Name: Cryptic Shift
Album: Overspace & Supertime
Released: February 27 2026
Much like when I first discovered 1970s progressive rock through bands such as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Camel, Yes, and Van der Graaf Generator, I felt there was something almost schizophrenic going on, how could so many wildly different sounds exist within the same genre? At that age, I could not yet grasp the complexity and sheer range of influences an artist can absorb, especially when one or more musicians create work rooted in their background and, of course, their imagination. I had a fairly similar experience with death metal. I first discovered Death, starting with their debut and gradually working my way up through their discography until I reached what I consider their peak, The Sound of Perseverance. But that was hardly the whole story, because there are also bands like Entombed, who are something entirely different, then Atheist, Bolt Thrower, and the more recent Blood Incantation, all of whom bring a wide variety of elements into their compositions.
All of this pushes the listening experience to another level. If you enjoy exploring music, uncovering its different facets, and testing the limits of genres, especially in extreme music, then the world that opens up before you is truly vast. As people get older, though, and devote more time to artists and albums, they eventually realize that the pace they once kept is no longer so easy to maintain. What they usually feel first is exhaustion, which is perfectly understandable and to be expected, so they slow down, or in the worst case, they give up entirely. I call that the worst outcome because it leaves no room for a second chance, no attempt at a different approach, such as not constantly chasing the new, but instead revisiting something older and letting new music enter your life once or twice a month. No one is required to stay updated all the time, unless they are driven by some compulsion or by the external pressure of daily life, which is not especially healthy, certainly not if someone is trying to keep up with everything. It simply does not work. At least, that is how I see it.
Every now and then, through one route or another, through a recommendation perhaps, an album like this one by Cryptic Shift comes into view, a work that, at the very least, makes you stop and think, regardless of your preferences or taste. The moment you press play and allow it to pull you in, you start wondering how these people can possibly play like this, how this unchecked chaos can sound so organic, that very Systematic Chaos, as Dream Theater once put it.
My first impression was that these British musicians were terrifying virtuosos on their instruments, delivering lessons in technique, but that is not really the case. The result is anything but sterile or lifeless. On the contrary, after repeated listens I gradually began to attune myself, as much as possible, to what I was hearing, and although this is not the kind of record where you can easily recall melodies and riffs, since we are talking about a trillion shifts in rhythm and ideas, I still managed to enter its world. After that, I read the lyrics too and understood that this is in fact a concept album.
Naturally, understanding that aspect was not easy either. I needed several revisits before I arrived at the conclusion that, thematically, it deals with perception, or rather with humanity’s inability to comprehend what is different, since it revolves around an encounter with an alien, otherworldly being. There is also a connection between body, flesh, and machine under the broader framework of survival in the immensity of space. What Cryptic Shift have created is a space opera, enriched by their hyper-technical death and thrash metal, with clear inspiration, in my view, from Voivod and Cynic, which also implies jazz and fusion roots, and all of it somehow arranged and bound together in a coherent way.
Overspace & Supertime is unquestionably progressive, and I had super fun with it. Now all that remains is to track it down and buy it.
If you truly love music, do not rely solely on streaming.
Whenever your finances allow it, offer your support and purchase an album.
It matters.
Favorite Song: Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm)
https://cryptic-shift.bandcamp.com/album/overspace-supertime-2
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