You want to be number one? Don't play me a song. Tell me a story. So often my end of year list concludes with a concept album so well-written it's no longer a collection of songs. These albums resemble operas, films, books, they create their own sets, characters, conflicts, and resolutions. Cryptic Shift is the best example of concept album writing in the year of 2020. There is so much to absorb here, so much to explore and dig deeper into. Reading the lyrics you'll notice that they've gone beyond just what the main vocal is saying in each composition. They've gone as far as naming the guitar solos to indicate more textures, to give us something visual to imagine as we close our eyes and sink deeper and deeper into this alien planet's atmosphere. Visitations from Enceladus is an original piece of science fiction that just happens to be one of the most compelling heavy metal albums of the year. I would expect this level of excellence from some of the greats, metal bands that have several full-lengths under their belt. This is Cryptic Shift's first full-length release and I am so excited to see where these guys take this project as the years progress.
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