Blood Harvest Artist- Cryptic Shift Interview is up
1.So this looks to be you 1st album release, how does the early demo's and EP differ from Visitations from Enceladus?
When writing “Visitations from Enceladus” we aimed to push ourselves further than we had previously on “Cosmic Dreams” and “Beyond the Celestial Realms”. With this being our debut record we aimed to make sure that we represented our songwriting and performance abilities at the highest capability. We put creative efforts into making the record incredibly Sci-Fi themed, more so than our previous releases - we aimed to create a record which could be interpreted as being ‘out of this world’ when compared to traditional modern Thrash/Death Metal releases.
2. I hear so many elements Avant Death, Jazzy Prog metal, Doom, Post Black metal, Tech Death, Post Metal and Post Rock. How did this sound come about?
We are influenced by a lot of music, we don’t really limit ourselves to certain genres and sub-genres. We enjoy all sorts of varied genres outside of Metal, from Virtuosic Jazz Fusion acts to 80s Japanese Pop to Video Game Soundtracks etc. Within Metal we are mainly influenced by Technical Thrash/Death Metal which push the traditional values of songwriting - they’re all pretty unique. The sound on “Visitations from Enceladus” is actually written to serve the emotional/environmental themes of the lyrical storytelling concept, within the Thrash/Death Metal style
3. The 1st track Moonbelt Immolator is an album in itself with so many things going on. Was it the goal for it to be 26 minutes or did it just happen?
It kind of just happened! We always knew it was going to be a long track, because of the context of the story concept. There’s a lot going on in that “chapter” of the storyline, which is why the lyrics are broken into six parts. The track went from being twelve minutes, to sixteen minutes, to twenty minutes, and then after recording the track, fell around twenty-six minutes. This wasn’t off putting for us because we knew the opening track was going to be ambitious and longer than most (if not all) opening tracks. We knew that some people would enjoy this and some would hate it, that’s normal. We just aimed to writing something which would serve the storyline!
4. You're from the UK and that is the birth of some the best extreme metal period. What bands are inspiring you currently?
Surprisingly we don’t take too much influence from the UK bands, at least not the traditional ‘go-to’ bands. For us, we’re influenced by Mithras quite a lot, who sound a lot like Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel. We also really like the band Akercocke, who are another example of Experimental Death Metal from our home country. I really enjoy the British Thrash movement, bands like Xentrix and Slammer have always influenced me a lot - even smaller bands like Bludvera and Mutant are really awesome examples of Sci-Fi Thrash which completely bypass a lot of fan radars for not being the most successful bands. You should check out the Bludvera record “Terrorform” if you’re into 80s style Tech-Thrash in the vein of Coroner/Destruction
5. You're working with Blood Harvest for the new album Visitations from Enceladus how did that come to be. How is the partnership so far?
We knew Blood Harvest from their previous releases and sent the record over to Rod to check out, along with a bunch of other labels worldwide. Blood Harvest offered us the best deal, and so far has provided the record with the best treatment we could of ever imagined. The first press of the vinyl more or less sold out before release date via pre-orders, so we’re working on a second press already. The coverage for the record is awesome, it’s cool to see “Visitations from Enceladus” spreading across the world
6. Is there a theme for Visitations from Enceladus. The album cover is so interesting it feels as there is ?
Hell yeah. The record is about a character (the same from Cosmic Dreams) travelling through space, and what they encounters along the way. The storyline can be found within the lyrics of the record. We’re huge Sci-Fi fans, it’s great to create a record with so much substance outside of the music. The artwork reflects on our character finding the obelisk of an ancient being, you can find more about this tale within the lyrics of the third track - “The Arctic Chasm”
7. I see there is a new Guitars in the ranks the rest of the band has been around awhile . How had or does this change the dynamics on Cryptic Shift . Is Joss a fresh breathe of air to the band?
Joss Farrington joined the band just before the release of “Visitations from Enceladus” - after the mutual departure of previous guitarist Joe Bradley. It was a big deal for us to find a suitable replacement for Joe, as the record demands a lot of commitment and ability from all members of Cryptic Shift. We’ve known Joss for years as he performs in arguably the best UK Death Metal band of the last decade, Seprevation, and through seeing him write and perform in that band we had faith in his abilities. He was the best option in the whole of the UK, without a doubt. We look forward to working with Joss on new material in the future! Right now we’re helping him learn the material and getting tight as a collective unit for when we can play live again
8. If you could make a proper video for any song on Visitations from Enceladus. Which track, how would it look and why that track?
We would go all out and make a video similar to “Hangar 18” or “Holy Wars...” by Megadeth. Those music videos are really sci-fi and look awesome without being too over the top. We don’t want to end up with some “storyline” music video, it would be too hard to achieve with the ideas of the record, unless it was George Lucas directing it and we had an incredibly big budget. We’re thinking about making a video for “Planetary Hypnosis”, because this track really showcases our skills as performers across the board, we think anything other than live/performance videos take away from the music itself, which should never happen
9. How do you feel the digital age over the last 5 or so years has changed the extreme underground scene ( for the Better or Worse) Bandcamp, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Digital media and Blog/ Vlogs?
I was never really around before the digital age, to be honest. I used to collect CDs when I was a little younger, but that was always through hearing about a band from friends or seeing a music video on TV. So for me, nothing has really changed. I think it’s really cool that I can find new music on the internet without much searching. If I like a record or band then I will support them at shows or through buying merch. I collect Vinyl and Tapes, I never feel that supporting a band stops at listening to them online for free. It’s cool to our record can be uploaded to YouTube, and have over 10,000 people listen to it. People become fans and buy order a shirt or the CD/Vinyl/Tape, or come out to shows. That’s killer!
10. If there were a few bands to put a package tour together who would you want on that tour with Cryptic Shift?
I would put together the ultimate Sci-Fi tour package, it would have a really obnoxious name. The lineup would feature Cryptic Shift, Blood Incantation, Vektor and Voivod. We would all travel in a big tour bus painted like a spaceship, and everyone would think it was the coolest tour ever
11. Do the members of Cryptic Shift have other projects my readers could dig into and see new musical horizons?
You should check out the bands Slimelord (Ryan, Xander, John) and Cryptworm (Joss) - they’re both pretty grim. Myself and Xander are working on a project called Sith, which is going to very strange. Hopefully we can have a demo written this year
12. Where do you see the musical landscape heading for Cryptic Shift and I really love the Sci-fi, Proggy. Tech side of the band its almost space rocky at times. Will it always have a more extreme edge to the over all vision?
We’re aiming to experiment with new styles with future material, but this depends a lot on the themes of the unwritten concept story. The storyline is written before the music, and the music matches the themes. I think we want to focus more on the progressive tones of “Visitations from Enceladus”, adding more jazz concepts to our playing. We really enjoy the foundation we have set with the writing arrangements of this record, so we’re not looking to change much. If anything, the next release will sound “weirder” - and way more sci-fi
13. In 2020 did you think there is a rebirth of Extreme underground music I see it selling better than in yrs and fans seem more excited and at least pre Covid -19 Death and Black metal shows were getting strong crowds in Phoenix AZ where I am?
For sure. I think the scene worldwide is better and more appreciative than ever. It’s awesome to see great bands appearing from all over the place. The UK scene has got a lot better in recent years too, there seems to be more support and passion for the smaller bands, it’s great to see the scene over here grow. Where we are based (Leeds UK) the scene is getting better, it’s nice to meet new people after playing shows here for six or so years. The same applies for places like Scotland and London, there’s always someone new to meet
14. If you could cover any song by any artist and make it a Cryptic Shift song what would it be and why? ( I saw you did Arise from Sepultura)
We would likely cover something from “Human” by Death, probably the track “Suicide Machine” - we jam this one a lot at practice without actually taking it seriously, it just something we all kind of know without ever really sitting down and learning it properly. It would be awesome to cover something by Allan Holdsworth, or some other Jazz Fusion artist. That style of music really impresses us as music nerds, and is way more challenging than most Metal music
15. Thank you for the time and any closing thoughts here.
Thanks for reading - always keep an eye on the sky. I’ve witnessed things that I cannot explain and it’s strange to me that most people haven’t, however there’s a community out there of people who have witnessed “the unexplained” that help me remain comfortable with my own experiences. I hope everyone gets the witness something unusual, it really changes your perspectives on things, and people think you’re weird, which is great. Oh, and check out “Visitations from Enceladus”, our latest record - it’s written for all the Sci-Fi freaks in the Metal World who really wished that someone out there would mix the sounds of Voivod and Morbid Angel with lyrics which basically tell the tale of a more occult themed Star Wars story. Support Extreme Music - but remember that it’s okay to kick back and get totally excited listening to some killer Jazz Fusion. May the force be with you
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