Finland’s Krypta is a new project of Henri Seger, who’s taken a break from his main trad metal gig, Tyrantti, to make some occult rock-and-roll. I’m pretty happy that the retro-metal and -rock trend has kept its steam and that includes the occult rockers, who might be the most active subset. There was a moment there in the early aughts when I thought the whole scene might overwhelm itself. There has certainly been a winnowing in the meantime, but what’s remained is quality. From Witchcraft to Wytch Hazel and Hallas to Ghost, the cadre of bands in the new millennium conjuring the heavy and ritualistic spirit of rock’s golden age is, by and large, both innovative and abiding, and Krypta put themselves right up there at the top with their debut album, Outo Laakso.
Obviously, though, plenty of bands are borrowing from the Elders in this new golden age, so homage alone doesn’t do much to set a band apart, not anymore anyway. Krypta rises above mere tribute with fantastic original songs that radiate the melodic spirit of the age of FM radio; these songs make you snap your fingers and smile and sing along so naturally that you’ll often find you’ve just been swept up in it all.
I’ve certainly noticed a nostalgic pull in these tunes, but I’ve also been sort of amazed at an interesting related paradox: whereas the feeling of these songs and their melodies is very familiar, the particular way the notes are arranged, the chord progressions and harmonies, is not at all what I’m used to in this context, and that’s probably down to my crass Americanism (I’ll own that). Surely, just as so much British and American rock is grounded in their respective folk traditions, so the Finns’ version of it is steeped in theirs and these songs reflect that, especially the melodies. And, well, I think that’s pretty neat and if that’s what it takes to shine an extra bit of culture into my brain’s nethers, I say I’ll take this and more.
My favorite thing about Krypta’s debut is its almost uncanny ability to emulate the classic era’s nearly imperceptible transition of heavy metal from a feature of rock-and-roll to an entity all its own. Most of the songs on Outo Laakso, like “Vala” above and the invincible ear-worm “Dorian Gray,” really do straddle that line so deftly walked by bands like Scorpions and Cheap Trick and UFO, but there are a couple that absolutely own their metal. “Suuri Voima” strides strongly from the gate with a highland desert swagger that could have been spawned from the same dust devil as Maiden’s “The Writing on the Wall.” Hammond organ accompaniment, soaring harmonies, and vibrant leads make “Suuri Voima” the epic highlight of Outo Laakso. That said, penultimate track “Joki,” bookended by sweet, soothing folk melody, offers up about 90-seconds of pure, doom-laden leads that beg for replay even after several listens.
Outo Laakso closes with a beautiful little folk number that’d fit on a Wes Anderson soundtrack. It highlights Seger’s talent for songcraft, as well as his versatility, especially right behind “Joki.” And that versatility, reflected in this record’s eclectic flexibility, is a real strength of Krypta, generally. Since, it seems, Seger is a metal head first, I suspect that future work under this banner will reflect that first and probably more strongly. And I think that’d be a fantastic idea, so long as he holds onto the bright, uplifting magic of Outo Laakso.
