Split albums are an integral part of my music collection. I actually value some splits more than entire full length albums by certain notable bands I enjoy due to the fact that some bands’ best material is contained on split releases. You can make a strong case that Varathron, Embalming Theatre, Abruptum, Enslaved, and Impetigo released some of their best material on split releases. Occasionally, splits are very much one-sided, where one band obliterates the offering of the other. A great example of this would be the 2003 split between General Surgery and The County Medical Examiners. General Surgery‘s side was so much better than The County Medical Examiners, and a highlight of General Surgery‘s discography, though that isn’t really saying much considering TCME sucks.

The split I’m reviewing today is between Razorback Records alumni Crypticus and Scaremaker. I’m very familiar with Crypticus; 2008′s They Called Me Mad! was one of my favorite records of that year, and I do dig it up and to listen to it quite frequently. Scaremaker is new to my ears, but a band consisting of Elektrocutioner (Decrepitaph) on drums and backing vocals, Vanessa Nocera on guitars, bass, and vocals, and Billy Nocera on main vocals can’t be bad, right? We’ll see about that.

Crypticus is up first with four new tracks that are, more or less, in line with the impressive They Called Me Mad! album. Cypticus has a sound reminiscent of old school favorites like Nihilist, Impetigo, and Repulsion. I know on paper that sounds like 85% of the death metal bands going today, but I assure you the mix of powerful riffs and clever sample placing is infectious. The drumming, provided by a guy named Brynjar Helgetun is superb. His beats and fills are executed very well.

My favorite song on Crypticus‘s side is the last track, “Baron Of The Dark”. It’s a more atmospheric track that is slower in tempo and has a heavy Bolt Thrower styled main riff. The samples, culled from various horror movies, are implemented well and definitely add to the gruesome atmosphere. I like Crypticus‘s side of this split a lot and would love to hear more songs in the style of “Baron of the Dark.” Good stuff indeed, definitely recommended!

Up next we have Scaremaker providing five tracks of horror tinged old school death metal. The music has a slight black metal feel to it, which I totally dig. “Insane Die-section” and “Reverberate Through the Woods” have tremolo picking patterns that remind me greatly of early Necrophobic and Dissection. The pacing of Scaremaker‘s music isn’t up to speed with those two bands, but they do have similar melodic nuances. I must also state that I fucking love the thick and murky production job, it’s just this massive weight of sound that drags you under and crushes you!

This brings me to my next positive comment about Scaremaker. When the music slows down to a crawl, a la Asphyx or Winter, it’s just awesome. The slow sections of this music are really good and I wish they focused more on the doom aspect because Scaremaker does dark melodic death doom very well, but the faster sections aren’t that impressive.

There is one glaring negative thing I have to say concerning Scaremaker‘s side of this split. In the song “Demon Slave” Vanessa’s clean vocals sound totally out-of-place. She’s on pitch, so technically there’s nothing wrong with her performance, it’s just really weird hearing them in sung this style, as they don’t fit the music at all. I commend them for trying to mix it up and try something new, I just don’t think it works in this instance. I should note that the rest of the song is cool and I love the thrashy opening riff.

At the end of the day, I have another worthy split CD to add to the collection. Crypticus‘ side is stronger, in my opinion, but Scaremaker‘s half is also solid. If you like old school death metal laced with doom and 80′s horror (and really, who doesn’t?) then track this split CD down immediately!

Review byEric Bocchino