Cryptophobism - Demo '98 (1998)

Note: Artwork unavailable

Genre: Doom/Death Metal
Country: Bulgaria
Year: 1998

1. People That No-One Will Miss
2. Accidental Suicide
3. Cave
4. Madhouse (Rehearsal '93)

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100% crushing. I haven't used the "Heavy as Fuck" label in a while, but I think this decimating demo is deserving of such. Opening with a morbid, destruction-laced intro, the tone is set for the rest of this demo. Expect only the darkest and grimmest doom from here on out.

Perfect production value here; the mix sounds just as it should for this type of music: very full and overwhelming, with touches of austerity-- this is DOOM with the force and power to back it up. Dark and hopeless, there is nothing but steep, tenebrous walls all around you, stretching for miles. Trapped. No escape. Doom/Death done right.

The entire demo is bleak. Occasionally we'll have the rare lifting solo, shedding light on the darkness, but even then, forlorn despondency clouds the senses, slowly churning about with desolate melodies and echoing growls deep from the depths of oblivion.

Short and sweet, the demo wraps up with a glimpse of Cryptophobism's past: a rehearsal from 1993. They still managed to retain their sound over all these years, but unfortunately didn't have the deep, booming production that suits their doom so well. Still, the longest track of the bunch and perhaps a little more simplistic, but it works. This one's yet another gem; you'd be crazy not to give it a listen. Recommended.

Dominus Xul - The Primigeni Xul (I Condemned my Enemies) (1998)

Genre: Heavy Death Metal
Country: Chile
Year: 1998

1. The Primigeni Xul
2. Jesus the Christ (False Son of a False God)
3. Dominus (Impurity)
4. Mystical Key of the Azo Nei's Dominion
5. Hear me Satan
6. Rule with your God
7. Penetrating the Nazarene
8. Polar Son of Lucifer
9. The Voice of the Buried
10. Inferior Magicus Fluxus Luna
11. Chapel of the Bewitchers

Download at Mediafire
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Last.fm

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Holy shit. If you want hard-hitting, monstrously heavy Death Metal in the vein of Incantation's "Onward to Golgotha", look no further. Dominus Xul is monumentally bone-crushing. I never thought I'd witness something like that Incantation album, but sure enough, look hard enough, and good things come. I am immensely satisfied with this record and it is sure to satiate any craving for your bones to be crushed to dust.

For the most part, this is a slower-paced album, but at times, you get that chaotic fast part that blows you out of the water. The balance between the two styles is impeccable. Just when you think the music is chugging painfully slower, so much that it causes your heartbeat to slow down, out of nowhere, you're impaled upon savagely maddening chaos. Drums and lightning quick riffs being shoved down your throat, with wildly chaotic guitar solos in the background; it's enough to run off screaming! But, before that happens, the music slows back down. I just love how this album unfolds. A great listen - recommended.