Hi! Can you give a brief history of CRYPT OF REASON, including the music style and the members?
Greetings to all your readers. Our band was formed by Pavel (guitarist, main composer and lyricist) in Homiel, Belarus, in the late 00s. Other members are Alex (vocals), Kostya (bass) and Tusya (drums). No well known names in the band, except perhaps for our drummer who's a paralympic swimmer and a multiple time world champion.
Pavel's style was heavily influenced by all branches of doom-adjacent music. From funeral (Shape of Despair, Skepticism, dISEMBOWELMENT), to early European doom-death (Anathema, My Dying Bride, Katatonia), to more classical / epic doom acts (Reverend Bizarre, Tristitia, Isole). All these bands helped shape his taste as a songwriter, along with influences from Neurosis, Isis, Cult of Luna, AmenRa and the likes.
Our first EP saw the light in 2013 and then we basically went dormant for reasons that will be mentioned below. The main point is that our coming album Stargazer is the embodiment of everything our band has accomplished, musically, through all those years. Kind of a tired man's magnum opus.
Could you provide more detailed information about Stargazer?
By the time of Pavel's unexpected passing in 2016 he had the new album almost fully written. We just had to get all the demos and notes together to bring the album into being. Easier said then done, of course. We had Alex Sedin (the producer who worked with White Ward, Anachronism, etc) step up and play guitar on these songs, and he also mixed and mastered the album. We all gave enormous amounts of care and attention to every aspect of Stargazer, and we are incredibly happy with how these songs came out.
CRYPT OF REASON has signed with no label. Could you tell us more about that?
We wouldn't mind a label at all, it would definitely help with publicity and distribution. But we don't see ourselves as a band that's worthy of a label's attention. Running a label is running a business, and we're an unknown band with no audience and barely any social media presence. If someone invests into our album, we don't think there can be enough of a return to justify the effort. So we're releasing Stargazer by ourselves, which seems to be the only way.
What is the difference between your latest record and the band's very first one?
Our first was Creation of Despair EP, and it was a test in many ways for all the band. When you only have heard your own songs in rehearsals and on demos, your first experience in a real studio shows you a totally new perspective. And this perspective of how things translate between your imagination and the real world really informs your songwriting from that moment forward. You see what's possible and what needs more work, or a different approach. This all was taken into account when working on the new songs, and we could tell Pavel's arrangements became less "crowded" and more efficient. The flow of the songs got better.
Stargazer is coming out 11 years after our first EP, and of course the biggest difference is not having Pavel with us for the making of this album. We worked with Alex Sedin who took care of the entire process from early steps to the finished master, so there was much less guesswork and uncertainty compared to our debut EP. Stargazer is definitely more mature than Creation of Despair could ever hope to be.
What inspires CRYPT OF REASON's music and lyric writing? What do CRYPT OF REASON's lyrics talk about?
Can't tell for sure because Pavel's no longer with us, but as far as we're aware he was the kind of guy that had his demons. Often quiet and silent, he enjoyed solitude and being out in the woods. Had his share of alcohol problems. Definitely struggled with depression. We knew he was suicidal at some point. All of that must have found the way into his lyrics, which deal with incomprehensible nature of our world, and of us as beings who are doomed to suffer in it, without a meaning, without a reason.
What are the band's plans for the near future?
After Stargazer is out, the name Crypf of Reason will be laid to rest. We feel that bringing this album to life and letting people hear it would be our best homage to Pavel and to the beautiful music he created. Some of us are active in other bands so we're going to pursue that. We're good friends and we hang out every now and then, this will most definitely keep happening.
Do you have a message for Iron Backstage readers?
For everyone listening to our album, we are humbled and we appreciate your attention. We hope this music touches you, and we know Pavel would have been proud for his music being heard by people all over the world. If you want to support his memory, you can include a message for his family when purchasing the album on Bandcamp. Or just find our email or message us on socials. We look forward to meeting you.
Stargazer | Crypt Of Reason (bandcamp.com)
