Crypt Sermon - The Stygian Rose LP ( VINYL )

"We wanted The Stygian Rose to scratch a lot of itches that aren't being scratched," says guitarist Steve Jansson. "That's my goal when I make music. I want to make things that I don't hear other people doing or at least don't hear others doing all in one package. The music also has to have staying power and replay value. [I wanted] that addictive feeling you had when you listened to records as a teenager." Crypt Sermon tracked The Stygian Rose with acclaimed producer Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Cirith Ungol) and engineer Aidan Elias (Blood Incantation, Wayfarer) at Redwoods in Philadelphia. Although Rizk handled Out Of The Garden (2015) and The Ruins Of Fading Light (2019), the team captured the band's multi-genre chaplet in a new light this time. Rizk summoned from the band the same big-stage sound producers Dave Jerden and Rick Rubin coaxed out of Alice In Chains and Trouble, respectively. "We knew we wanted an aggressive sound," singer Brooks Wilson says. "Like [Metallica's] Black album or [Queensrÿche's] Operation: Mindcrime with loud smashing rock drums. The guitars had to be aggressive and loud. The bass had to be tuned in more than on our previous albums. The bass had to be clean and deep. We were generally after a more clean, distinct, and audible production. The Stygian Rose has way more depth than anything we've done before."