoners as they unleash their rage on the eager crowd.
Star of the show is vocalist Deborah Conserva who stalks around the stage bellowing demonic gutturals and high pitched screams, switching between the two with ease in a manner reserved for death metal vocalists at the top of their game.
All eyes are on her throughout as she is flanked either side by two very talented guitarists, who don’t move much but are clearly loving every moment as they trade sweeping solos and dual harmonies.
Their stage presence is so hypnotic that it was over half way through their set before I even realised that they were missing their bassist.
The set comprised entirely of songs from their second album Through Deepest Fears and Darkest Minds with Conserva only pausing to address the crowd twice in the whole set to say “Thank You” after the first song and as they drew to a close, hammering home the old adage that sometimes less is more.
We are Crypta from Brazil and we are here to play some Death Metal” bellows Fernanda Lira as they take to the stage and boy do they deliver.
Launching straight into The Other Side Of Anger, what follows is a masterclass in death metal proficiency. Lira is a real joy to watch as she pulls every facial expression under the sun whilst beating her chest and raising her fist to the sky all whilst simultaneously finger picking her 5 string bass at breakneck speed.
Her mic stand is decorated with an arch of swords from their latest album artwork and two larger swords stand either side of the drum kit behind her. Either side, dual guitarists Jéssica di Falchi and Tainá
Bergamaschi windmill their hair and headbang in unison whilst shredding some of the catchiest
guitar licks.
Second song Poisonous Apathy in particular brings to mind guitar melodies from The Black Dahlia Murder during the Nightbringers era.
Behind the axe wielding threesome, drummer Luana Dametto does her best to disprove the laws of physics as she hammers blast beat after blast beat whilst barely seeming to move.
We weren’t sure what to expect, but we knew that London would never disappoint.” Lira beams to the crowd, unable to hide her joy at the reception they are receiving.
It is a point that they keep returning to throughout their set and their enthusiasm is matched throughout by the crowd screaming their lyrics back to them and pumping their fists in the air.
The set is made up almost entirely from their latest album and it is a smart choice as every song feels familiar to the crowd despite this being the first time most people will have ever seen the band live. As a unit, they are phenomenally tight without a single note out of place.
As individuals, each member is a marvel to watch as the guitarists dart across the stage to each others spots, taking up as much floor space as physically possible and members of the crowd stare slack jawed in awe at Dametto’s drumming virtuosity.
The two songs from debut album Echoes Of The Soul hit just as hard, with the groove of Under The Black Wings a particular highlight that shakes every bone in your body.
Another standout moment is Stronghold which (just about) slows down the tempo and puts a larger emphasis on melody in the truly sinister sounding guitar lines.
The band play for well over an hour and could easily have played for another if time allowed. “We travelled thousands of kilometres across the ocean to be here and you’ve made us feel like home”
says the visibly emotional Lira before promising “We will be back sooner than you think” and then
firing into a monstrous finale of Lord Of Ruins and From The Ashes during which the guitarists
manage to sweep pick and tremolo at the same time, something I didn’t even know was possible.
It is a truly remarkable end to a phenomenal concert and the band stay to soak up the chants of
Crypta from the crowd long after they have finished playing.
If this is the reception they receive on their first ever London show then I cannot begin to imagine how they will play when they return.
One thing is for certain, I cannot wait to see them again
