Oshiego - The Heretic Priests of Amon (2012)

The Heretic Priests of Amon is the followup to last year's Woe to the Conquered, the full-length debut of Singapore's Oshiego. Rather than dive headfirst into another complete album, the group has decided to ply the waters with a single-length release, so the reins here are held tight at three songs and under 15 minutes. That said, this is unquestionably a positive evolution for the band. Stylistically it resonates with the prior material, an urban mesh of death and thrash metal ingredients with a mildly Eastern flair to the note progressions, but a few of the nagging discrepancies and jagged edges of the 2011 album have been smoothed over, and the result is a more entertaining and consistent set of tunes that are fit for violent consumption.

Love the huge, chunky guitar tone on this thing, it lends a lot of power to even the simplest of riffing patterns, and in particular it sounds amazing on the grinding eruptions in the verses of "Blade of the Conqueror". The higher pitched snarled vocals are still present, but the gutturals reign supreme here, and that's a good thing, because this guy's voice makes me wanna punch the fucking newspaper boy. Broad, fulfilling, and carries very well over the busier lattice of riffing. Lots of dynamics here too, from brief blasts to mid-paced clinical thrashers, tremolo picked melodies, well-fashioned lead sequences, you name it. Most importantly, the breakdowns throughout this material are far better plotted than those of Woe to the Conquered: Oshiego is always threading some slightly exotic sense of melody through or above the mosh-chop. As someone with a worldly, adventurous taste in music, but who has largely remained confined to North America in his travels (my own fault), I really appreciate getting a sense of a band's place in this world, especially a place far away from mine. Oshiego could certainly spice up this aspect of their sound further, but as it stands, their sense for explosive thrashing is excellent.

Everything is on point here, from the enthusiastic drumming to the ample bass tone (which even gets a bit funky in "Legions of the Nemesis"). It's hardly the most polished production you're like to hear, but instead fresh and bludgeoning. Try and imagine aggressive 80s thrash from bands like Sepultura, Mortal Sin and Demolition Hammer, but with vocal cues taken from old death metal luminaries like Benton, Willetts or van Drunen. The use of occasional melodic death elements also reminds me of another Asian titan, the great Intestine Baalism, who had a lot going for them in their decision to eschew strict genre boundaries. The Heretic Priests of Amon might not be so brilliantly riffy as An Anatomy of Beast or Banquet in the Darkness, and it often feels a little cluttered as they lay out one smackdown after the next, but it scratches a similar itch. Nothing but honesty here, guys who love metal playing their hearts out, never forgetting the golden rule of these genres: you're only as good as your riffs. Make them count, and make them hurt. Oshiego does both, and we're all the richer for it.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oshiego/112790763272

Lustre - They Awoke to the Scent of Spring (2012)

Nachtzeit's Lustre is a project that certainly has an aptitude for trying my patience, due largely to the length of the tracks, and the dearth of activity occurring within them. That's not to say that the Swede's music is bad by any means, but it takes a particular mindset, and maybe a really long walk, to appreciate what it's all about. Like the 2010 sophomore A Glimpse of Glory before it, They Awoke to the Scent of Spring is a moderate success, if you're willing to give it the time and space it requires to bore its solemn, draining emotional expanse into the landscape of your mind. Just be warned in advance that not a whole lot happens here, and there's a very 'stretched-out' sensation to the first two (out of four) songs.

Lustre performs a hybrid of black metal and ambiance which is essentially a contradiction of the pioneers in the field, those Scandinavian acts which made a name for themselves with brazen, infernal tremolo rhythms, blast beats and occultist/atavistic incantations. Compositions glide along at a snail's pace, dowsed in vast swaths of synthesizer atmosphere, while the sadistic rasping of the vocals is slowly meted out in arching, hypnotic patterns that will eventually overtake your initial resistance; like a serpent casually treading through the garden on its journey offer you temptation. The fragile, distant drumming rides beneath the swell of the keys, and the guitars are molded into incredibly minimalist, melodic sequences that don't feature the sorts of textured chords and dissonance one might expect. There are some slightly busier pianos (like near the end of "Part I"), and Nachtzeit seems to excel at writing calming ambient/clean guitar instrumentals ("Part III"), not to mention the dreary and numbing finale "Part IV" which I thought was the best track on the album.

They Awoke to the Scent of Spring is nature music, as suited to environmental introspection as it is to the listener's own regrets and reflections. Grandiose, bloated hymns of rain and rime, offering very little warmth despite its title, but more than enough loneliness. Summoning lite. The low key production values on the record barely intrude upon its effectiveness, and there is nothing harried or complex happening anywhere throughout its 40 minutes of woe. It wouldn't kill Lustre to write patterns that are more interesting or evocative, or to add a few excess layers of texture and sounds, even if through additional samples and not synthesizers or guitars. But, as minimalism is one of the core values in this project, it's unlikely the creator would implement much else here. Even the lyrics, used through the first two tracks, are incredibly sparse. To his credit, though They Awoke... is just as captivating as its predecessor. Not a great album, but give it some time, and you'll find yourself wallowing in its tragic and uncluttered depths.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/lustresweden?sk=wall

Bauda - Euphoria...of Flesh, Men and the Great Escape (2012)

Euphoria...of Flesh, Men and the Great Escape is my first exposure to the band Bauda, but hopefully not my last, because this thing is frankly so eclectic and exotic that nearly anyone could wrest some enjoyment from its eaves, like plucking a fruit from a rare tree with many varieties. I've seen the band defined as 'folk metal', but I feel that might be a slight misrepresentation of their sound. Sure, they use a lot of clean and scintillating guitars, and interesting rhythmic dynamics, but there's not much of an 'ethnic' or geographical constraint to what they write. For example, the band is Chilean, but you don't get much of an impression here that their sound is South American, rather quite universal in scope.

It's also not much of a 'metal' record, with the exception of some drudging, atmospheric, distorted guitars that might partake of prog or doom influences; but I'm willing to bet they've evolved out of some more aggressive roots (I know it used to be a one-man project with folksier instrumentation). Instead you've got a smattering of indie, space or post-rock influences, with grooving bass, beautiful if occasionally atonal vocal harmonies, whispers, occasional dissonance and loads of drumming. The second song, "Humanimals", one of the album's heaviest, is for me the perfect exemplar of the band's style. It's over 10 minutes in length but never once becomes boring or disjointed, and rarely shows any penchant for repetition; it's almost like Voivod meets Mew. Not all the tracks require such a staggering length to impress: "The Great Escape" itself is gorgeous acoustic rock affixed with creepy, alien synthesizers and vocals polished enough for radio; "Crepuscular" is a lazy and lovely acoustic guitar instrumental with a bit of classical influence to the picking, and once again the superb ambient backdrop.

The production is insanely clear, worthy of a far bigger budget rock band (like Dredg or Death Cab for Cutie), but the real star of this show, beyond the vocals, is the rhythm section. The bass is constantly curving, swaying and inventing subtext for any of the busier tracks, and the percussion is intense whether it's going tribal, standard rock fills, or lightly crashing along to one of the album's more soothing moments. Where the album picks up in aggression ("Humanimals or the doom-influenced "Oceania"), the guitars crash and course with abandon, often heavily affected to create a swerving level of psychedelia and fuzz. Yet somehow, despite the album's very disparate array of sounds and feelings, it all seems like a cohesive, conceptual experience. It's not always memorable, but it's ALWAYS interesting, and fans of post-metal outfits like Katatonia and Virus, or Tiamat's brilliant album A Deeper Kind of Slumber might well wish to explore this. Or, really, any person in the mood for something different.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.baudarketypes.cl/

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Only the Ocean Knows (2012)

An Autumn for Crippled Children is a Dutch act which has been gradually advancing itself towards the upper echelons of atmospheric, depressive European black metal, showcasing a gorgeous and suicidal disposition that incorporates elements of doom, ambiance and what many are now dubbing 'blackgaze'. Raw guitars, lush and accessible melodies, floodlight bass lines, horrid rasps and even synthesizers collide in enormous overtures of sadness and solitude. They've been releasing one album per year thus far, with Everything (2011) edging forward in overall quality from its predecessor Lost (2010), and now they've made yet another incremental stride with Only the Ocean Knows, the first of their records to truly immerse me, if not for the entire playtime.

It does help that this is front-loaded with one of their best tracks to date, "Past Tense", in which all of the band's agonizing and attractive aural components collide into an effective emotional barrage. The proggy keys used to intro the piece are immediately fetching, and then they just overwhelm you with baleful, fuzz leaden chords that support a set of blistering, glistening melodies that stretch across the overcast, storming seas implied by the title and cover image. While this piece never really 'lets up', there are others through the track list that feature pianos, clean guitars and more sombre structures, creating a fusion of highs and lows that keep the listener from growing tired of any one particular aesthetic. That said, there are certainly some similarities in the riffs being wrought throughout. The tortured, Burzum-like inflection in the vocals seeks to lie just below the apex of the guitar melodies, but you can still sense the pain, as if this were some eerie amalgamation of Filosofem, the post-rock of Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, and guitar-drenched 90s shoegazer works like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive or the (oldest) Catherine Wheel albums.

I should state that this is 100% mood music, fit for musing on one's presumed nothingness in contrast to the broader world beyond the self. Seeing that I live a mere 100 yards from the Atlantic Ocean, I found it to provide a worthwhile accompaniment for a sober, evening stroll. It's not party music, so the likelihood of you making a connection during the screaming of your apple sauce-starved offspring, a Superbowl gathering, or in the presence of bass-blasted urban ghetto gangsta neighborhood pollution is about nil. Not all of the riff patterns here are all that innovative or unpredictable, and stylistically it's not a major step above Everything, but the band has really fleshed out its sound here, and the overall flow of the album feels more consistent and compelling than anything they've previously released. I enjoyed this, and in lieu of our collective loss of bands like Lifelover and Apati, this really helps fill a niche, whether your tastes run from ColdWorld, to the sadder recordings of Benighted in Sodom, or to almost any of the more accessible blackgaze acts. 

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/crippledchildren2009

Revolting - Hymns of Ghastly Horror (2012)

Awaken to the alarm clock. Brush teeth. Make breakfast. Death metal. Lunch. Death metal. Dinner. Death metal. This is surely the daily cycle of 'Revolting' Rogga, the man who must by this point have the broadest personal investment and discography in all the genre, the world over. Revolting is not one of his most long-lived projects to date, but he's managed to release one full-length per year in addition to his prolific schedule elsewhere. The 2009 debut, Dreadful Pleasures remains my favorite of these, even after listening through Hymns of Ghastly Horror a few times, but all the albums have more or less maintained the same general quality and theme, and you're getting exactly what the trio is advertising: some of the most campy, horror-inspired, frightful kitsch outside the Razorback roster.

In terms of sheer sound and recording aesthetics, Revolting is barely a decapitated head's throw away from a few of Rogga's other bands Ribspreader and Paganizer. The chunky Swedish tone is implemented over a variety of riffing patterns, many of which trace their lineage back to the usual suspects like Entombed, Dismember, Grave or Unleashed, but others surprisingly melodic in the vein of something like At the Gates or the more recent Evocation material. Hymns of Ghastly Horror is in fact a decently varied record, whether it's the morbid death & roll of instrumental "The Thing That C.H.U.D. Not Be" with its charming samples from the cult mutant flick, or "Their Thoughts Can Kill" or "Psychoplasmics" which are threaded with copious speed thrashing rhythms, or the denser, hilarious chug-fest of "Kinderfeeder". There are at least a dozen hooks through the 36 minutes which beg for a replay, despite the fact that a lot of the progressions seem samey to anyone who has followed the Swedish death revival in the past decade. The rhythm section of Grotesque Tobias and Mutated Martin is as dependable as ever, even if they're not doing anything much else than support Rogga's endless supply of riffs.

Actually, whilst comparable to its predecessors, Hymns of Ghastly Horror might just have the best overall production for this project to date, nearly on par with Rogga's higher profile Demiurg. Guitars are sodden and repulsive, yet the melodies and brief leads scream through the mix. Vocals are loud and reliable, often molded in L-G Petrov's hoarse tension, but often even more brutal and guttural as if they were drawing more influence from early Dutch or USDM. The colorful subject matter of the lyrics is, as usual, incredibly fun, especially for those who love cheesy horror/sci-fi flicks and don't take it all so seriously. Serial killers ("The Hatchet Murders"), extraterrestrial threats ("Ravenous Alien Spawn"), even what seems like a little Italian giallo horror gets a nod. Revolting enjoys their cult cinema, and they celebrate it much like the more festive of us give our patronage to haunted houses, hayrides and horror cons. Hymns of Ghastly Horror might not be anything out of the ordinary, or much of an accomplishment for a man that might just release a dozen albums by next month, but it's solid entertainment. Better than last year's In Grisly Rapture, thought it falls just shy of the first two records.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Revolting/144322252254789

Ad Patres - Scorn Aesthetics (2012)

It might not be the most impressive death metal I've heard in recent months, but Ad Patres' full-length debut Scorn Aesthetics is sure to place the French newcomers square on the radar of a wide cross-berth of genre fans due to its level of polish and flexibility. Combining traits of their defunct countrymen Yyrkoon with the thrust of Polish pummelers like Behemoth and Hate, the surgical aptitude of early Pestilence or their Dutch peers Sinister, and a bevy of brutal, old school tremolo picking sequences that careen and collide throughout the album's clinical, pervasive darkness, there's something here that just about any morgue employee can grasp onto, and the performances are razor sharp even if the band's overall sound isn't the most distinct.

The guitar tone used here is very crisp, trading potential muscle for rapid fire penetration and emaciated savagery redolent of the first Pestilence record, Mallevs Maleficavm if it were saturated in the more contemporary riffing structures of, say, the latest Suffocation album. The riffs aren't intensely memorable or original, but they're constantly flying at an accelerated clip and shifting from muted transitions to harried grooves. What's more, the Frenchmen create excellent lead bridge sequences which amplify the mood and atmosphere of each track, the leads dowsed in just enough reverb and effects to chill the listener amidst the more busied but less frightening verses and breakdowns. The drums here are totally on point, the feet just as fast as the hands for the varied blast and double bass sequences, and loads of fills being fired off at available opportunities without cluttering the composition. I didn't pick up a ton of bass guitar in the mix, but if you pay closer attention you can hear that the guy is just as acrobatic as the guitarists, even if his lines don't really veer away from the primary patterns.Vocals are a pretty standard grunt circa Glen Benton, David Vincent and Frank Mullen; nothing outstanding, but dynamic and fast enough to match the musical endeavor.

The mix is also well suited to the writing: you can really pick out the percussive nature of the guitars, which often create a thrashing texture. It was interesting to read that a few of the members have experience with the black metal group Seth, at least the drummer, whose incredible persistence certainly could carry over form that field. Song quality was consistent throughout the 32+ minutes, with a few like "Emphasize Nihility" and "Scars of Compromise" mildly catchier than others, but overall I did feel there was some sameness and redundancy involved, if not for actual patterns of repetition then just similar structures in several of the riffs. They're not the catchiest band, but if you give yourself over to their unapologetic manhandling, you're sure to come away from this impressed. The French have long had a great scene for this style, and while Ad Patres might not feel so 'progressive' as Carcariass or Gorod, or as brutal and brawl-worthy as Benighted, they have delivered here a solid and sadistic introduction to their manic violence.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.adpatres.net/

Warseid - Where Fate Lies Unbound EP (2012)

Wisconsin's Warseid writes and performs with an evocative blend of progressive and symphonic extreme metal elements that seems somewhat out of place and character for the Midwest, a region I tend to associate largely with brutal death and gore (and thrash before that, in the 80s). That's not to say they don't do it well, because if there's one incessant plus on this Where Fate Lies Unbound EP, it's that the group is constantly engaging the listener through shifting dynamics, layers of melody and musicianship that never rest on tired repetitions, and they deal with genre identity in rather broad strokes, never throwing out an idea if it will fit into the song's sense of adventure.

The clean guitars on this release are superb, anchored with rhythmic percussion and exotic mystique, particularly at the onsets of "Shackles Through Sand" and "Frost Upon the Embers", but the majority of the material consists of winding, progressive black/death passages that reminded me of a union between the Vintersorg solo works and latter-day Death. Much of this is joined by synthesized orchestration, though they keys often erupt into more prog-laden atmospheres like the bridge to "The Vengeance Pact". The vocals are a pretty average, a functional smattering of slick rasps and slightly bloodier growls, delivered in syncopated step with the music, but not by themselves all that tormented or interesting. There's also a somber, folk element at play, not so much until the 11 minute finale "Farewell", with cleaner vocal harmonies that air gracefully alongside the lush and seasoned acoustics; but I'd say the center of that track felt a little too 'tavern metal' for me, if you can make that connection. The lyrics are a little less complex than the musical ambitions, tales of battle and adversity rooted in Nordic myth, but not badly written.

Wasn't hugely into the rhythm guitar tone, which felt a bit too polished for my liking and didn't seem capable of delivering the riffs with enough power to really drive them home. Granted, they are crystal clear, and allow the listener the aural registry of every crisp, delicate note progression. The guitars are constantly chucking out new riff sequences to keep the listener curious for what will happen next. In fact, the proficiency level of all the musicians is quite high, from the beats to the note selections, you get the feeling Warseid has a lot of experience listening to numerous sub-genres of metal, and no shortage of ideas. I never thought the electric guitars were as memorable as the cleaner sequences, and the keys and axes felt a bit flimsy and incoherent in places to the point that the songs rarely came together for me in their entirety, but Where Fate Lies Unbound is certainly a showcase of talents, and the mix of styles is not obtuse. Even if these particular tunes didn't always satisfy my attentions, I don't perceive any limit to what Warseid might accomplish with further writing and refinement.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] 

http://www.warseid.com/

Morbus Chron - A Saunter Through the Shroud EP (2012)

Say what you will about Century Media's questionable, lame metalcore signings (Destiny Potato? Really?) and trendy preferences throughout the past decade or so. Now that they've decided to pick up some of the emergent wave of retro and atmospherically inspired death metal acts, they've shown remarkably good taste. First it was Israel's excellent Sonne Adam and a reissue of the unsung champion Gorement's discography; now they've swooped in and snapped up one of Sweden's best bands in this field, Morbus Chron, whose excellent debut Sleepers in the Rift was a personal highlight of 2011. A Saunter Through the Shroud serves as a ligament between that album, and hopefully what is to come when they settle in to write and record their sophomore opus.

This is short, with just over 13 minutes and three tracks, but it continues to expand and define the band's alien approach to traditional death metal from both sides of the pond. Elements of the Swedish and Finnish cult classics are unified with Autopsy-like convulsions, especially through Robba's vocals which seem like a fusion of John Tardy, Chuck Schuldiner and Chris Reifert hanging out in front of a Chulthu-worship convocation. One of the band's sheer strengths is in how far they take their riffs. Unlike about 90% of the bands retrofitting death metal as a natural reaction to the technical/brutal titans that had dominated the field increasingly through the 90s and turn of the century, Morbus Chron actually seem creative, and relatively unpredictable. I feel that when I listen through one of their tracks, I have very little idea what is happening next. Sure, it's going to remain within a mildly progressive, otherworldly death metal primacy, but the precise notes being meted out do not mold themselves to my precognitive disinterest in Left Hand Path worship.

You'll hear anything in here from the more modern, 90s Death to a spooky, almost sporadic smattering of dissonant death and doom which can seem like a gorier mutation on Voivod. The guitars are suffused with a fuzzy clarity, the bass is oozy and individualistic enough to add an inventive subtext, and the way they all come together with the drums gives the EP a surprisingly earthen and natural feel which is at odds with the extraterrestrial, extraplanar horror of the band's lyrical inspirations. I wouldn't say that these three tracks took me quite as far as the prior full-length, or hit me as aggressively, but they share that same level of thought and plot that allows the Swedes to stand out in such an overcrowded field. This is the sort of act that might one day be spoken of in the same reverence as its forefathers. A Saunter Through the Shroud pays close attention to the tropes and lessons of its influences, but implements them far afield of reality. Cannot wait to hear what they'll conjure up next.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (an absence of presence)

http://www.facebook.com/morbuschron

Queensrÿche - Q2K (1999)

Q2K beckoned forth the 21st century of Queensrÿche with a slightly more modern rock fixation than its two predecessors. One can still hear a bit of that 90s radio-alternative and grunge influence through what seems like a misplaced batch of B-sides for Hear in the Now Frontier or Promised Land. I shouldn't have been surprised, really, since this was the first full-length without Chris DeGarmo (his replacement was Kelly Gray), and he'd already contributed to the group's decline with the previous outing. I'll ignore the goofy title and the lame circuit board and icon cover, these guys had long been obsessed with the ramifications of technology in their lyrics: the music here needs no help in sinking to the bottom of the barrel, and Q2K is without any doubt one of the worst albums the band ever shoveled upon its audience.

Of course, the very notion of Queensrÿche as a proper 'metal' band was already a decade old. Bands like Tool were outpacing them in terms of base aggression and lyrical gravitas, but then they were never exactly comfortable on the heavier side of things, so perhaps its a moot argument. Rush's Counterparts is about as far as this record goes. At its limit, it's endowed with Pearl Jam style grooves ("Sacred Ground"), and deeper, thickened grunge paste riffing ("One Life") that attempts to contrast Tate's melodic business as usual. The problem is, none of the songs come anywhere near sticking to the listener's conscience. Even if I were to ignore the past and accept Queensrÿche as some sort of melodic rock band, they're still behaving like they belong deep on the bench. Second stringers at best. Just who is this for? Thirtysomething Goo Goo Doll and Soul Asylum fans pining for those college years in which they got laid to "Silent Lucidity"? As much as I might despise those other bands, they at least had the irritable characteristic of songwriting infectious enough to coerce millions of radio listeners...Q2K was nowhere to be found.

The best I can say for this is that Geoff Tate's voice still sounds reasonably well sharpened, though we were well past the point where he had anything new to offer. He syncs up well, loads of harmonies and piercing tones that would have sounded superb over an actual riff set worth a damn, but the band seems to think some reduced, rock & roll groove is squeak on by. Q2K practices a similar airy devotion to the rest of the band's 1994-2011 catalog, so you'll experience a lot of streaking melodies and tribal drum sets that would be better implemented on the followup (Tribe). To be fair, there are a few moments here, like the climax of "Burning Man" or the dreamy spaciousness of "Beside You" where the band does achieve the revelatory bliss you might recall from, say, Janes Addiction in the later 80s, but this comes through the arrangement alone, not from any particularly memorable vocal line or guitar progression, and thus the whole of the record is so painfully easy to forget. Production-wise, it's not a far cry from its nearest neighbors in the 'ryche catalog: clear, professional, pop-oriented, but just not as vibrant or effective as Promised Land.

While there weren't as many tracks here as its bloated predecessor, I have to wonder why, throughout 11 tunes (before re-issue bonus material), the band can't muster even ONE equivalent to something like "I Am I" or "Empire", at the very least. I'm not asking for or expecting Operation: Mindcrime level output, since that inspiration is clearly all washed up, but this is perhaps some of the most frustrating material they've released. The rockers rarely go anywhere, the softer tunes are meek, some of the lyrics are pretty awkward (I ain't no Romeo/I'm just the man for you, "Liquid Sky"), and you just get the sad impression that there is no more thunder down under, burning at this band's loins. After all, Hear in the Now Frontier might have just been a fluke, right? Any minute now, the band will return to form and shake this bullshit out of its system, right? Those were the questions this album posed, and we all know how they turned out. Were it not for the disgraceful disappointment of Operation: Mindcrime II, this would have nadir scrawled all over it in feces.

Verdict: Fail [2.5/10] (nothing seems to work as well)

http://queensrycheofficial.com/home.cfm

Cryptopsy - Cryptopsy (2012)

My connection to Canadian juggernauts Crytopsy has remained tenuous at best through the years, peaking with the influential None So Vile and its successor Whisper Supremacy, which are in my opinion the high points of the band with their respective vocalists Lord Worm and Mike DiSalvo. Having already been underwhelmed numerous times by their intermittent recordings like Once Was Not, I simply didn't feel that same level of crushing disappointment with The Unspoken King as others have so ardently expressed, since I had so few expectations to begin with. The album sucked, sure, but I couldn't have cared less. Apparently the band wanted a piece of the emerging deathcore pie, and in doing so, drove a wedge between themselves and their fan base, not picking up the 'fresh' audience they had no doubt banked on.

So now we've got the presumed 180 degree turn back to the group's ubiquitous brutality, which has rubbed off on more bands that you could shake a gore-drizzled spine at. That bold, eponymous, mid-career defining album we've experienced so many times before, which will set out to right all the wrongs. Directly from the start, this doesn't look good. I mean that literally. Cryptopsy LOOKs like shit, its cover a pastiche of the band's bat-like icon over some generic emblem which you'd expect to find tattooed on some hardcore fan, or an Ed Hardy shirt design. Yeah, they've got the original logo seated at the base of the design, but why? It's a great one, and like the earlier albums, it should be a feature, not a visual footnote. It's almost as if the band was trying to bridge both its long-time, old school audience with the indifferent 'core audience The Unspoken King had reached out towards, and frankly it's a bummer. Fortunate, then, that as soon as the windy ambiance which inaugurates "Two-Pound Torch" parts, the Canadians roll us over like a calamitous cavalry charge borne out of the motherfucking Inferno.

Harried blasting, double bass rolls faster than you'd drop your trousers at a medical exam with Megan Fox, brute grunts that at last imply Matt McGachy is the right man for the job, chugging, squealing, and spurious, acrobatic guitar patterns that zip and zag across the brutal landfill of rhythmic concussion: I'd say Cryptopsy has awoken from any and all perceived delusions of its direction. And yet, there are certainly spikes of melodic death metal screaming through the maddening mesh that hint the band haven't yet abandoned the notion of feeling out parallel sub-genres. Dense, post-death grooves permeate the accelerated bursts and old school tremolo riffs throughout the album, and there's a jarring precision to the band's alternating tempos which shows a lot of elbow grease went into the album's composition. The bass pops along with such a fervor that it often impersonates some brutal funk. There are points at which Flo Mounier's battery is so lockstep conjugal with the patterns of Christian Donaldson and (the returning) Jon Levasseur that the sheer force of their combined delivery feels like a hundred Lilliputian hammers cracking my cranium simultaneously.

Tracks like "Amputated Enigma" and "Damned Draft Dodgers" trade off impious mechanical grooves with unbridled, cathartic velocity, while others like "Red-Skinned Scapegoat" embellish the carnage with radioactive leads and atmospheres. Plenty of pummeling variation throughout its compact, 31 minute run time, and while some might still accuse this or that riff of sounding 'deathcore', who really gives a shit? The subcultural streams are so crossed these days that they're all bleeding into one another, but for what it's worth, few of the grooves felt cheap, predictable or pedestrian (except maybe the close of "Ominous"). Most were intense and well managed against the extreme gees of the band's typical celerity, and fit like a glove to the record's huge, polished and punishing production. It's a modern tech-death explosion, with a contemporary gloss to its mix, but you can hear everything equally and that's all I can really ask for.

All those compliments aside, I can't confide to having loved the album. It's engaging, pissed off, and its hyperactivity is certainly conducive to a neck-strain, but few of the songs or riff patterns are distinct or memorable for more than a short time. As an exercise in sheer hostility, its right up there alongside most of the band's Cryptopsy has inspired over the past 15 years. You'll rarely wish to sit still here, so intense are the performances of the musicians and mechanistic their sadism, but despite this a lot of the rhythm guitar patterns and fluttering arpeggios do feel like a mere run through the motions of the niche they helped birth. I doubt I'll think back on this in six months' time. For now, it's fast. Fun. Furious. A partial update to None So Vile, if not an upgrade. Apology accepted.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://cryptopsy.ca/