[Cover art by Cadaver Art]
Boy, it can’t be easy being a naked, glowing humanoid rapidly descending into a black hole alongside a particle jet of damned souls. First, there’s whatever happened that made the person glow. Then there’s the whole cold vacuum of space and a black hole. And as if those things weren’t enough, you’re passing by a stream of spirits that look like they just checked out of the Altars of Madness hotel.
But there’s also a certain… whimsical fun to that cover art, no? Not hard to imagine our Glow Man gleefully screaming “WHEEEEEEEEEE” on his way down to experience a new definition of pain and suffering as he’s slowly spaghettified for an eternity. You do you, buddy. No thrill shaming here.
Death metal of a certain form ‒ specifically the old school, indebted-to-the-masters type ‒ relishes in delivering the simultaneous terror and fun that we see in that art. Sure, there’s room for the very serious form of death metal out there, but most of the time fans want to receive the type of aural bludgeoning that results in an ear-to-ear Jack Torrence grin.
Whether it’s the aforementioned vocal charisma, pwongy and very active bass, or the occasional harmonic squeal or ripping solo, that personality permeates every second of these 36 quick minutes, resulting in an album that carries the crucial reverence for its source material (as opposed to just copying). “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” gets a touch Bolt Thrower-y in its mid-paced moments (an impression aided by Thomas Schenk’s similarities to Jo Bench’s bass tone and style), but will just as often make you think of records like Leprosy or Once Upon the Cross with its obvious intent to do harm. Meanwhile, “UGH!” and the eponymous track “Krypticy” both amp up the blast factor, with the former adding a touch more beatdown pounding and the latter really hitting the lightning-quick speed picking of Vader while still adding a touch of moshable swing to the proceedings.
The album’s wicked closer ‒ entitled “Virgins Recently Fucked Sacrifice,” because death metal ‒ even offers a touch of Symphonies of Sickness-style splatter melody and knuckledragging pounding, but in truth, your personal tastes and listening history will likely dictate the exact influences you hear on The Non-Return. The most important impression that you should take with you is not necessarily what influenced one particular stretch of the record, but that this is Very Strong Death Metal made by four dudes that obviously love listening to it as much as they love playing it. Dive in… to the album, not an impossibly dense galactic core. And seriously, if you’re glowing, go see a doctor.
