After the disappointment of 2008's The Unspoken King , Canadian technical death metal veterans had no choice but to go back to the style which made them who they are today. After a disastrous foray into metalcore, the band, with guitarist Jon Levasseur back in tow, have returned here to frenetic, furious, brutal, technical death metal once again, and as you would expect, the results are quite good.
Drum virtuoso and de facto leader Flo Mounier is as always the driving force behind Cryptopsy, and his acrobatic fills and pummeling blast beats never fail to mesmerize on cuts like "Shag Harbour's Visitors" and "Two-Pound Torch". Vocalist Matt McGachy sounds more at ease here on Cryptopsy than he did on The Unspoken King, really digging down deep for some barbaric and venemous growls and grunts throughout the album, completely incompresensible on "Red-Skinned Scapegoat" but still so brutal. The songs themselves, are musically what you would expect from Cryptopsy, chock full of manic tempos that feature blasting drums, nimble bass grooves, and raging, technical riffage and buzzsaw lead fills. Are they the most technical band on the planet these days? Not really, as in recent years so many other groups on the scene have popped up and amazed with their technical prowess and ability to create lasting, compelling songs, but Cryptopsy have proven here that they still can deliver the goods, best experienced here on the killer "The Golden Square Mile".
Cryptopsy is a welcome return, not a groundbreaking release by any means, but like an old sweater, completely comfortable. Nice to have them back doing what they do best.
Track Listing
01. Two-Pound Torch
02. Shag Harbour's Visitors
03. Red-Skinned Scapegoat
04. Damned Draft Dodgers
05. Amputated Enigma
06. The Golden Square Mile
07. Ominous
08. Cleansing The Hosts
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