Indian heavy metal is alive and well with Kryptos’ fourth full length effort. My last outing (‘The Ark of Gemini’) proved very positive and ‘Burn Up The Night’ is a touch fresher for me. The metal references on the album artwork immediately have me thinking of album artwork by Accept and Y&T, but it is the former German metal band that this most fits with by comparison musically.
Raging melodies, a really cool snare sound with riffs, and more riffs giving an adrenaline rush second to none. The vocals are rather raspy and you’d probably find those more in the thrash mould, but make no mistake, this is fist clenching heavy metaaaaal! The single ‘Full Throttle’ starts with a level of anticipation, building in power before the main duel guitar assault starts. The ease of this presentation is remarkable actually. It doesn’t get predictable, but when the differing riffs and tempos occur, you just know it sounds just right. In fact throughout the album there is never a dull moment, each track has its own merit and I dare even the most stubborn metal fan to rejoice with this album. There’s a few factors of the usual Judas Priest comparisons, although I would take that further to include Helloween especially on the faster tracks with the duel guitars and style.
‘One Shot to Kill’ will have most calling for the retro vibe, it’s simply metal that’s quite vibrant and full of energy. ‘Burn Up the Night’ maybe stripped down compared to previous releases, but this really works out better for Kryptos. This aforementioned track though (‘One Shot to Kill’), if you take modern bands into account, would figure in the Stereo Nasty arsenal, especially if I go back to the raspy nature of the vocals.
Kryptos may have a less complex album, but the quality is far higher, the arrangements fill your chalice with metal dreams and engage your primitive wants and needs as you listen…beer, metal, beer and more metal! Kryptos have a winning formula here, perhaps their greatest album to date, but that’s very subjective personally as other releases had different feels. This is a metal album, one of those albums that sound simple but very effective, one that many try to write and fail with being over complex. ‘Burn up the Night’ works on all levels.
(8.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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