Kryptos-The Coils of Apollyon

AFM Records
2013

Having planned to review a couple of black metal/death metal releases later on in the week I just about passed over Kryptos. Luckily I noticed that "The Coils of Apollyon" was released on AFM Records who are not exactly known for releasing black metal albums. Instead here's another example of not judging a band by the cover artwork they use. Had I indeed just passed over Kryptos I would have missed out on a mind-blowing combination of traditional heavy metal, doom and thrash. There's even a slight scent of melodic death metal about Kryptos and it's all of those different ingredients that makes "The Coils of Apollyon" such a cool listen. For the record the band lists Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Mercyful Fate, Kreator and Coroner as influences, but even a casual listen to this album will find you picking up so much more. Originally this was released back in 2012 on Iron Fist Records, but it's just now getting a U.S. release. Does that mean that I'll be able to add this one to my year end best-of list or is that cheating? We'll have to figure that one out later as there is much more to this band then meets the eye! Formed in 1998, with "The Coils of Apollyon" making album number three for these heavy metal thrashers, this India-based band is fronted by Nolan Lewis (ex-Aeons of Sorrow, Witchgoat) who also plays guitar. Did I just say "India-based"? Yes I did and to add to that this release marks my first occasion of covering a band from India. While it shouldn't surprise me to find out that there is a scene there, as the heavy metal community is now world-wide, I still admit to being pleasantly surprised at the notion that, just like the inevitable zombie apocalypse we'll all face one day, it's everywhere. But, that's neither here nor there when we're talking about this thrash-happy group of musicians. As Kryptos, who are now considered to be one of the leading heavy metal bands to come out of India, is more then just one man (Nolan Lewis) the rest of the band should be noted. Fellow six-stringer Rohit Chaturvedi (Millenium) adds some fuel to fire that is these old-school guitar solos (everything from N.W.O.B.H.M. like Holocaust to "Master Of Puppets" era Metallica comes to mind when you soak in the guitar work) while the fun times just keep of rolling thanks to the superb rhythm section of Jayawant Tewari and Ryan Colaco (bass and drums respectively). Add it all together and you've these four musicians who end up feasting on some sweet tasting, 80's-inspired rage. What a band and what an album!