Kryptograf – Kryptonomicon

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · March 21, 2025

Kryptograf, from Bergen, Norway has a proto-metal vibe that is inspired by the heavy sounds of the late sixties and early seventies. The band formed in 2019 and have released three full length albums, 2020’s Self Titled, 2022’s The Eldorado Spell, and their latest, 2025’s Kryptonomicon. The band consists of Vegard Strand on guitar and vocals, Odd Erlend Mikkelsen on guitar and vocals, Eivind Standal Moen on bass, and Amund Nordstrøm on drums. Kryptonomicon came out on March 7th 2025 and contains seven tracks in thirty three minutes. The album was released on Appolon Records.

The first track on Kryptonomicon is called “Beyond The Horizon”. It’s a great retro rocking song that gets this album going right from the start. The guitars have a dry yet animated sound to them that gives the song a smooth and vintage feel. The heavy low end thrusts out some busy bass lines in essence with the stellar drumming. I definitely hear a NWOBHM vibe going on around the excellent guitar leads. At the midpoint of the song, Kryptograf display some cool mellow and psychedelic sounds that facilitate a smooth flow back into the main rhythm. The vocals are shared by both guitarists Vegard Strand and Odd Erlend Mikkelsen and sound fabulous. They have a classic seventies harmonizing effect that works great on all of these songs. “The Blade” slices next with the guitar starting things off with heavy accents carried on from the rest of the band. The song has a nice rocking flow with pockets of progressive sprinkled in. The dual vocal melodies are outstanding and the harmonizing guitars are equally impressive. The title track third song, “Krytonomicon” is next and carries on with the warm proto-metal sound and mixes in some doom and heavy psych. It has a crunchy groove to the main riff and dials down a level with some melodic rhythm. The guitar leads are vibrant and animated and the vocals are once again euphonically harmonious.

“You And I” has a more upbeat rocking inclination, reflecting a QOTSA vibe. It’s a great song and branches off a bit from the seventies infused first three tracks. It’s got a punch of punk rock vigor to it with its uptempo pace throughout. The fifth track entitled, “From Below” carries a strong dousing of doom in the beginning. It erupts into a cross current of rock that has a profound synth nucleus embedded inside. The song transitions into some progy territory too which gives the guitars an exuberant sound of expression. “Lost At Sea” is next and carries on with the hard driving rock laced with melodies throughout. The guitar leads are superb once again and the band gleam some fresh progressive intricacies right after that have a spellbinding effect.

The final track on the album is the eight minute opus called “The Gales”. The song captures the full Krytograf sound on this one. It has a hard rocking proto-metal tone with an overlay of doom. The psychedelic components are there along with the glorious vocal melodies. The guitars engage both clean passages and overdriven distortion with mountains of electrifying leads. The song has some beautiful keyboards mingled in there as well. Another highlight to the band is the excellent rhythm section of bassist Eivind Standal Moen and drummer Amund Nordstrøm. Throughout all of Kryptonomicon, they hold everything tightly together and solidify the band’s sound which allows the guitars room to soar and flourish throughout the recording. I am very impressed with this band and will be exploring their other releases. They absolutely spark new life into the vintage sounds of the late sixties and early seventies and amplify the tones with a graceful and modern elegance. Krytograf are successfully able to combine sounds of several genres, be it heavy psych, doom, blues, riff rock, and merge them all into their own with such ease that sounds so inviting and natural.