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Hanz Krypt are technically an old band, but they only released a couple of demos with little fanfare back in the mid-80s and called it quits some time after. There's not much information on them outside of that, but Cult Metal Classic Records got a hold of those demos and released them as a compilation a few years back and I received the promo for it recently for some reason, which is why I'm talking about it now. Re-releases like this can be a minefield, as sometimes there's a good reason no one remembers a band that never even got a full-length out, but Doom was such a shallow pool back then that failure was kind of inevitable, so I was willing to give this a chance. Glad I did, because this is pretty good.

Hanz Krypt were that breed of old-school Doom that barely distinguished itself from Hard Rock, complete with the tube amp guitar sound and nasally vocals obviously trying to imitate Ozzy. Comparisons to Black Sabbath would be obvious with that alone, but they sound much closer to Pentagram with their faster pace and more hard rocking sound, and they do it well enough to make their resurrection worthwhile. The riffs are bluesy and catchy, the songs direct and simple, and the general mood is upbeat and fun despite the bleak lyrical stylings, which is what you'd come to expect from a band like this. I have to say the second half of this is better than the first, for while the production is much worse, it contains tracks like "Resurrection" and the rollicking "Rainbow Goblins", which show the band getting heavier and sounding much better because of it.

There's nothing on here I'd call essential, but there's enough good material to make me wonder how good a proper full-length would have been if they went on longer, which is something I can't say for every forgotten band whose material gets re-released and advertised as a forgotten gem. If you want Doom that's about as old-school as it gets, then Tales from the Krypt is worth unearthing.