Artist: Criminal Christ
Country: Japan
Label: Smuggler Tapes
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
Bands like Venom and Celtic Frost influenced hundreds of bands in Europe and the USA, in fact they ignited a true explosion of bands who went in all kinds of different ways, but all pushing new extremes. Each one was even heavier and wilder than the last; it was a time of unprecedented creativity and of pushing the boundaries of what was possible. South America followed closely, but also in Japan lots of young kids were enchanted with the extreme sonic violence of all those European bands from the early to mid-80s. It was, of course, only a matter of time before the Japanese also made their mark on the extreme metal scene. One of the earliest Japanese bands to join the fray was Criminal Christ.
Japan was already known for a vibrant Punk/Hardcore scene, heavily influenced by bands like Discharge, Amebix and so on, so with lots of bands and musicians who got hooked on metal were into Punk and Hardcore before. That is one of the reasons the Japanese always had something extra extreme about their bands, pushing things a bit further even when it comes to energy levels and dedication.
That was also heard in Criminal Christ’s one and only demo from 1986. Although I honestly don’t know the individual bandmember’s musical background, the Punk aesthetics are not very difficult to find in this 13-minute effort. Still, when listening to ‘Cryptic Doom’ today, just realise that this recording will turn 40 years old this year (!), it is still very obvious how much the band were influenced by Hellhammer’s iconic ‘Apocalyptic Raids’ mini LP from 1984. But the fact that the band chose to cover a Nuclear Assault song is telling how much Extreme Metal at the time was just that: Extreme Metal. In those 80s people went to shows and bought records of bands that were just sounding extreme, whether it was Slayer or D.R.I., The Crumbsuckers or Voivod.
If anything, ‘Cryptic Doom’ is a monument in time. It reminds of those times when punks and metalheads were moshing to just basically everything that sounded insane. But even without that, ‘Cryptic Doom’ has some very solid musical value as well. These guys definitely were not behind any of their American and European examples, with that very recognizable Hellhammer-like buzzing guitar tone and the frantic pace, it serves as somewhat of a bridge that will be enjoyed by anyone who are into those early (often pre-debut album) recordings of such rudimentary Death/Thrash Metal bands like Possessed, Deathstrike, Obituary, Messiah, Bolt Thrower, Sinister, Nihilist or some punky acts as Extreme Noise Terror, Napalm Death, Prophecy Of Doom. Deviated Instinct, Hellbastard and Axegrinder.
Not very long after the release of ‘Cryptic Doom’ the band would change their name into Messiah Death and record an additional three demo tapes in the later part of the 80s. These have been compiled on a double LP released in 2020 via F.O.A.D. Records, and even this sole demo cassette by Criminal Christ had previously been released twice on cassette tape by Unholy Domain Records in 2018 and 2021; still, it can’t hurt for these recordings to remain in circulation. Not only because of their historical significance, but also because they’re simply still awesome!
