Crypts of Despair - All Light Swallowed (2021) Hi-Res

The death metal revival have showed no signs of slowing down in recent years. With bands across the world revitalising the essence and raw power of metal’s most explosive genre, the death metal scene in 2021 is alive and bursting at the seams. Having formed way back in 2009, years before the death metal revival started to accelerate its ascent from the depths of hell, Lithuania’s CRYPTS OF DESPAIR resemble somewhat a slumbering beast. Taking a gargantuan eight years since forming before The Stench Of The Earth rose from the crypt, their 2017 debut turned heads. Now, four years later, the band return with their sophomore outing; All Light Swallowed.

Let’s make one thing clear, All Light Swallowed is monumentally savage. Passages of bruising death metal and sinister black metal twist and contort and swirl like a vicious maelstrom, all the while benefiting from a stellar production job. From the moment Being – Erased roars into life and blows you away, CRYPTS OF DESPAIR grab you by the throat and pound you into oblivion over the album’s 35 minute runtime.