Cryptic Implosion

Odious Mortem is the Misery Index of the Cali tech death scene. All of their core members have some past connection to Decrepit Birth, the more popular face of the subgenre - much the same way everyone in Misery Index was in Dying Fetus at one point. The only member that doesn't have a past connection (the vocalist) was also in Severed Savior. As such, they tend to get shuffled off to the side a bit. They're the kind of band that will always get mentioned when someone is listing off artists in this specific little sub-style of tech, but no one ever seems to list them as their favorite. I'm here today to tell you why time will only solidify Cryptic Implosion as a tech death classic.

Cryptic Implosion is a perfect example of what this style can and should be. Where Decrepit Birth went further and further into Sound of Perseverance-era Death-isms such as adding abstractly melodic, walking guitar lines to give a more airy and high-minded feel, Odious Mortem add traces of that more breathing and open-form melody without diluting the Suffocation influence. The end result is something that's got all of the garnishes and noodles that made this stuff turn heads, while still having substantial meat. It's really riffy tech death, one of few albums that can pull from the same spastic, acrobatic realms that Spawn of Possession does. Both bands inch the genre into more complex and daring territories by integrating involved fretwork into low-end brutal death metal riffing, splicing those sections together with jarring, yet tightly performed tempo shifts that constantly keep you on your toes. Even though songs are structured in a salad-spinning scramble of guitars, Cryptic Implosion still flows naturally and organically. There's definitely a hint of Deeds of Flesh in there - the sheer intricacy and multitude of motifs in a song might whiz past you in a somewhat unmemorable blur, but there's never a moment where you're not thoroughly involved in what's going on. All the transitions that would have been jarring in another band are smoothed out by the mechanically tight yet breathing drum performance.

Speaking of that - KC Howard, man. What a dude. The moment I realized this guy was special was when I first heard his work on Diminishing Between Worlds, which is a monumentally important album for me in terms of shaping my taste and getting me into tech-death - and he's a huge part of what makes that album drop my jaw. When you realize that album was more of a side venture and Odious Mortem appears to be his main band, it makes you way more excited for what you hear on Cryptic Implosion, and he delivers all the goods and then some. His stamina is unreal - he uses stops and speed changes in high velocity footwork to create a rise and fall, and his sense of syncopation and backbeat placement gives the riffs a hearty punch. He's not all drum chops and nothing else, though. Howard is also given songwriting credits for half of Cryptic Implosion, and also performed guitars (in addition to drums) on Synesthesia the follow up to this. Based on how easily this album flows, it stands to reason that Howard understands tech death riffs better than most tech death guitarists! Simply put, he's an absolute monster, and Decrepit Birth just wasn't the same when he left. Cryptic Implosion‘S quality is largely due to his work. This is right in the middle of his peak, too - between 2006 and 2010, he was untouchable.

I can't tell the tracks on this apart, but it doesn't matter in the slightest. If anything, it speaks to the album's consistency, because you can fire Cryptic Implosion up at any point and immediately get locked into the roulette wheel of brutality. This is one of those releases that people looked at as confirmation that death metal had, indeed, turned into something different than it was in the 90s. There was a small, exciting window of time where music like this was the flagship of the next generation of modern brutal death, and for a brief 30 minutes, Odious Mortem lets you relive that era. Even 15 years later, this album feels like it's opening a door to a treasure trove of new ideas and themes - back when this came out, it would have felt even more novel and fresh because The Artisan Era didn't yet have an entire label of bands with the same musical tropes. Cryptic Implosion is more representative of the Cali tech death style than Deeds of Flesh themselves, which is saying something considering members of DoF founded the first label Odious Mortem was signed to. If you were only allowed to listen to one technical death metal album in order to get a substantial understanding of the genre, Cryptic Implosion would be my first and only choice.

Tech death is a genre of musical extremes. Most bands within the genre seem to be in a contest to throw in as many notes as fast as possible into one song, and basically play the same song over and over again with slightly different notes and song titles. Basically, it's pretty damn boring. With all the focus solely on technical proficiency, the songwriting is cast aside in favor of 300bpm sweep picking and ridiculous blast beats. Odious Mortem is quite different. The technical aspects mentioned above are still there and in abundance, but there's a key difference; they have managed to vary their song structures and made technical death metal that is also exciting and unique.

One difference that's noticeable right from the first track is quite profound; these guys are pretty melodic. The solos that are dispersed throughout the album are fast and technical, while at the same time carrying an incredible melody not found in other bands. The riffs are often harmonized and quite catchy, they're fast but don't seem like extensions of the solos.

The drumming is also outstanding. The blast beats and other common death metal drumming techniques are made more interesting with clever fills and frequent variation in drumming patterns. Jazz influence in the drums is very noticeable, and start-stop patterns are played with intense precision. The music also changes tempo frequently, going from blisteringly fast (Fragmented Oblivion, Collapse of Recreation) to slowed down death metal, such as on "Conjoint Species."

While the bass does not always stand out through the mix, it is given several occasions to shine on its own. The outro to Domain of the Eternal Paradox includes some melodic basslines that are interesting and oddly beautiful.

Although not as varied as the guitar work or the drums, the vocals are performed well and are appropriate for the style of music. The vocalist's annunciation allows the lyrics to be understood most of the time, which is much different from many vocalist's indecipherable grunts and screams. The lyrics cover a wide range of topics, from esoteric ideas and science fiction-esque themes to the more traditional gore-filled lyrics common in the genre. However, all the lyrics seem to be well thought-out, painting a vivid picture in the mind rather than giving simple descriptions of mediocre gore and angst.

This band, in my mind, is one of the stand out groups within the technical death metal genre. They, along with Decrepit Birth, have managed to successfully create brutal death metal that is fast, technical, and at the same time very melodic and varied, keeping the listener interested the whole way through. I gave this album an 80% because I feel the band has potential to put out even better work than this album. Hopefully soon we'll be able to hear it.

"Cryptic Implosion" is a very technically proficient work of art. Both guitar players shine on this album and the drummer plays extremely fast with brain surgery precision. Naturally with this genre of music, there are only so many vocalists that can stand out as completely original and unique, and while this vocalist in not one of them, his vocals are very good and fit the music perfectly.

The album's instrumentation is most definitely the best part of this album, never staying in a certain tempo for very long, in addition to many sections that I had a hell of a time trying to tap the beat. "The Endless Regression of Mind" would be my pick for the highlight track. It maintained a extremely fast pace but was played with the greatest attention to detail, and the track as a whole was relentless. "Vile Progeny" reminded me very much of Deicide, which is rarely a bad thing. Their music had a lovely experimental edge to it, with many time changes and odd time signatures, making it nearly impossible to predict what would come next. "Domain of the Eternal Paradox" has a flowing and vibrant instrumental ending section that wouldn't be out of place on a Fates Warning disc. In contrast with the rest of the song before it, it invokes the beauty of non-distorted guitars with no drums present, which was a risky move but I think it was best that way. With that said, there are 2 main criticisms I have of this album. There were momentary lapses into what I call "scenecore". The main example of this was a hideously cheesy breakdown in "Gestation of Worms". Breakdowns are nice when they are done with proficiency and originality, but this horrendous slab of distortion nearly ruined this song, it was straight slowed-down repetitive beats in the guitars, bass and drums. With respect to the rest of the album prior to this, it was really criminal and would have been better served to have been edited out. The only other criticism, which is again, hard to avoid these days in this genre of music, by the end of the album the songs were starting to fuse in my head; it was hard to distinguish them in my head.

That aside, in my opinion this album is a great piece of music. Despite the complexity of the music there were no sections that were not pleasing to the ears and the musicians are very proficient. I thoroughly enjoyed my mind being challenged by the musical extremes that this album explored and I have high hopes for this band's upcoming material.

I did not want to like this album. Honestly. I didn’t. This was probably due to the fact that the fellow who recommended I pick up Odious Mortem’s “Cryptic Implosion” was wearing thick-rimmed glasses, girl pants and a Job for a Cowboy t-shirt that was two sizes too small. And out of self-respect and dignity (and a terrible knack for generalization), I most certainly did not want to give one of those guys the satisfaction of knowing that, yes, I actually took heed to their recommendation, and that, yes, I actually enjoyed what I heard. No sir. Not good ol’ Ichabod Cranium. But, in truth friends and neighbors – I found myself enjoying what I heard on this album quite frequently. These young men have a lot to learn yet before they can even be considered contenders for the technical death metal throne, but they are on their way – and show a lot of potential.

Brain Drill, take note. This is how technical death metal should be executed. While Odious Mortem have on some level crafted a sound unique to themselves, I also would draw certain sonic comparisons to bands like Origin, Spawn of Possession, Theory in Practice, and occasionally Perseverance-era Death or even early Gorguts.

Like Spawn of Possession (though not as superb as said band), Odious Mortem’s songwriting is both brutal and in a very subtle way, melodic. Especially in Dan Eggers’ and Joel Horner’s guitar solos. While their riffs may not be as memorable nor as technical as others, they retain a very distinct sound which gives the album a very strong presence and a strong stance. It is a sonic statement from a confident band, so to speak. Eggers and Horner display the advantage of restraint beautifully on this album. While each of them have their moments (the solos, obviously) to shine with blinding, neo-classical arpeggios, staggering staccato leads and chaotic flurries of tremolo and legato licks, both of them know when to stop and let the song take on a life of its own. The guitar solos, for the most part, are rather short – but very sweet, and always memorable. The riffs, however, are not as good as the solos and leads. On “Cryptic Implosion,” the riffs generally range from bland and forgettable to average and stale at best, which is to say that there is not much to write home about. They are technical, yes indeed, but not exactly exciting nor memorable. Guitar solos may be regarded as the bread and butter of the technical death metal sub-genre, the riffs are, in my opinion, just as important – because those are the pillars that the songs stand upon. Riffs, and the rhythm section.

The rhythm section is exceptionally tight on “Cryptic Implosion”. We have Ivan Munguia on bass, who displays a respectable command over his instrument. He may not be Les Claypool, Mike Flores or even Alex Webster – but then again, he does not need to be. He fills his position respectfully and anchors down the songs with a solid, deep-end bass sound. He is even given a few moments in the spotlight with a short, sweet bass solo. Do not expect epic skills, rather, expect a well-done, tasteful bass solo. Rather non-descript, but obviously a very demanding bit to play. His in the pocket style is impressive, especially considering that his compadre in the rhythm section, virtuoso drummer KC Howard, gives him no leeway for easy sailing.

Howard is a superb drummer, combining your standard death metal fare of gravity blast beats, rapid-fire double bass pummeling and interesting, technical fills with a rather jazzy edge. This directly impacts the music and the surface impression it gives off, and immediately sets it apart from many technical death metal bands. While this jazz element is not as prevalent in the drumming as it is in bands such as Indricothere or Cynic, its presence is still obvious within the music, and it does make for an interesting contrast to the sometimes bland riffage abound. However, Howard also knows when the calm himself down, particularly during the guitar solos, to let the other players breathe and strut their stuff.

Vocalist Anthony Trapani offers nothing new to the realm of death metal vocals. He does, however, have a very precise staccato attack and a large range of screams and grunts within his arsenal, which is nice. I am not too much for a stickler on death metal vocals, however. Unless they are blatantly distinct, they are just kinda there, as far as I am concerned. Death metal, for me at least, is more about the instrumentation and orchestration of riffs. The vocals and lyrics generally do not impact what I think of a death metal record that much. Speaking of lyrics, however, I would like to compliment Odious Mortem on straying away from the oft-trodden road of gore and horror lyrics. While I do love bands that feature these types of lyrics, it has been so over-done, and chances are not many bands will be able to do it better than Necrophagia, Gorguts (when they featured this kind of thing), or ashamedly early Cannibal Corpse (face it – Chris Barnes came up with some sick shit), so there really is no point for bands to go down it again. Odious Mortem’s lyrics are interesting and colorful, and really add another dimension to the songs that is usually not prevalent within death metal.

I would like to cite stand out tracks now, but that is another downfall of “Cryptic Implosion”. Many of the tracks sound alike. The key to differentiating between the songs is paying close attention to the guitar solos and the drum beats. These will essentially be the determining factor regarding the individuality of the songs, which really is not saying much. Like I said, the bass really just does what it needs to do and nothing more – which leaves us with the vocals and riffs, both of which are rather generic technical death metal fare as I stated before and offer nothing as far as supreme individuality is concerned. So, really, we have a bulk of solid, same-y tech-death that have some kick ass guitar solos and excellent progressive drumming.

This is not the masterpiece that some are making it out to be. This is not Spawn of Possession’s “Noctambulent,” nor is it as good as the latest offering from Origin, “Antithesis”. It does not touch old school tech-death like Athiest and Cynic, and it does not have the distinctive qualities that bands like Theory in Practice and Dark Heresy have. But these boys do have a lot of potential. In the end, I did enjoy Odious Mortem’s “Cryptic Implosion quite a bit, but felt a bit unfulfilled in certain departments. However, I have faith that in time, Odious Mortem will progress and turn out something truly great.

This bands first album ‘Devouring The Prophecy’ was one of those records I thought they would not be able to top. It was also one of those records that I meant to review here on metal-archives, but gave up on it for several reasons, one being that I was waiting for this album to come out. This time around I have no excuse, and will review both of these great works, for I need to talk about how awesome Odious Mortem really are.

What can be said? Take one part Death- Perseverance, one part Suffocation- Pierced From Within, add some more technicality and skill (yeah, I know), and then put it all in a blender with 4 parts psychosis. The end result should be a disc of very high quality tech death metal with guitar solos not just for good measure but as actual leads that augment the riffs, heavy bass leads and weird slap riffing, pounding tech death drums, in a very organic sound with a solid consistency. Get baked until comprehendible.

So yeah, the solos and guitar work again are what make this record absolutely awesome. The vocals I can hardly even remember, although they are good, but when you have a sick ass bassist and two fucking insane guitarists like these guys, they just fill up all of the space. Even their drummer, the legendary K.C. Howard is eclipsed by these giants, although his little bit jazzed out style is what makes the OM riffs what they are. And there are melodies, there is tech death riffing, there is shredding, there are virtuosos solos, and there is even a big piece of wankery right at the end of ‘Domain Of The Eternal Paradox’. It is not just a Malmsteem wank, mind you. The drums stop, and the riffs fade out, only to be replaced by a deep, warm and booming bass line, and then the layered guitar solos and leads join in. if I counted correctly I thin this was recorded using 4 guitars, one of them just playing over the bass but with overtones, a nice little something tech death seems to forget about all too often, one of them bringing the main riff, a counterpoint guitar, and of course a solo section, sometimes helped out by the counterpoint guitar lead. And the riff is like god talking right at you. It is truly a transcendental piece of work.

And when they want to lay it down heavy, they can do that as well, they have not forgotten the face of their fathers, and know that nothing compares for good riffing when it comes down to death metal. The entire album sounds beautiful, well produced, not over produced, it sounds like it is alive and menacing. All of the older songs on here are left the same way but because of the recording quality they sound different, they also give us a good breather from the rest of the album, with its melodies and solos, ‘Gestation Of Worms’ and ‘Nux Vomica’ are two older tracks that still slay, and they tossed them on here, a nice gesture. Other than those two songs harkening back to their earlier career, we can say that Odious Mortem changed their direction quiet a bit, while still managing to keep it teched-out and brutal. This is something that very few bands can do, let up a little or incorporate melodies without fucking everything up, and as such, they deserve a nice round of applause.

Bands that are technical for the sake of being technical tend to bore the living shit out of me. There is only so much instrumental masturbation I can take before I reach for the "stop" button. Tech-death is generally no exception to this rule, although this particular genre also suffers from also happening to have atrociously bad vocals. I never understood why bands so intent on demonstrating instrumental wizardry would chooce the most monotone and flat out musically boring of deliveries - the ultra low death grunt. With all of these prejudices floating in my head, I warily approached Odious Mortem's latest, "Cryptic Implosion," and everything I ever expected about the genre was wiped from existence.

Odious Mortem are absolutely stunning. Willowtip has always been pretty damn good about giving amazing bands a wider audience, and these guys are no exception. An avalance of riffs, notes, and drum fills, the instrumental mastery on this CD is completely dizzying, and yet, despite being just as technically inclined as their peers which I more generally loathe, there is something about Odious Mortem that just clicks with me. Perhaps it is the fact these are actually "songs" and not just blasts of random shredding, or perhaps it's how Odious Mortem actually manage to sound original in a genre where most bands sound exactly the same; I'm not entirely sure. Either way, this is easily the best slab of tech-death I've heard in quite some time.

Admittedly, this album is a bit much to take in one sitting. The sheer volume of stuff going on in each song demands multiple listens to get a semblance of what is going on, and a nice touch is the audible bass, a sorely underused instrument for metal in general. Drumming is absolutely frantic; there is simply no other way to describe it. This guy must have 6 arms.

Production is clear and very powerful, and even the vocals, generally my main gripe with death metal, are actually pretty damn good, as are the lyrics accompanying. What is delivered is a complete package with very few discernable flaws, the only main one being the songs can indeed sound rather same-y towards the end.




Odious Mortem are poised to lead the charge in a resurgence in US Death Metal. Buy this now. It converted me.

It's been a long while since I listened to a straight-up, in-your-face death metal album.

It's also been a long while since I listened to a straight-up death metal album I really enjoyed.

Odious Mortem is a tech-death band hailing from California and with their release of Cryptic Implosion they serve up a huge slice of death metal that you won't soon forget.

The album opens up with the song Fragmented Oblivion, one of the best songs on the album. It's an extremely fast death metal song that made me become a fan of this band well before the song was over. We're treated to some very fast, and very GOOD riffs throughout this song and there's some nice melodies going in some parts which is a nice treat.

After Fragmented Oblivion, we get The Endless Regression of Mind. Odious Mortem sticks to their talents of speed and brutality and we are again served a brilliant death metal track.

Both songs mentioned above feature some very nice guitar solos, and it is quickly made obvious that these guys are talented musicians.

Throughout the rest of the album, we are repeatedly slammed in the face with death metal from Odious Mortem. The only problem with this is that some of the songs do tend to sound a little bit a like, which is probably the only downside of the album.

The production of this album is simply amazing, it really adds to the album's atmosphere and makes it better.

The vocals are very good, the drumming is good, and like I've stated before the riffs and solos are very good.

Combine all these elements together, and you've got an extremely solid death metal release from Odious Mortem. This is probably one of my top albums of 2007.

Final Verdict:

Odious Mortem - Cryptic Implosion: 90%.

If original death metal is what you're looking for, Cryptic Implosion is precisely what you need. Before purchasing this album, I listened to two mp3 samples off Willowtip's website and just those two songs were enough for me to pre-order the album and the t-shirt as well. When my order finally arrived, I immediately popped the cd into my stereo, and those two samples were definately not misleading. It was like a breath of fresh air. Their perfect original blend of melody, brutality and technicality was like nothing like I had ever heard.


Now signed with a new label, Willowtip, a new vocalist, Anthony Trapani, AND a new guitarist Dan Eggers, (though their former guitarist David Siskin helped writing the music and lyrics on Cryptic Implosion), Odious Mortem decided to take a whole new approach to their music, compared to their debut album, Devouring the Prophecy. This album was more like your everyday brutal death metal, yet it still stood out a bit from the rest. Cryptic Implosion however, is more epic, technical, with a ton more of originality.


Anthony Trapani did an excellent performance on his first Odious Mortem album. He beats a lot of the other death metal growelers out there and and his growls are very distinguishable. The lyrics aren't the typical gore themes, but more on humanity. I think they're well suited for the music. The guitars play a big role for the overall sound of the album. They just never quit. Riff after riff. Fast paced, technical, and somewhat chaotic. You get some amusing and well-fitting solos every now and then; not that aggravating random wanking. The guitar work is full of energy and just give that out-of-breath feeling because of the speed and aggression. The bass is very audible, and well used in the album. For example, there are several mini bass solos that really compliment the songs. Drummer boy KC Howard is great at what he does. He uses a good amount of cymbals and he has quick feet like almost every other death metal drummer out there. The drums are noticeable and really make the songs a whole, and they're not just some annoying pounding sound in the background.


Overall, everything is very well heard and clearly produced. I believe that's crucial for any technical and epic album like this one.


The album gives an outstanding impression, though the songs may seem slightly similar when you first play the album, but only after a few listens, you can see that every track is different and memorable. Cryptic Implosion truely is a big explosion of amazingness and leaves you wanting more. If you're a true death metal fan, you must have a listen to this.

I first came across Odious Mortem a couple years ago when I listened to one of the tracks they had posted on Unique Leader's website. After hearing the track I was prompted to check out their Unique Leader offering, "Devouring the Prophecy" When I heard that album I thought to myself "here is the new wave of American death metal!" In Odious Mortem I saw a band that played brutal music and also had some room to improve. How right I was.

Odious Mortem's latest effort and Wilowtip debut "Cryptic Implosion" goes to show you what happens when a band that has shown potential to improve shows that improvement. Devouring the Prophecy was a solid debut album, but the vocals were masked behind the guitar and drumming, however on Cryptic Implosion that is not the case, in fact everything has equal opportunity to showcase itself be it vocals, guitar, bass, and drumming.

Cryptic Implosion provides the essentials to a great technical death metal release. There is complicated riffing with equally challenging leads, heavy bass tones and some bass solos in a few songs as well, fast-paced multi-tempo drumming, and new lead vocalist, Anthony Trapani offers his own brutal vocal style to add that final piece to a great death metal release.

I strongly recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of bands in the vain of Beneath the Massacre, Origin, Decrepit Birth, etc. I would also go as far to say that this is the best death metal release to date.