Cryptopsy Once Was Not
Century Media Records - CD 77542-2 - October 17th, 2005
by Stuart Norman
Lets get one thing straight, Cryptopsy have come back with one intention; to smash your fucking face in. Of course they have thats just the kind of guys they are! But you have to wonder, are they really still able to do this? We are after all well into the 21st Century, with death metal, for all intent and purpose, into its third decade. What the hell can a band come up with in this day and age to break your skull in death metal style? Well Cryptopsy have the answer, and its fucking genius
From start to finish, Once Was Not is both lethal and deadly. Between all its caustic dissonance and fearsome bludgeoning, is an album rich in both variety and originality. Between? Or should I say despite? To have both is all too rare these days!
Rather than launching into full-scale assault right away though, Luminum greets us in a manner so forlorn it feels more like middle-period Anathema than all-out Cryptopsy warfare. Before too long the whole atmosphere has grown seamlessly more fearful and we soon find ourselves In the Kingdom Where Everything Dies and Cryptopsy are in full flow and at top speed.
From forlorn to ferocious, the caustic dissonance that epitomises Once Was Not is superbly navigated by the drum work of Flo Mounier. Weaving between the dense riffage, he succeeds in creating all the cacophony necessary to such a brutal death metal album, without ever breaking the momentum. As you would expect, the drumming is extreme to the point of absurdity, with neck-breaking speed and mind-boggling complexity, but not simply just for the sake of it. In the same way Nicke Andersson did with Entombeds Clandestine, Flos drumming adds new dimension to the guitar work, which whilst not wholly unspectacular, is on its own quite linear. In doing this he adds a sense of dynamism to the whole album, which keeps it alive and interesting throughout. A particularly natural and roomy drum production actually helps to augment the sense of brutality in this case. The more realistic sound leads to a more believable experience, exposing just the raw drumming talent itself. Not having hacked up the performance with pro-tools and pieced it back together is equally shrewd, maintaining the overall feel of Once Was Not as an honest slice of challenging, complex, yet uncontrived death metal.
Between the more old-school feel in passages of Adeste Infidelis (reminiscent of Cancer in their finest hours) and the progressive brutality of Angelskingarden, (exuding the kind of vibe you get from Emperor in their Anthems period) Cryptopsy show their maturity. Dyed in the wool death metallers though they are, Cryptopsy arent too pig-headed to learn a thing or two from other codes. The result is refreshing. Angelskingarden itself features one of the non too frequent lead guitar moments found on Once Was Not, and shows Alex Auburn display both capable skills and a degree of good taste. Just about escaping the Trey Azagthoth method (to put your fingers down just about anywhere on the fretboard, move them really fast and finish up with a nice dive-bomb) he frequently succeeds in bringing a sense of conclusion to his solos, despite sounding like hes fallen off the end of his fretboard whilst finishing the Adeste Infidelis solo. Theres even some full-on guitar harmony moments to get your ears around by the time Endless Cemetary is bringing things to a close. Nice.
The return of Lord Worm to the Cryptopsy fold has seen him stamp his authority all over the Once Was Not album. Despite this, and a few moments of pure quality, his contributions in general dont really help give any of the tracks a sense of individuality. Thankfully the music is easily strong enough in itself that this doesnt affect the whole experience too much. And there is certainly enough happening throughout that the album doesnt suffer from having no real vocal hooks. Do Cryptopsy do hooks? I doubt it.
Cryptopsy really mix it up throughout the full 49 minutes, succeeding in integrating the dramatic keyboard break in The Frantic Pace of Dying and the surprisingly credible jazz-break in Keeping the Cadaver Dogs Busy amongst other inspired moments. Above all this, the single greatest strength of Once Was Not is the enduring sense of anticipation. Despite leading you through several mid-paced, dynamic, sometimes downright pleasant passages, you always have that sense that at any time, the Cryptopsy machine is about to kick right back into top gear in all its ferocity. All these ingredients together make Once Was Not a damn enjoyable death metal album. Many other death metal bands have a great deal to learn from Cryptopsy. They had better start learning.
9/10
Official Cryptopsy Website
Official Century Media Records Website
Century Media Records - CD 77542-2 - October 17th, 2005
by Stuart Norman
Lets get one thing straight, Cryptopsy have come back with one intention; to smash your fucking face in. Of course they have thats just the kind of guys they are! But you have to wonder, are they really still able to do this? We are after all well into the 21st Century, with death metal, for all intent and purpose, into its third decade. What the hell can a band come up with in this day and age to break your skull in death metal style? Well Cryptopsy have the answer, and its fucking genius
From start to finish, Once Was Not is both lethal and deadly. Between all its caustic dissonance and fearsome bludgeoning, is an album rich in both variety and originality. Between? Or should I say despite? To have both is all too rare these days!
Rather than launching into full-scale assault right away though, Luminum greets us in a manner so forlorn it feels more like middle-period Anathema than all-out Cryptopsy warfare. Before too long the whole atmosphere has grown seamlessly more fearful and we soon find ourselves In the Kingdom Where Everything Dies and Cryptopsy are in full flow and at top speed.
From forlorn to ferocious, the caustic dissonance that epitomises Once Was Not is superbly navigated by the drum work of Flo Mounier. Weaving between the dense riffage, he succeeds in creating all the cacophony necessary to such a brutal death metal album, without ever breaking the momentum. As you would expect, the drumming is extreme to the point of absurdity, with neck-breaking speed and mind-boggling complexity, but not simply just for the sake of it. In the same way Nicke Andersson did with Entombeds Clandestine, Flos drumming adds new dimension to the guitar work, which whilst not wholly unspectacular, is on its own quite linear. In doing this he adds a sense of dynamism to the whole album, which keeps it alive and interesting throughout. A particularly natural and roomy drum production actually helps to augment the sense of brutality in this case. The more realistic sound leads to a more believable experience, exposing just the raw drumming talent itself. Not having hacked up the performance with pro-tools and pieced it back together is equally shrewd, maintaining the overall feel of Once Was Not as an honest slice of challenging, complex, yet uncontrived death metal.
Between the more old-school feel in passages of Adeste Infidelis (reminiscent of Cancer in their finest hours) and the progressive brutality of Angelskingarden, (exuding the kind of vibe you get from Emperor in their Anthems period) Cryptopsy show their maturity. Dyed in the wool death metallers though they are, Cryptopsy arent too pig-headed to learn a thing or two from other codes. The result is refreshing. Angelskingarden itself features one of the non too frequent lead guitar moments found on Once Was Not, and shows Alex Auburn display both capable skills and a degree of good taste. Just about escaping the Trey Azagthoth method (to put your fingers down just about anywhere on the fretboard, move them really fast and finish up with a nice dive-bomb) he frequently succeeds in bringing a sense of conclusion to his solos, despite sounding like hes fallen off the end of his fretboard whilst finishing the Adeste Infidelis solo. Theres even some full-on guitar harmony moments to get your ears around by the time Endless Cemetary is bringing things to a close. Nice.
The return of Lord Worm to the Cryptopsy fold has seen him stamp his authority all over the Once Was Not album. Despite this, and a few moments of pure quality, his contributions in general dont really help give any of the tracks a sense of individuality. Thankfully the music is easily strong enough in itself that this doesnt affect the whole experience too much. And there is certainly enough happening throughout that the album doesnt suffer from having no real vocal hooks. Do Cryptopsy do hooks? I doubt it.
Cryptopsy really mix it up throughout the full 49 minutes, succeeding in integrating the dramatic keyboard break in The Frantic Pace of Dying and the surprisingly credible jazz-break in Keeping the Cadaver Dogs Busy amongst other inspired moments. Above all this, the single greatest strength of Once Was Not is the enduring sense of anticipation. Despite leading you through several mid-paced, dynamic, sometimes downright pleasant passages, you always have that sense that at any time, the Cryptopsy machine is about to kick right back into top gear in all its ferocity. All these ingredients together make Once Was Not a damn enjoyable death metal album. Many other death metal bands have a great deal to learn from Cryptopsy. They had better start learning.
9/10
Official Cryptopsy Website
Official Century Media Records Website
