Incepted through inward-curling waves of cryptic infestation all creeping tendrils of verminous forms coalesce unto cratered summoning pool, a dread fueled font used to conjure morbid and unreal death metal by the hands of Québecois quartet DÉCRYPTAL on this impressive debut full-length album. Engaging the wyrding shards of the mind’s muscle memory for the ancient and obscure ‘Simulacre‘ both completes the thought and corrects the hand beyond the band’s first demo, engaging in more elaborately shaped pieces which rely on rhythmic nuance old-and-new to fuel their standing interest. Classicist in its face value expression yet adventurous in its frameless ‘new old school’ result this debut communicates believable obsession with death metal’s conjuration of the unseen and unknowable horrors below and beyond, an appropriate tone for the supernatural terror which creeps through each of its eight corridors.

Décryptal formed circa 2020 between members/ex-members of Outre-Tombe, Saccage, Sedimentum and Gorgerin (among others) wherein the configuration and goal lands somewhere nearby “cryptic death metal” inspired by the more atmospheric spectrum of classic east coast USDM and Finnish death metal wherein the mid-to-late 90’s headspace conjured by both of their public releases oozes of Immolation-esque abstraction and the brutal estrangement of Adramelech. Naturally this also reflects some interest in the current scenery as we could look to recent French-Canadian releases (re: Serpent Corpse, Disembodiment etc.) to contrast the similarly polished yet very differently voiced ingress of these folks, less rooted in hardcore-built bap on their debut demo (‘Sabazios Culte‘, 2023). They had riffs on that tape/EP, rants that carried an old and rotten thread into view, but hadn’t fully developed each pathway into cohesive statement or song. Most of my anticipation and expectation assigned to ‘Simulacre‘ naturally stems from my time spent reviewing that demo and it should provide reasonable context for where they’ve logically taken their gig in the years since.

The guttural throat-sung gorge which summons opener “La bête lumineuse” is fittingly ominous for the noveau Incantation-esque roar and trampled moment which follows but we’re just as quickly served a group-shouted transition, a hardcorish hit and a ‘Here in After‘ style dissolution before any one thought settles in mind. This is both an example of Décryptal getting to work on their riffs while still reflecting some of that early Tomb Mold stoked generation of death metal in the late 2010’s. The chunkier flow of the groove that follows around ~3:42 minutes in helps to solidify this thought. While it isn’t the most sensical thread on the album in hindsight the balance between mid-90’s authenticity and newer ideas is fairly even in trade and the gamut of where ‘Simulacre‘ might go is well outlined therein.

The estranged and the abominant collide beyond that point wherein the band’s shaping of ~4-5 minute death metal songs is largely traditional yet their expression dabbles in odd-rhythmic rants per a taste for Vigna-inspired riffs and at-times Demilichian prog-death infusion. The eerie walk of “Ombre hantant les ombres” only hints at those swerving and burrowing tendencies via thrashing, multi-directional rally and “Horde d’invertébrés” calls directly to the Finndeath spiritus in trade with the ‘Unholy Cult‘-level tonal scrimmage of the rhythm section. While this isn’t a dissonant death metal album you will notice some interest gradually developing within these pieces, chords set in awkward crest of phrase which begin to characterize the ‘Simulacre‘ as it develops passage unto Side B. A most clear example of this comes via “Flétrissement” where the new-old school groove humming throughout naturally transitions ~3:03 minutes into the piece.

By the time we are neck deep in the froth of ‘Simulacre‘ the major impact of the full listen strikes for my own taste where cracking roll of “Zisurru” offers some extension of the Cruciamentum-esque doom and hammer one’d likely headed into this album expecting beyond the demo. That isn’t to say that the opening portion of the experience hadn’t taken it there but rather that this song is an especially fine example of how effective Décryptal are in generating ruthless forms which speak most directly to the heyday of USDM circa ’92. I’d particularly enjoyed how they’d carried that gloom over into the grand and abysmally shot exit point of closer/title track “Simulacre”.

In my time with ‘Simulacre‘ I’d appreciated the transition between its two halves, particularly the abstraction and revival of that original thought within the second half. The flow of the listening experience is consistent yet yields some reasonable variety when taken in course. Though I am not sure Décryptal have fully shaken loose of their core points of inspiration just yet that isn’t the major goal here, rather this debut is fittingly stated as both an evolution of ‘Sabazios Culte‘ and a more clear point of view explored within songs that register as complete thoughts/rhythmic feature written in entertaining string. It makes for a fine death metal album presented at a thoroughly considered high standard and with more tact than the average ‘new old school’ proposition, holding a serious faced assault for the duration of the session. A high recommendation.

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