Violence, Our Power

KRYPTAN, children of the plague and enthusiasts of sinister sounds came to our attention earlier this year. Delivering a very promising self-titled EP in 2021, they are now ready to follow up with debut album “Violence, Our Power” coming on all formats 14th of February 2025.

KRYPTAN is an atmospheric black metal band from Avesta, Sweden. Founded in early 2020, right at the beginning of the global pandemic, KRYPTAN took shape to embody the passion for black metal that songwriter and guitarist Mattias “Kryptan” Norrman harboured for decades. A familiar face in the scene, Mattias, who is most recognized for playing guitar in October Tide and previously bass in Katatonia, has long striven for his very own musical endeavour.

“I never got to play black metal in a band before, and it was clear that if I was going to start my own band it would be exactly that. Seeing how black metal has influenced and fascinated me all this time, the music wrote itself.”

As for the timing, he muses that it might have been the abundance of free time during the pandemic that finally pushed him to bring his ideas to life. Heavily inspired by the 90s era of Norwegian and Swedish black metal, life and the crushing darkness of Swedish winters, he created enthralling songs bursting with sinister energy and craftsmanship. KRYPTAN aim to take listeners back in time and celebrate a glorious musical legacy in a contemporary fashion.
The band was initially completed by fellow October Tide member Alexander Högbom on vocals and Samuel Karlstrand of Wretched Fate on drums.

KRYPTAN consisting of Mattias Norrman (October Tide and ex-Katatonia) and Alexander Högbom (October Tide) joined by Victor Parri (Valkyrja, Isole) on session drums. On this album they are joined in strenght by guest vocalists Mikael Hanni (Disrupted), and Nox (Craft). Guitarist Simon Wizen (Valkyrja, Marduk) also participates with an extremely furious solo.

The album was mixed by Christian Larsson at Embodiment Audio and mastered by Jonas Kjellgren at Black Lounge Studios in 2024. The artwork is an ink illustration created by German occult artist ikosidio.