This is perhaps the easiest review I have done in recently memory. This isn’t even due to Crypt Sermon being more than decent. The reason Crypt Sermon and their debut Out of the Garden is so easy to write about is due to not only its loyalty to a retro style but also the band’s dedication to Christian imagery. There is also the kick ass album cover. Let us not forget. Regardless of anything that can be said about the band, it is important to note how effective and decent their debut is. If you have forgotten what being embraced int he warm arms of traditional doom feels like let Crypt Sermon be your shepherd.

I have always held the belief that biblical imagery and lyrics can hold a certain style when it comes to traditional doom. Candlemass and even Black Sabbath have proven that using the narratives found in sacred texts can be reviewed as a neutral and dramatic lyrical angle. I am not entirely sure where Crypt Sermon falls in their personal beliefs but what is known is that parables of Jesus combined with thundering guitar tone and complimented by the wailing cries by Trenchrot guitarist Blake Wilsonis nothing short of fantastic. Out of the Garden can be traced to a handful of obvious influences yet the entire experience feels fresh and entertaining. This is something that is lacking in more than a few doom records.

Traditional and stoner doom can be fixated on the past and for all criticism Crypt Sermon leans heavily on the the tropes of the late 70’s and early 80’s. With all of this said, things like the introduction to “Into the Holy of Holies” paints a picture of a band that could have made this a costume but chose to go further. This is a band that may have their mindsets on various places in the past but are pounding their hearts away in the present.