CRYPTA

Brazilians have invaded Seattle and provide 10 Shades of Sorrow to brighten a gloomy Pacific Northwest weekend.

I don’t know about you but every now and then I will randomly listen to an album on YouTube or even purchase an album without even knowing anything about it.    I was just starting to get into the Brazilian band Nervosa when I heard that they had some MAJOR personnel changes with the heart of the band as Fernanda Lira (Lead Vocalist/Bassist) and Luana Dametto leaving Nervosa in 2019 and decided to form this new band called Crypta.  Napalm Records signed them pretty quickly and thereafter in 2021 they released this absolute stellar album called Echoes of the Soul.   I could not stop listening to this album! It has a old school death metal sound to it, with some really aggressive guitar playing from Tainá Bergamaschi and Sonia Anubis along with Fernanda’s sizzling vocal technique.

After a little band shakeup, with Guitarist Sonia Anubis leaving the band and thereafter was replaced by Jéssica di Falchi.  2023 they released another wicked piece of work with Shades of Sorrow, and they didn’t stumble at all on this sophomore release as it was highly acclaimed by critics everywhere.

Now, 2024, my question was, how does this band perform and sound live?   Can they capture the essence of their recorded album ?  Does Fernanda’s voice last through a headliner role, especially the last night of their first major US tour?

Tonight on this miserably cloudy, sometimes snowy day I get to witness Crypta live at the El Corazon in Seattle with support from locals Muneca, Colony Drop, Lacabra and DeathCAVE.  This is the bands first visit to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest since its inception at this mostly packed, if not sold out El Corazon show.

Fernanda walks up to a microphone made of a swords much like from the new album cover and begins with “The Other Side of Anger”.  The Seattle crowd was a little subdued at first to see their new heroes in action but it didn’t take long thereafter as they ripped into “Kali” from Echoes of the Soul.   Fernanda is fighting some technical issues with the sound, I don’t hear much difference from my vantage point which is about 30 feet dead on to Fernanda but they are definitely not happy about something.

Song 5 with “Lift the Blindfold” and “The Outsider”, the sound guy had the bass just way to high as it rumbled noticeably.  At song 7 with “Stronghold”, Fernanda says “Sound guy turn the bass down please!” and all seemed fixed for the remainder of the set.   But after saying all this, all the girls in the band appeared to be having a great time putting a happy face to the devastating death metal carving into the heads of their audience.

One thing I had in my head it would be that Tainá did many of the solos, but not really, I think Jessica did a lot of the complex ones.  Jessica really stood out for me tonight as her playing is so precise, and that’s not taking anything away from Tainá either, as both these ladies are formidable guitar shredders and play well off each other.  I would also say they are some of the best headbangers while performing I’ve seen, compared to most bands out there.  Won’t be long until their skills get recognized…

Team colors for Crypta are black, not that this is anything special but shows they are all on the same page and very professional.   Lighting was minimal, no fancy lighting at all or props, other than the swords but their music is what really stands out here.

This tour really leans into Shades of Sorrow with 10 songs, and just 4 from Echoes of the Soul.  Although I was hoping for more songs on from Echoes of the Soul,  I am very pleased they played “Dark Night of the Soul”. I  just love the riffs with the combination of Luana’s fierce drumming.  Luana is definitely the backbone of this band as her timing is dead on and accurate.

They end the 14 song set with from what I still think is their strongest song with “From the Ashes”.  Fernanda’s voice was absolutely ferocious and blood curdling as in the records, I am sure she could’ve sang every song no problem.  She is a great front woman, as well as she definitely has that charisma and charm on the audience.  This band finished their “Shades of Sorrow Over North America Tour” very strong tonight, they didn’t look tired or worn out at all.   The playing was tight, the band looked happy to be there and Seattle definitely showed the love back.   But wow, such a strong performance by Crypta tonight!  I want to say they “blew the roof off the El Corazon” but I know they did that in Chicago last year if you recall that nightmare with a Tornado (1 audience member died).    I will be using this show as a measuring stick to upcoming Death Metal shows coming soon to the Pacific Northwest.   Highly recommend if you see them coming to festivals in Europe this summer and check out Shades of Sorrow!