Spearheading the Indian metal movement since 1998, Kryptos (Latin derivative relating to catacombs or burial chambers beneath churches) has moved up the ranks from the underground to signing with AFM this decade, releasing their third album The Coils of Apollyon in 2012 and gaining a Wacken Open Air appearance the following year plus a prime support tour in Europe with Death Angel in 2015. Burn Up the Night as the fourth record keeps the heavy metal troop on point, incorporating a host of interesting, lesser known influences to make the quartet a little bit different than the average group parading their wares these days.
Musically the guitar/drum work has this precision that reflects a lot of appreciation for the early guard – there’s no deny a penetrating Maiden/Priest/Accept triple force going on with “Full Throttle” and the mid-tempo follow up “The Summoning”. To the point that synchronized moves from guitarists Nolan Lewis and Rohit Chaturvedi fuel the imagination, a la “Balls to the Wall” – the differentiation occurring from the sandpaper-ish lower antics from Nolan’s vocals, mirroring Ron Royce of Coroner. Kryptos often hang cultural hooks out as mainline bait to keep you aurally on guard for what comes next – the slower paced “Unto Elysium” and “Prepare to Strike” two clear examples of twin harmonic action that just builds and builds to ultimate metal satisfaction. My favorite song would happen to be the closing title track – the main riff closely related to the greatness of Armored Saint, while the drumming from Anthony Hoover has this snappier, steady snare/double bass groove that’s set in comfortable cruise control to allow the guitars to shine again.
At 8 songs and an affordable forty minutes, Burn Up the Night will not be one of those records burning up the charts – as it’s not cool, hip, or technically brilliant. In the end though, those who can’t get enough of British/German inspired heavy metal with rough around the edge vocals will delight in Kryptos’ take on the genre.