SCEPTOCRYPT - a story that rolled from '92 to late ‘99
...in a way or another, so to speak! We say this as what follows here is an idea coming from the once pagan centre in the Mediterranean, a.k.a. Malta, that concept ever being to prove that DEATH METAL has been, IS, and shall continue to develop as AN ELITE CULTURE. This not by adamantly producing run-of-the-mill death metal in its original facet but also through the addition of other musical feels, encompassed in one distinct vision of having a sound characteristic only of SCEPTOCRYPT.
Way back to its conception, the purveyors of this craft had then been Malcolm and Jason (guitars), Steve (drums), Marcel (vocals), and Marco (bass) but by April' 95 the band was enforced by replacements Conrad (vocals and keyboards) and Joseph (drums), later replaced by Maurizio.
Nothing of particular note had then been of mention except for supporting ANATHEMA (the first underground band ever to play in Malta) in '95, and the release of "Wild Code of Reverie", the debut demo tape in '96.
And this is where the story unfolds, mainly thanks to the overwhelming support of the underground foreign press. As a debut tape it was pleasing to see this different style of death metal being claimed as "Demo of the Month" by the famous Dutch mag AARDSCHOK (Nov. '97 issue) or moreover, as "one of the best demos of '96" in the German FIGHT AMNESIA! (Issue 10), not to mention the countless others, and not only from the death metal field.
With this feedback at heart, SCEPTOCRYPT engaged in a change of line-up in the form of Johann Tabone (bass), Antoine Ferrito (drums) and Etienne Camilleri (guitars) joining Malcolm and Conrad through '96. The first outcome of this fresh SCEPTOCRYPT was "Oratorio Mortem", a track featuring a progression from baroque classical guitars and keys to obscure choral echoes to frenzy metal, all involving violin, bass and soprano vocals together with the basic metal instruments. This track has been featured in a number of underground compilations (The Core of Creation, Amber, Psoriasis Prigg, etc.)
After more rehearsing with this new line- up, the band took on to play a number of local shows, thus increasing both its live experience and fan base alike, so much as for local Arch Music agency to comment :
"There is no doubt that SCEPTOCRYPT has become one of the leading underground bands of the country"
In 1997 the band recorded a rehearsal tape entitled "Poor Crows, Give 'Em A Deal", a tape made available only to press and labels. Still, despite its rightfully criticized sound, this tape achieved another myriad of stunning reviews from as varied a spectrum as underground ‘zines to record labels, and from non-metal publications to a London College of Music & Media software programmer, namely Pete Farrugia, stating:
"The tape is very impressive, especially considering how it was recorded. I am still astonished by the erudite multi-lingual lyrics and I also have a picture in my mind that live performances by the band could be accompanied by visual images projected onto a screen. The music is so expressive that it suggests different images whenever I listen to it."
With this in mind and further compositions under their wing, the band now felt ready for its debut full-length recording. All the necessary funds were not available yet, mainly due to Malta's geographical position having its heavy limitations on the local music industry. However, trying as much as possible not to let this position limit the band's love for music and the urge to create it, SCEPTOCRYPT still found the energy and creative force to write "Amaranth so Puissant", a 32-minute work divided into 4 acts with avant-garde, Flamenco, Latin and gothic arrangements balancing the extreme metal customary of its style.
Lyrically, "Amaranth so Puissant" portrays the life of an artist from as soon as the radiant force of Art twists inside of him to when he finds the satisfaction within himself of a work completed. As they say, the minute you think you have done it all, that minute you are no longer an artist, and so the cycle of creating and letting the radiant Art out of thyself takes the artist into worlds of darkness, loss, hope, and satisfaction, but above all it makes him encounter the receiver of his world (in a musical world, the fan) who encourages the artist even further and serves as the vessel to make the Art shine!
And shine it did as in early '99 SCEPTOCRYPT were approached by two designers (namely Derek Fenech and Andrei Xuereb) to use some of the lyrics from "Amaranth so Puissant" as well as previous texts for an exhibition called "After Hours" held later that year by the same artists. The band obviously was more than willing to contribute, always keen to bridge the culture of death metal further through such cross-cultural events.
Finally, to make this ever-changing yet never-dying Spirit of Art embrace it in its journeys, SCEPTOCRYPT entered the local Farmhouse Studios and prepared a new full-length promo featuring
"Isegoria 2000",
"Amongst the Hunsis and Worms",
"Bite of the Hamadryad",
"Antropomorphosis of Imperfection",
"Of Ambivalence"
and the first act of the challenging "Amaranth so Puissant".
Under the guidance of Paul Zammit Cutajar, a SAE qualified sound engineer/ producer - whose main musical likes venture the progressive ilk of YES, KING CRIMSON and ELP, besides being a composer and film scorer himself - teamed up with SCEPTOCRYPT's founding member Malcolm producing, a 64-track soundboard and session musicians Giselle Debattista (female vocals), Claire Debono (soprano) and Gordon Zammit (flute) powering the band's vibe, this new promo promised to surpass anything ever done before by SCEPTOCRYPT both stylistically and soundwise.
In fact, as just one listen it took to earn SCEPTOCRYPT the attention of the newly formed, Maltese promotion service Ordo Melitensia Promotions, who aided the band spread its name further and globally as of April '99. As a start, this latest recording was forwarded to select record labels and magazines bearing the tentative guise of "!26 hrs 72 mins ....the need to differ)".
At this point, the band had more than 2 CDs (i.e. 2 X 74 minutes) worth of music penned down in the form of composition, so SCEPTOCRYPT could now only hope that all their efforts laid down on "!26 hrs 72 mins ....the need to differ)" follow the track they are destined to. As one Keith Dempe from the veteran Eternal Darkness Mag put it:
"You people out there that are always griping about music today not being original enough, well SCEPTOCRYPT bring back the lost art of originality! True artists with a vision, SCEPTOCRYPT have a definite idea of where they want to go and how to get there. ALL labels interested in progressive extreme metal PLEASE check in with this tape as SCEPTOCRYPT may well be a force to be reckoned with in the realm of progressive metal in the very near future!"
Unfortunately, after the recording of "!26 hrs 72 mins ....the need to differ)" and a couple of live performances later, some issues (mostly health & musical differences) brought the band not to the track they were hoping to be destined to. After trying out various other musicians, it felt as if driving a dead alley, and it was decided to put SCEPTOCRYPT on pause.....
Discography:
* Wild Code of Reverie (debut demo '96)
* Oratorio Mortem (compilation only track '97)
* Poor Crows, Give 'Em A Deal (reh. promo '97)
* !26 hrs 72 mins ....the need to differ) (promo CD '99)
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