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I was really excited to find out this existed. The Crypt is a new project put together by Candlemass mastermind Leif Edling with vocals by a flamboyant woman who calls herself "Metal Priestess" but who is actually named Pepper. She wears gothic outfits on stage and has a whole persona to go with the band. It seems like she might be Leif's girlfriend, but I don't have any direct knowledge of that.

Nobody who has heard Leif's solo efforts will be at all surprised by the sound of this, except that the production is actually kind of flat, and makes these songs sound a lot less interesting than they would if they were recorded better. The vocal lines are really emblematic of Leif's work in Krux or Abstrakt Algebra, as they are not very hooky and feature a lot of dull repetition. Once you hear a chorus, you can be sure you will hear it a hundred times until all interest has been wrung out of it.

There are some good moments on here, like on "I Love the Darkness," and "Open the Gate," but a lot of this is just kind of mediocre. A new album put together by Leif Edling raises expectations, but this album just can't meet them.