Poland's underground metal scene has soooo many undiscovered gems! The latest of these hidden jewels is the nefarious thrashterpiece, Cryptic Songs by Nightmare. Deathly dry rasps seep in like a rotten fog across the slowly, and intensely building riffs. Hints of Bay Area bounce coupled with the haunting darkness of early Sodom can be detected within the song's structure. There is a strange production on the drums, especially the bass drums. A thicker stomp emanates from the main riff of The Conscience. The primitive and subterranean feel of the material brings to mind early Sepultura but without the barbaric speed. The title-track picks up the tempo and saws right through your skull with sadistic thrashing riffs. A hammering beat hits you before the moshing crunch towards the song's middle. Massive bass guitar slaps straight away before being accompanied by a barrage of riffs on Fallen Love. Undulating stops and starts nearly trip your ears as the song progresses only to reveal clearer, more sung out vocals that bring to mind Dan O' of No For An Answer. Then the savage thrash strikes your unsuspecting ears. Again the sung vocals rise and this time may even remind of Messiah of Candlemass! Later we are confronted by the traditional thrash of Picture Of Evil which alternates between a quicker paced assault and a midtempo chug. Tacked on the end of this rerelease is The Evil demo and two live tracks. The demo tracks have a muddier production and a more primitive songwriting approach but they are still just as deadly as the featured songs on Cryptic Songs. This is perfectly illustrated by the diabolical stomp of Looking For The Paradise in its embryonic form. A must for fans of raw thrash metal!