Photo: Kevin Winiker
In late 2014 the brothers Nick (guitar) and Peter (bass) together with their friend Florian (guitar) rented a rehearsal room in an old WW2 bunker in Hamburg. With amps set on max the first tracks emerged and the whole thing mutated from simply jamming riffs into a death/thrash metal attack. In order to attract fellow musicians for the completion of the line-up the 3-track demo “Transplanted Heads” was recorded in the beginning of 2015. Within a few days after posting the tracks on a local musician’s forum the first line-up was established adding Kaden (vocals) and Maik (drums): CRYPTOBIOSIS was born.
While working on new material mighty Bror took over the position as vocalist in early 2016 adding the missing link to the sound of the band. In this line up the self-produced full-length album “Temple Of Sloth” was recorded containing a mix of death and thrash metal deeply inspired by early 90ies style metal. To keep it retro the album was released exclusively on audio cassette strictly limited to 100 copies. Gigs followed in order to promote the band peaking in the live recording "Worship of the Baphograde" at the famous Bambi Galore Club (Hamburg) in late 2017. This recording was released on the band’s bandcamp profile as free download. Early 2018 Maik and CRYPTOBIOSIS departed playing their last show together on the April Metal Ritual festival. Without a drummer, but new inspiration, the band focused on the song writing of their second strike “Juggernaut”. Within no time eleven tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered at the band’s own studio. In order to reveal the true potential of the songs the drums were performed and recorded by drum prodigy Kevin Paradis (Benighted) bringing the whole endeavour to the next level. Although self-released, the album received very positive receptions. After a long search for a new drummer Bodo Borchert joined the band in late 2019 completing the current line-up.
Trapped in lock-down due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic CRYPTOBIOSIS started to write material for their third output. Once again Kevin Paradis unleashed the fury behind the drum set and also took care of the mix and mastering in his studio (Recording Studio Nostromo). More focused and coherent than ever “Chainsaw Crucifixion” reflects the band’s favour for relentless in-your-face old school death metal with a thrashy edge.
In 2021 the band takes a huge step forward signing a deal with Art Gates Records bringing the third release “Chainsaw Crucifixion” and CRYPTOBIOSIS to a much wider audience.
CRYPTOBIOSIS 2021 – from left to right: Peter (Bass), Bodo (Drums), Bror (Vocals), Nick (Guitars) | Photo: Kevin Winiker
BAND NAME & INSPIRATION/INFLUENCE
The band name refers to the ability of certain organisms to adapt to extreme conditions (drought, radiation) by falling into a "death-like" state, which can last for years. When the environment normalizes again the whole process is reversed and life is regained. This ability can be observed in tiny creatures called tardigrades, which are often used in the artwork of the band.
Musically the band is inspired/influenced by:
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NWOBHM (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest)
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Big thrash metal bands (Megadeth, Metallica, Testament, Annihilator, …) – mostly from the 80ies / early 90ies area.
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90ies style death metal, US and Scandinavian likewise (Cannibal Corpse, Death, Dismember, Dissection, among hundreds more).
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Guitar shred and guitar fusion music is also a big influence (Marty Friedman, Yngwie Malmsteen, Greg Howe, among many more).
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Classical and jazz music
THE ROAD TO CRYPTOBIOSIS
The origin of the band is rooted in the early 1990ies where the founders grew up as teenagers listening to bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Sepultura but also to guitar heroes like Al Di Meola and Yngwie Malmsteen. These early influences triggered the impulse toward playing the guitar and write own songs. This was also the time when the “big players” of metal vanished into mainstream or got stuck in “experiments”. Fortunately, uprising black and death metal bands (especially from Scandinavia) got more and more attention introducing a much darker and extreme sound never heard before. It is this raw and relentless energy from the music of that era that echoes in the tracks of CRYPTOBIOSIS. Furthermore, the band is deeply inspired by shred/fusion guitar as well as hard rock/metal from the 80ies, which is often reflected in the lead guitars. All these influences melt together in a furious blend of old school goodness dressed in a modern and fresh sounding suit.