If you’re a newer band playing a classic form of metal, you need to be concerned with songwriting. With such a strong history behind you, putting together songs worth playing twice is more important than preserving vibes. Philadelphia doom quintet Crypt Sermon prove they’ve got plenty of songwriting mettle on their debut album, Out of the Garden. On it, they pay fervent tribute to early Candlemass and Dio-era Black Sabbath, and already show more personality than many bands who’ve been trying to do this sound for a much longer time.
Interestingly, the first three songs on Garden almost follow the trajectory of Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Candlemass’ first album from 1986. "Temple Doors" is Garden’s "Solitude", a lumbering stomp with a slight thrash bent. "Doors"'s opening interlude isn’t as iconic as "please let me die in solituuuuuuuude," but it sets the song’s tone. "Heavy Riders" boasts similarities to "Demons Gate" in that they’re both the meaner, more confident second tracks. What sets "Riders" apart is its biker-like swagger, American toughness to contrast their European influences’ more Gothic sensibilities. After a moodier opening track, you need a ripper like "Riders" to get momentum going, and it succeeds, with guitarists Steve Jansson and James Lipczynski conjuring up Black Sabbath "Neon Knights" rhythms. "Byzantium" takes pages from Metallicus's "Crystal Ball", especially in the high-tension, high-drama opening leads. While they only last for the introduction, they color the rest of the song, with Jansson and Lipczynski’s trod carrying a more ominous weight. This shift is how subtlety best manifests itself in metal: not by deliberate understating, but by smart songwriting that keeps the album’s vibe intact while giving each song its own character.
The rest of the album doesn’t bear a whole lot of similarities to Metallicus, but it’s a fun coincidence, and the rest of the songs are well worth your attention. While "Doors" explored the contrast of their slow burns and galloping infernos, it really comes into form in "Into the Holy of Holies", with everyone delivering more charged performances. It’s the longest song on the record, and not concidently, their most ambitious. "The Master’s Bouquet" features gorgeous lead work that closes out the song: triumphant, but alluding to a pyrrhic victory. Underlying synths further score the sadness that lays beneath, but with knowledge that the leads are the star. Vocalist Brooks Wilson doesn’t have the dramatic flair of a Dio or a Messiah Marcolin, and if there were a time we needed an ultra-charismatic metal frontman it’d be now, but he’s got impressive pipes nonetheless. (Wilson handled bass in addition to vocals on the band’s demo but ceded the role to Hivelords’ Will Mellor to fully concentrate on singing, which will hopefully become more of a positive development.)
As far as contemporaries, Crypt Sermon’s closest relative would be Solitude Aeturnus, the Arlington, Texas band usually considered to be the American answer to Candlemass. (Vocalist Robert Lowe even sang for Candlemass for a few years.) They’ve never gotten their due, but also haven’t had a blazing trail to seize upon; one can only hope Crypt Sermon won’t face that curse. Garden is a debut most bands would light candles to Dio for, and with time, this band could be a true contender in doom.
