Kryptos – Force Of Danger
Release Date: 1st October 2021
Label: AFM Records
Bandcamp
Genre: NWOBHM, Thrash.
FFO: Municipal Waste, Iron Maiden, Testament.
Review By: Jordan Burton-Morris
So! New Kryptos album! Not a band I’ve listened to before necessarily, but that means I’m completely unbiased going into this.
Kryptos are an Indian metal band formed in 1998 in Bengaluru/Bangalore, India. They have been considered one of the spearheads of the Indian heavy metal revolution. ‘Force Of Danger‘ is the band’s highly anticipated sixth album, out 1st October 2021 on AFM Records.
Hot Wired, Raging Steel and the title track appear to already be released as singles to hype up the release of this album. Raging Steel and Hot Wired being the albums 1st and 2nd tracks respectively. So without further ado, let’s get into the album!
1) Raging Steel:
My first experience of listening to Kryptos, so let’s hope it’s a good one! Well, these guys certainly don’t mess around! Coming straight in with a face-melting riff. The pace is set. Nice heavy low end supported by the pounding drums. And in comes the vocals. What a voice. Quite harsh vocals, but not guttural/screamo style. The backing vocals in the chorus just give it that extra oomph. The reverb used is quite strong, but not overpowering. Everything is in proportion and very well produced. That is some seriously fast picking on guitarist Nolan Lewis. Very impressed already! Crazy fast drumming from Rohit Chaturvedi, especially just before the solo… and speaking of solos, my word these guys don’t hold back! Some tapping going on here, nice bends, even though it doesn’t last for long, it’s powerful. Very good track, and what a way to open an album!
2) Hot Wired:
The drums do not stop! Good head-banging pace is kept here… Slightly more technical on the guitar, but it doesn’t sound out of place. Little cool-off period between the chorus and the second verse, foreshadowing the insanity of the riffs to ensue. Again, a short solo but it adds to the song. Bass sounding quite fast and heavy from Ganesh Krishnaswamy. This has old school thrash vibes and I’m here for it.
3) Dawnbreakers:
Starts with an Iron Maiden-esque riff, almost like Wasted Years, but not. Heavy palm muting, simple pattern, but effective. The vocals are as harsh as ever. Classic heavy metal anthem style song! Very nice small interlude before the second chorus as the tempo is halved, preparing for the onslaught. And here we are again… solo time! And it’s longer than those that precede it. Nice harmonies below it! And when the vocals come in over the top of it, it sounds forceful as ever. Amazing solo, showing off a range of skills. And after the next chorus, it comes in again with another fast paced solo. Shame it fades out at the end, would’ve been nicer has it come to a strong end, but still a good track.
4) Thunderchild:
Nice lick at the start there, lead guitar comes in and infuses it, making it a nice technical piece. But don’t be fooled, the pounding drums and thunderous bass is still there. The vocals grip you straight away, the pure passion can be heard in every word. A solo already? I’m not complaining! Short but sweet. The lead guitar is doing quite a lot of work on this one, I’d say it’s their most technical yet (on this album). Woah. That was a very subtle tempo change. The song just doubles in speed, the pounding drums not missing a beat, the vocals gliding from slow to fast as if it’s that easy. And of course, a mandatory solo (again) this time having to keep with the new pace, meaning a bit of shredding is going on here. How many solos does this song have? I make that 4… Doesn’t matter, it rocks!
5) Nighthawk:
The second half of the album begins. Wow, change of sound here. A nice slow echoey guitar begins playing a mellow piece, as the drums infuse it. Of course, the pace picks up. A lower, more minor key than the others, but that’s not a bad thing. Gotta give credit to the drummer, that pace is great and kept throughout pretty much. A nice solo here, pretty much just 2 phrases repeated in alternating sequence but it’s good. Other than the interesting intro and the key change, it’s an average track.
6) Omega Point:
Starting with a similar riff to that of Hangar 18. Similar pace too. Being the longest track on this album, I’m intrigued. Clocking in at around 6 and a half minutes. The riff is kept all throughout, even as the heavily reverbed vocals enter. The bridge changes things up very slightly, anticipating the chorus. A bit of a letdown as it’s the same riff again, just with the lead from before. There is a change here though, the guitar playing on quadruplets as the drums hang back, before returning to the same riff. Slightly different lead here though so it’s not all monotonous. The solo is very good, reasonably short, but it’s powerful and effective. I must admit, from a 6 minute song, I would expect something a bit more abstract or at the very least, more intriguing. But here comes the sound of a second solo, which picks up where the first one left off. Very nice strong bassline holding the low end down here. A reasonably disappointing track to be brutally honest.
7) Force Of Danger:
Here we go, title track time! A Judas Priest style riff here! Heavy metal at it’s finest. The rip-roaring vocals take this track to another level. The second half of this album has been significantly different to the first, some ways good, some ways not so good… this is one of the good. Similar to Omega Point, the same riff is repeated quite a lot, but it works, and the lead guitar mixed with the drums is enough to vary it. Strong low end here, thundering through this song. This solo is probably my favourite so far. It’s not all about speed, more skill and I love it. The drum break fits perfectly. The fade out works fine this time. An all round classic, pedal to the metal track (understandable why it’s a single)!
8) Shadowmancer:
Well, all good things must come to an end. Here is the final track on this album, Shadowmancer. It starts off strong with a nice simple pattern on lead guitar with heavy chords behind it. The drums come in with some nice fills. A slightly slower track than the rest, but that’s ok. A nice bassline can be heard beneath the palm-muting. This one is very drum led I feel, definitely a good thing. The vocals are utilising more of the open space this time, which I love. The riffs are different, everything working well together, so now, it’s naturally time for a solo! A nice, strong solo here. Nothing too fancy or out of control, just really melodic. The little drum-break makes the reintegration so much more forceful. A great end to a great album!
Overall, I thought this album had some good ideas but mainly consisted of simple repetitive riffs, which sometimes paid off nicely, whereas other times it didn’t so much. Still a very solid metal album, clearly influenced by some of the greats. As I say, I’ve not listened to this band before, so I’m only basing everything here off of what I hear. Hence my rating.
(3.5 / 5)
