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Review Summary: A monstrous return. Say it loud, say it proud. Cryptopsy! One of the earliest examples of technical death metal out there, having arguably made the shift towards that type of sound on 1998's Whisper Supremacy, the band have retained much of what made their earliest works so transcendentally excellent throughout their three-decade career, with only one real stumble in the form of The Unspoken King, a bizarre deathcore experiment that served only to enable them to make a comeback of sorts. After their 2012 self-titled album, the band sank into the recesses of the EP landscape for a decade, with the excellent The Tome Of Suffering duo, slightly whetting the appetite of their fans, but it is 2023 that has seen their return to the studio album format, and what a return it is. The band has honed their signature frantic fingerwork to a lethal point, whilst the previously poor vocalist Matt McGachy spreads his wings in his strongest performance for the band. This is a tremendous effort.
Opener Lascivious Undivine opens in a way that makes it clear : the band are out for blood here. Fans of the 2012 release will note that the opening riff sounds very familiar when measured against a riff from Two Pound Torch from that album, and that idea of this being a continuation of what came before is a good way of thinking of this album. The relentless barrage of blast beats and double-bass runs are present and correct, as are the rapid pull-offs and chunky power chords that have been a staple of the band's sound since Whisper Supremacy. The bass is completely audible throughout, and adds to the murky sound in tracks like The Righteous Lost. When Cryptopsy are firing on all cylinders, there are very few bands that can come close to challenging for the death metal crown with them, and the member's individual performances are the strongest since their seminal masterpiece None So Vile. They have added some new weapons to their arsenal, including the Suffocation-sounding slower closure to Lascivious Undivine, and the aforementioned stronger vocals from Matt McGachy. Matt has always struggled with the problem of sounding as though he would be better suited to a Suicide Silence-esque deathcore band, and whilst he is by no means a titan of the death metal genre on As Gomorrah Burns, lead single In Abeyance showed his newfound lows to the masses. The way he leaps between the guttural roars of "not anymore" and the higher pitched variant of that line is one of his stronger moments on the album, and his command of the microphone here is much appreciated.
This collection of songs is remarkably strong and consistent throughout. Flayed The Swine opens with an eerie, strange sounding lead line that would not sound out of place on a 2000's metalcore album, before the brutality ensues. The frequent complicated pull-offs in the verse and throughout are a neat flourish to help it stand out. Bands such as Brain Drill's string-skipping riffs from Beyond Bludgeoned are called to mind here, although nowhere near as technical, yet far more fleshed out and interesting to listen to. Obeisant eases up for just a brief moment, to allow an atmospheric intro with drumming from Flo Mounier and bass work from Oliver Pinard creating a really dark sound that then fades into McGachy's best performance on the album. This song is probably my favorite here, constantly evolving with none of the pretentiousness of a band that would claim "progressive influences." This is a straightforward technical death metal song, with enough variety within its four minute runtime to keep the staunchest agitator towards the band engaged. The solo, whilst brief and never approaching the majesty of those found in We Bleed and Angelskingarden from earlier in the band's career, is entirely welcome here. Closer Praise The Filth picks up from the moody outro to Obeisant and takes a moment to introduce the listener with some tremolo picked guitar lines and a longer scream from McGachy, before the slower-paced verse crushes skulls with ease.
2023 has been a truly remarkable year for death metal, seeing the return of so many giants of the genre with strong outings, yet none comes close to touching this. As Gomorrah Burns finds a band with a passion and hunger for music again, after a lengthy detour into the shorter format of EP's, and I would not trade it for any album this year. The immeasurable improvement in vocals from McGachy, plus the overall tighter and more focused writing style when compared to the course-correction of their self-titled album makes for a generational leap in quality. Do yourself a favour, if you are a death metal fan, and consume this 33 minute masterpiece now.
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FreakMachine returns
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I definitely don't agree with the review, but it's well written. I do agree that Matt's vocals here are fairly good though.
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fuck off skele
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“One of the earliest examples of technical death metal out there, having arguably made the shift towards that type of sound on 1998's Whisper Supremacy”
Cryptopsy was already pretty damn technical before Whisper Supremacy and a bunch of other bands from the early 90s fall under that umbrella too
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"fuck off skele" no.
"Cryptopsy was already pretty damn technical before Whisper Supremacy and a bunch of other bands from the early 90s fall under that umbrella too"
Okay, so Cryptopsy's pre-Whisper material wasn't that technical, even for the time, except the drumming. I play this stuff, and NSV was relatively basic. Bands such as Cannibal and Suffo had done the more complex guitarwork, but it wasn't really the driving focus of the music and they could easily be categorized under different DM styles. Atheist were the one that really pushed it, and they pretty clearly weren't tech death. Whisper was one of the earliest examples of an album where the technical envelope was consciously pushed, and stuff like Onset would take this on to a whole new level.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"fuck off you creep get neg'd"
nice guy basically
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
What the hell is this thread lmao
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
well, it looks like someone using lengthy christian statements to reflect my sectioning and then return to society. of course, "my transgressions" and the level of the stuff he's talking about here is disingenuous, i harrassed someone. not proud of it, but that's the exact limit of it. this guys a clown, basically
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Fuck yeah, I only come to sputnik for the lengthy Christian passages m///
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"A monstrous return"
well damn, you might be the most unwelcome user on the site today, but no need to do yourself down that way
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What in the blue denim jeans has happened here?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
The usual, I return, get negged into oblivion. I'm no sweatin' it.
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Have you ever wondered why that might be?
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Having glanced this review over that first para is a doozy regardless of whatever preconceived neg/pos ratio is coming your way.
“the band have retained much of made their earliest works so transcendentally…”
Much of what? This just didn’t parse. I think you a word.
Also. Why don’t I have this rated? I’m falling wayyyyyy behind on my 2023 stuff.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"Have you ever wondered why that might be?
"
Because deathconscous started a false narrative around me.
"Having glanced this review over that first para is a doozy regardless of whatever preconceived neg/pos ratio is coming your way."
Yes, I make no pretences about it being a great review, I haven't written one for months
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Does that mean to hell with the errors, missing words and grammar fuckups? You might not feel like justifying yourself to anyone here but why post at all if you’re happy to let “rust” be your level?
Personally I’ve not posted a review for some time now, but goddamn would I punch myself in the nuts for being this careless and lax simply because I need to shake off dust etc.
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Genuinely curious here. Take it as an attack or no. If you want to be shit, chase your chi.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
No, and you could be useful and point out some errors if you want. I've fixed the one you mentioned, anymore.
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Could be *more useful and point out some errors if you want…
Honestly, dude I’ve poured time into your reviews before and they’ve either been ignored, shrugged off or suffered from a similar blame shift as you have just done. In having not written my own reviews for sometime now you could safely assume I’m time poor.
Are you worth it? Or are you the same ol’ skele?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"
Honestly, dude I’ve poured time into your reviews before and they’ve either been ignored, shrugged off or suffered from a similar blame shift as you have just don"
Honestly, I haven't ignored you, and you yourself commented on several of my previous efforts to say there was a marked improvement (the proof is still there and I can point out examples).
I accept that the "could be useful" should have said "more useful" and I apologize for that, that was rude of me.
If you want to give me some pointers to shake off the rust and general business of my days in these days, it would be greatly appreciated and put to use in future. I would genuinely appreciate it.
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