Artist : Cryptex

Album : Once Upon a Time

Release Date : 08-05-2020

Added : 23-06-2020

'Cryptex' is a German trio which was formed in 2006 and released two studio recordings, 'Good Morning, How Did You Live?' in 2011 and 'Madeleine Effect' in 2015 and it was with this latest album 'Once Upon a Time' that I discovered them. They have a very personal style and if it had to be defined, I would say that they evolve between rock and metal with symphonic and progressive components, accessible melodic lines, very expressive atmospheres and remarkable vocal arrangements. For my part, I had to listen several times to get into their universe and to reveal all its richness and originality of each composition.

'Once Upon a Time' begins the album with a calm symphonic introduction which quickly gains momentum for a catchy track with remarkable choirs and an atmosphere reminiscent of the expressive side of 'Queen' or a group that I particularly like, 'Jono', then, we find again with 'Because The Reason Is You' this expressive and joyful side with a refrain which is immediately grafted in your head. Darker, 'Bloodmoon' is no less remarkable with a mixture of melodic rock and much heavier parts, then, 'Body Language', with very beautiful vocal arrangements gives the feeling of listening to a pop melody close to the 'Beatles' that we would have metallized in some places, and the mid-tempo 'Two Horned Crown' deploys a new heady melody. The following continues with compositions not exceeding 5 minutes and always with the same feeling of expressive power like in 'Haunted' or 'Reptiles' which mix tempos and intensities but the second part of the album also offers more classic titles, while being all remarkable like 'I Don't Know Why', much lighter in a jazzy style or like the beautiful ballad 'I See It In Your Eyes' close to the style of 'Queen' (with this beautiful whistled end) or even the melancholy instrumental comma 'A Mo(u)rning', the album ending with 'Closer', magnificent for a bonus, which takes us on for a progressive title containing several quite different parts while keeping the same melodic frame.

In summary, the Germans of 'Cryptex' release an album which requires several listenings to tame it well because, due to a very personal style, they jostle us in our musical habits by offering us a progressive coming out of the ordinary which ultimately turns out to be remarkable in all respects and 'Once Upon a Time' is recommended for lovers of rock and progressive metal who like to discover original artists outside the box...

Line Up / Musicians

Simon Moskon (Vocal, Keybords, Bass), Marc Andrejkovits (Guitar, Bass, Choirs), Andre Jean Henri Mertens (Guitar, Choirs) + Guest : Simon Schroder (Drums)