CRYPT SERMON: SATURNIAN APPENDICES - EP REVIEW
Philadelphia's kings of doom-laden pageantry are back! Crypt Sermon returns from the shadowed catacombs of 2024's jawbreaker The Stygian Rose with a new EP, Saturnian Appendices, and let me tell you, it's less of a footnote and more of a blood-soaked codex scrawled in ecclesiastical heresy.
It dropped last night while I was curled up in the fetal position awaiting the complete release. It launched via the reliably morbid Dark Descent Records, this four-track EP plays out like the darker sibling of The Stygian Rose.
The band themselves describe these as B-sides but don’t get it twisted, yall! This isn’t the kind of B-side material your favourite pop band dumps on a bonus disc. These tracks have teeth. They gnash. They echo with the same weighty grandeur and unrelenting melancholia that made their last full-length one of 2024's finest slabs of epic doom.
Context and Conceptual Expansion
Saturnian Appendices is a deliberate expansion of the lore and epic world built in The Stygian Rose.
Brooks Wilson, who continues to sound like a hell-preacher wailing in a cathedral long abandoned by God, described these songs as "illuminating the shadowed thoughts of the narrator" from their previous record. It’s less about narrative continuation and more about the psychological descent. It’s jam packed with philosophy, despair and riffs the size of monolithic tombstones.
Track One: Only Ash and Dust
Opening track Only Ash and Dust is exactly the kind of gut-punch Crypt Sermon fans crave. Clocking in at seven minutes and forty seconds, it begins with a dirge-like crawl that drips with atmosphere.
There’s something faintly mournful and melodic in its opening passage, with clean guitar tones reverberating like the sound of prayers in an empty cathedral. And just when you think you’re settling into something slow and contemplative, the guitars erupt.
Steve Jannson’s lead work here is nothing short of divine wrath in string form. It’s a grilled cheese of delicious riffage! The dual guitar dynamics between Jannson and Frank Chin shimmer and shudder with a sophistication that transcends standard doom. You get moments that scream Candlemass, then pivot into Maiden-esque gallops, but with a rawness and density that’s all Crypt Sermon.
The chorus is not some singalong climax either. It's a narrative cliffhanger, a pulse quickener. Wilson’s vocals soar with a sermonising fervor, capturing the tragic tension between faith and despair that sits at the heart of the track.
Track Two: A Fool to Believe
Track two A Fool to Believe carries the torch forward and throws in a twist of gothic flair. Put your sad boy/girl make up and fishnets on ya’ll! The riffwork here is deceptively simple but that’s the beauty of it. Like all good doom, it’s not about shredding complexity but about weight and atmosphere.
The central riff acts as a motif, winding itself around you until it becomes part of your spinal column. Melodic yet grim, uplifting yet soul-sucking. The production, handled by underground wizard Arthur Rizk, gives every note the gravity it deserves.
Vocally, Wilson is even more brooding on this track, digging into the darker recesses of his register and letting the lyrics crawl like tendrils from his mouth. The chorus here opens up into a melancholic swell that, dare I say, flirts with a doom-goth aesthetic.
The solo section once again brings things to an emotional peak, this time channeling less of a rock energy and more of a haunted blues.
Track Three: Lachrymose
Third track Lachrymose throws a surprising wrench into the works and begins with something very un-doom: piano. But don’t worry, this isn’t some symphonic power metal nonsense. The keys here act like mist on a crypt floor. They creep. They shimmer. They die out only to return at just the right moment, weaving in and out like the last breath of a dying cleric. The dynamics of this song are breathtaking.
There’s a push and pull between aggression and elegance. The faster passages inject a sudden jolt of adrenaline into the EP, showcasing Enrique Sagarnaga’s drumming in full militant glory. There’s blast-like bursts, thunderous rolls and clever restraint, often within the same phrase.
Lachrymose is the track that most strongly emphasises Crypt Sermon’s maturity. Lesser doom bands often mistake slowness for emotion. Not here. This is nuanced doom, with melody used not as a break but as a dagger. There’s a sense of urgency in the chorus that leans more into classic heavy metal territory, providing a contrast to the eerie piano overlays that echo throughout the track like forgotten whispers.
The Cover: De Mysteriis Doom Sathanas
And then we reach the final act: De Mysteriis Doom Sathanas. Yes. That De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. A Mayhem cover! Done by a doom band. And it works. Instead of simply playing dress-up in black metal corpsepaint, Crypt Sermon absorbs the soul of the song and rebirths it in their own image.
The tremolo savagery of Mayhem’s original becomes a slowly boiling cauldron of brooding dread here. Thomas Tannenberger’s guest vocals add a bit of venom to the ritual, giving the song the proper sinister snarl.
What’s genuinely impressive is how seamlessly this cover fits into the rest of the EP. It doesn’t feel like a bonus track or an afterthought. It feels essential. Like it was always meant to be this way. The DNA of Mayhem’s original remains intact, but the skin has been flayed and re-stitched with Crypt Sermon’s sound. A twisted reverence bleeds from the speakers, giving the track an apocalyptic weight that would make even Necrobutcher raise a goblet in approval.
Technical Execution and Production
Musically, this is Crypt Sermon at their most refined. Brooks Wilson's artwork once again complements the overall vibe of the EP, giving a visual representation of the dusty, arcane labyrinth these tracks inhabit. Synths by Tanner Anderson hover effectively, subtly enhancing the mood without ever becoming a crutch. Matt Knox’s bass tone is thunderous yet tasteful, anchoring the compositions.
It’s hard to overstate just how well-produced this release is. Arthur Rizk knows how to handle bands who ride the line between epic and extreme. The mix gives every element space to breathe, yet nothing feels thin. When the guitars hit, they hit. When the vocals soar, they threaten the devil himself!
Doom with a Soul
Saturnian Appendices is another notch in Crypt Sermon’s already masterfully forged belt. The band continues to prove they are not just torchbearers for epic doom, but artists who push the genre beyond its grave without betraying its roots. They don't rehash tropes. They resurrect them into something vile and vital.
These four tracks achieve what most full-lengths can only dream of. It’s not just doom. It’s doom with a damn soul.
Track Listing
Only Ash And Dust
A Fool To Believe
Lachrymose
De Mysteriis Doom Sathanas (Mayhem Cover)
Go buy Saturnian Appendices NOW! Then Listen. Repent. Burn slowly.
