Cryogen “Psalms of Deceit” Review from Heathen Harvest

Melodic Death Metal has always been a problematic genre to me. I am, to be honest, an admirer of the either brutal stuff like Disgorge and comparable bands or the classic bands like Death, Morbid Angel and sorts… The only Melodic Death metal bands I liked so far are Carcass, (early) At The Gates and that’s it. Sad. But until now I just couldn’t get through all the half – assed bands that call themselves Melodic Death Metal and use, for instance, CLEAR SINGING and other fancy crap to attract mall – kiddies. Good to finally hear really decent music in the vein of the aforementioned bands. Cryogen returned me to a sub – genre that I once rather despised, with a bang. Hailing from Denver, Colorado these guys are lurking around since 2004 and have released two albums and the “Psalms Of Deceit” EP for free download and as a hard release of 30 copies. I am pretty grateful to be one of the few to own a hard copy and in the next lines you’ll read why.
First – the cover artwork is great. I have no freaking idea what exactly is shown, but it is fantastic. It looks like a fusion of a tree and a crippled humanoid, intertwined in agonic beauty. As for the music, the opening track delivers all the goods you await from a Melodic Death Metal band – fast and complex drumming, harmonic, yet abrasive guitar work and raspy, shouted vocals. Quickly the track slows down, featuring double vocal work, before getting fast again to finally release all the melodic bliss in the last minutes. My absolute favorite among all the tracks is the second one, “Man is War”. There are not many cases when Metal touches me emotionally, but this track accomplished its mission. The heroic riffing, the fast pounding drumming and the wonderful clear guitars in the end – section moved something inside me. All other tracks won’t let you down as well, but there is nothing better than track 2. Track 6 might be a standout, too. It holds a pretty memorable riff in the whole track, a mosh part in the middle and an exotic sounding clear guitar in the end.

Fans of Melodic Death Metal should keep an eye on Cryogen. They surely know how to hit without being copy – cats or wannabes. Although they provide the EP as a “pay what you want” download, which basically means you could purchase it for free, you should support them with paying for the EP.
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Since the initial release DM Records has pressed physical copies of the EP which you can purchase Here. During the initial press/review release Cryogen sent out 30 one off promo versions.