There are metal bands that write songs, and then there are bands that build entire universes. The kind where the riffs feel like they’re ripping through asteroid belts while the lyrics sketch out alien civilizations somewhere beyond the edge of the galaxy. That’s roughly the territory occupied by Cryptic Shift — a UK progressive death thrash band who seem far more interested in bending space, time, and the boundaries of metal than simply releasing another heavy record.
Their latest album, Overspace and Super Time, is the latest chapter in that strange cosmic journey. It’s a dense, technical, sci-fi soaked piece of work that feels less like a traditional metal album and more like a soundtrack to some lost inter-dimensional saga. Naturally, we had to find out what the hell was going on inside their heads.
So we caught up with the band for a conversation that stretched across hemispheres — England on one side, Australia on the other, with the slight time-travel advantage of being a day ahead down here. Which felt oddly appropriate given how much their music deals with time bending concepts and alternate perspectives.
Like many bands, Cryptic Shift didn’t start with some grand master plan. They began the same way countless metal groups do — teenagers playing heavy music together and figuring things out as they went. But somewhere along the way, their love for extreme metal collided with a deep-rooted obsession with science fiction, movies, and video games. Suddenly the songs weren’t just songs anymore. They were pieces of a much bigger picture.
Growing up in the era where CGI suddenly exploded across cinema had its impact. Wild visuals and strange alien worlds were everywhere, and franchises like Star Wars were pouring gasoline on the imagination of an entire generation of nerds who were also discovering death metal at the same time. Add in the golden age of video games — when strange, atmospheric sci-fi adventures seemed to appear every other week — and it’s not hard to see where Cryptic Shift’s creative instincts started taking shape.
By the time you reach Overspace and Super Time, those instincts have grown into something far more elaborate. The record centers around a character known as “The Recaller,” a figure who remembers everything. Every event. Every timeline. Every encounter across the universe. It’s a sharp contrast to the central character from their previous album, Visitations from Enceladus, whose entire journey revolved around waking up with no memory at all and trying to piece together who he was.
That simple shift completely changes the perspective of the story. Where the earlier record was solitary and uncertain, this one expands outward. The Recaller interacts with other beings, gathers companions, and experiences the universe in a very different way. The narrative grows wider, stranger, and far more populated.
But despite all the sci-fi lore swirling around their music, the band insist the creative process still begins with something very grounded: riffs. Concepts might shape the atmosphere later, but the foundation always starts with the music itself. Once a song begins to take shape, the larger universe slowly attaches itself to the structure — characters, ideas, strange worlds, and fragments of stories that have often been sitting in notebooks or phone notes for years waiting for the right moment.
Those fragments build over time. A word here. A concept there. An idea scribbled down in the middle of the night that eventually finds its way into a lyric or a storyline. It’s not a rigid blueprint so much as an evolving archive of strange ideas that eventually form the backbone of their albums.
Listening to them talk about it, it becomes clear that Cryptic Shift aren’t just writing albums — they’re slowly constructing a much bigger narrative framework. The kind of thing that could easily expand beyond music. When the idea of visual storytelling came up — things like graphic novels or expanding the universe into something more tangible — the band admitted it’s definitely something they’ve thought about. Nothing massive or overblown, but something that could give fans a clearer glimpse into the worlds hinted at in their lyrics.
And honestly, it makes sense. Their music already feels cinematic. You can almost see the landscapes they’re describing — strange alien planets, collapsing timelines, characters moving through a universe that feels far larger than the confines of a typical metal record.
For now though, the focus is on getting the music out into the real world. With the album released and gaining momentum, the band are looking toward touring as much as possible across the UK and Europe, with hopes of returning to the United States as well. Australia is also firmly on their radar after previous visits left a strong impression — something that should excite local fans, because if there’s one thing Australians do well, it’s losing their minds at extreme metal shows.
And judging by the reception to Overspace and Super Time, there’s going to be plenty of people ready to do exactly that.
The full conversation dives deeper into the band’s origins, their sci-fi influences, the evolving storyline behind their albums, and their plans for the future — along with a few quick-fire questions about creativity, songwriting, and life on the road.
You can watch the full interview with Cryptic Shift below and dive headfirst into the strange, cosmic universe they’re building
