Photo: Maaike Ronhaar
Dutch progressive/technical thrash outfit Cryptosis are looking toward the future, both in terms of technology and of the genre, on their new album, Celestial Death. Released earlier this month by Century Media, Celestial Death dwells at the intersection of multiple genres while tackling some big ideas. Decibel caught up with bassist Frank te Riet to get a better insight to Cryptosis’ writing process, ideas and influences.
You’ve described Cryptosis’ sound as “futuristic metal.” What does that mean for you in terms of both songwriting and lyrical/thematic focuses?
For us, “futuristic metal” is more than just a sound. It’s an entire atmosphere that we create through songwriting, lyrics, and production. Musically, we transcend out of the traditional thrash metal sound by integrating symphonic elements, synth textures and sometimes unconventional time signatures to create a cold, dystopian atmosphere. Lyrically, our themes revolve around the evolution of humanity. We are on the doorstep of entering a new era where we live in a world dominated by artificial intelligence, transhumanism and existential struggles in an increasingly digital reality. The songs from our new album Celestial Death are written from the perspective of individuals who are struggling with these changes. A sense of isolation, identity loss and resistance against technological domination.
On Celestial Death, we present a unique blend of black, death and prog metal with big symphonic musical parts. If you love bands like Emperor, Dissection, Voivod, Coroner or Hypocrisy, this could be something for you!
We’re at a point in modern-day society where we are witnessing some of the effects, both positive and negative, of technological advancements. Was anything on your new album, Celestial Death, inspired by current events or is the approach mostly fictional?
These are fascinating times, full of fast technological advancements and big changes in how society works, which makes them an exciting subject to write about. Futuristic themes inspire us because they show endless possibilities where you can let your imagination guide you.
Right now, we’re in the middle of a huge shift from a traditional world to a digital one. Things like artificial intelligence and automation are changing almost every part of our lives. On the bright side, these advancements bring amazing opportunities and make life more convenient and efficient.
But there’s also a different side. We’re becoming more dependent on technology, and that raises important questions. For example, the way that people interact is changing. We spend hours on our phones, and real face-to-face conversations are happening less often. People seem to be even afraid to talk to a stranger these days.
Through our lyrics, we don’t want to push any opinions. Instead, we want to make listeners aware of these changes and inspire them to think about what it all means. How they want to live their lives and what is important for them. It’s up to each person to decide how they feel about it. For us, it’s not about giving answers but about sparking ideas and starting a conversation.
Also, at the time of writing our debut album Bionic Swarm, we were deeply inspired by the Netflix series Black Mirror. Its dystopian themes and atmosphere really put us on a different path, on which we stayed during the writing of Celestial Death. The way the show explores the darker side of technology and its impact on society made us question not just the future, but also how technology shapes our everyday lives in ways we often take for granted. It pushed us to think differently about the world around us and how innovation and technology can blur the line between progress and dehumanization. That perspective became a driving force behind the album’s lyrical themes, where we dive into a future where humanity and technology become inseparable, but at what cost?
There’s a lot more melody on your new album than 2021’s Bionic Swarm. What made you want to explore that route this go ’round?
On Celestial Death, we eased off the technical thrash approach a lot. We wanted to make an album that is more dynamic and emotionally gripping. Bionic Swarm was intense and relentless, which fit its concept, but for this album, we felt the need to balance aggression with melody to give the music more depth. The lyrical themes lent themselves to a more cinematic approach. By incorporating more melody, we could create bigger contrasts, making the heavy parts hit even harder. It also helped us bring a more dramatic, almost symphonic element to our sound, which aligns with the futuristic atmosphere we aim to create.
What are Cryptosis’ main musical influences? There’s obviously a strong thrash base but it seems like you were drawing from a much larger pool of influences than just thrash metal.
It’s hard to name one specific musical influence. We draw inspiration from many sources, many which are most of the times unconsciously used in our songwriting processes. First of all, we all listen to metal of course, but aside from that there is a difference between all band members and what other genres are enjoyed as well. Marco is more into heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock and death metal, whereas Frank is more into avantgarde, atmospheric, black metal and electronic music. I’m more into progressive, black metal and technical music. Although every band member enjoys different music genres, we have some common ground in death, prog, melodic, black, thrash and we all love to experiment as well.
Let’s talk about the writing and recording process for this album. How long did the writing process take? When you went into the studio to record, was it relatively natural and easy or was it difficult and frustrating?
When we began the songwriting process, we recorded every idea that came to mind and put the files into a massive database. After a year or so, we selected the best ideas to continue working on and turn them into full songs. Some were just a single guitar riff, while others were nearly complete musical sections with drums, bass, guitars and even vocal ideas. For each idea we worked to find the right energy to shape it into a song. We outlined the entire album to ensure that it is a balanced album. We analyzed the kinds of songs we already had and identified what was missing. We carefully examined tempos, keys, and the types of riffs and melodies we were using, steering the album toward a diverse but cohesive sound. Some tracks had as many as 25 versions, with changes to verses, bridges, or choruses, while others only needed five updates to get them right. All in all, the whole songwriting process took about three years.
The method of recording Celestial Death was more of less the same as we did on Bionic Swarm. This time around, things felt more familiar and natural. We used the same team (recording, mix and master) on both the albums. We had worked with Olaf Skoreng on the recordings of our debut album, next to being a really great engineer and knowing how music really works he’s also a personal friend of the band. So he knows our skills and weaknesses, knows how to get the very best takes from each individual band member, and knows how to elevate the songs a little more with some cool effects, ideas and creative vision. As for the mixing engineer, Fredrik Folkare, we knew that he understands our sound and he knows really well how to create an atmosphere with the material that we sent to him. The drum sound on this album is fantastic in my personal opinion. As for the mastering, Tony Lindgren is just one of the best in the industry today.
Celestial Death is available for purchase and streaming now. Cryptosis will also be on tour throughout 2025.
Onslaught + Cryptosis
29.05.2025 Oldenburg (Germany) – MTS
31.05.2025 Essen (Germany) – Turock
01.06.2025 Diest (Belgium) – Hell
03.06.2025 Dijon (France) – La Vapeur
04.06.2025 Milano (Italy) – Slaughter Club
05.06.2025 Bologna (Italy) – Alchemica
06.06.2025 Vienna (Austria) – Escape
08.06.2025 Salzburg (Austria) – Rockhouse
10.06.2025 Stuttgart (Germany) – Der Schwarze Keiler
11.06.2025 Aschaffenburg (Germany) – Coloss-Saal
12.06.2025 Leipzig (Germany) – Hellraiser
14.06.2025 Selb (Germany) – Rockclub Nordbayern
Cryptosis live 2025:
29.03.2025 Enschede (The Netherlands) – Metropool (Album release show)
10.05.2025 Eibergen (The Netherlands) – Achterhoeks Metalfest
30.05.2025 Hoogeveen (The Netherlands) – Graveland Festival
07.06.2025 Steyr (Austria) – Röda
06.09.2025 Dronten (The Netherlands) – Dronten MetalFest
18.10.2025 Monterrey (Mexico) – Cacique Metal Fest
13.11.2025 Aabenraa (Denmark) – Sønderjyllandshallen
