crypta 03/24/23, siberia, nola

[bourbonsamurai]

i first got interested in crypta cuz sonia anubis was their lead player for a couple years, after she left burning witches.  sonia seems truly odd, and i like that.  shes now left, for another all female, but more traditional, 80s project.  replaced by jessica difalchi, who now compliments taina bergamaschi, for a much more ensemble approach, if one could term the very gates of hell exploding as ensemble guitar.  they are super technical, tight af, and fabulously ill intentioned, but for me, the real story of crypta is bassist/vocalist/songwriter fernanda lira, and drummer luanna demetto, who formed crypta, with aforementioned sonia, after leaving brazilian stalwart nervosa, in 2018 or so.  first, luanna:  shes a very small person, considering shes a drummer.  shes ambidextrous, playing and switching blast beat snare without hesitation.  its a spectacle to watch how seemingly effortless this is for her.  but the real story is her double bass work.  she doesnt switch heel, like joey jordison or daniel erlandssen.  she keeps her heels straight on the pedals, which make her look like a blur.  more impressive, is her deep pocket and groove, while doing all this ill shit.  as far as groove and pocket, among proper metal drummers, i think shes on mikkey dee level, and i mean that.  her signature, unique thing is this giant bell ride cymbal, which sounds like mjolnir hitting railroad steel.  that such an onslaught can pour from such a tiny person is fucking dissociative.  next, fernanda:  fernanda reminds me of gene simmons, in terms of stage presence.  its all eyes on her, all night long.  she has the extreme metal vocal fry, but equally adept at both ringwraith and cookie monster extremes.  basswise, she plays a total groove, pocket style, no doubt neccessary to balance the mayhem the rest of the band is pushing relentlesly.  its her songwriting that is really the stuff, though.  crypta completely erase the bondary between black metal and death metal.  also, this is the first show ive ever seen where there was no "theyre great, for a girl band" talk.  everybody at siberia knew they were there to witness world class, proper metal, and these bitches blew the place to bits.  no metal band on earth could have followed them on that tiny stage, with next to nothing, production wise.  not behemoth, not arch enemy, NOBODY.  i got to meet them after their set and when i told them id watched their wacken 2022 show on you tube, fernanda was so excited, she spent the next half hour telling me about it.  this is a woman who really lives for this.  i went to this show impressed already, but left with a much deeper appreciation.  i eagerly await their next us tour.

[Tatosh Guitar]

Great review. I had never even heard of these chicks and now I feel I need to, and I am not even a huge extreme metal fan, so that should speak volumes.

Also, I would love to check on that drummer. She sounds like a force to be reckoned with.
 

[bourbonsamurai]

Great review. I had never even heard of these chicks and now I feel I need to, and I am not even a huge extreme metal fan, so that should speak volumes.

Also, I would love to check on that drummer. She sounds like a force to be reckoned with.
 

 

luanna seems really shy.  after the show, she blew the venue immediately, and sacked out in the van.  theres a bunch of crypta playthrough vids on youtube, where you can really see her work, up close.