Album Review: Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns
Reviewed by Sam Jones
When it comes to death metal, few names are as equally underrated and celebrated as Cryptopsy. The Quebec-based extreme metal band, formed in 1988 originally as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder before changing to Necrosis the same year with an album under their belt, again to Gomorra by 1992 until finally they stuck with Cryptopsy whereupon they worked on their first Demo and, by 1994, release their first album under their new moniker: Blasphemy Made Flesh. A debut that earned them numerous turns of the head, the band only continued to raise eyebrows with None So Vile, a record many consider to be one of the greatest death metal records of all time. With a seminal classic under their belt the band continued to churn material out, however not everyone appears to be have won over as the band continued through the 2000s and into what is now their previous release, their self-titled record, in 2012. Whether this resulted in the band’s album break we cannot say, yet the band have undergone a silence in album releases, or had done prior to the announcement of As Gomorrah Burns. Their eighth full length work and their first studio record in eleven years, many eyes including my own have been drawn to this upcoming release, marketed through a new contract via Nuclear Blast that sets the album to release come early September. So let’s delve head first into this record to see what Cryptopsy have after over a decade of waiting.
Considering it’s been over a decade since Cryptopsy’s last full length album, I have to commend the band for getting right back into the thick of it as they unleash an immediately blinding opening song in the form of “Lascivious Undivine”. It may as well have been just seconds since their last record. It must be said too how loud this record is as well, for when it began it took even myself by surprise as to the volume As Gomorrah Burns would be packing. I did have to turn it down a touch but not so much that I felt the production or mixing was hampered in any way. What’s more, the songwriting utilised throughout this record is wonderfully erratic as the band leave little to predictability and infuse their sound with haphazard riffs that move one way right into the other all the while the band refuse to cease their pace nor their assault on our senses. All this can be derived from the opening few tracks alone, as we understand this is how the band mean to carry on. Whilst some have perceived Cryptopsy’s recent studio works to be less than fulfilling, As Gomorrah Burns strikes with a molten brand to demonstrate the sheer power they possess herein.
But much of Cryptopsy’s capacity as a band has been their ability to dart back and forth between the rampancy of their riffs and the crushing, methodical element of their slower sequences that have been such an influence on Slam bands. The magic I experienced throughout the band’s earliest material has been recreated here, for the band hardly ever slacken the speed by which they’re playing when these inventive and warped riffs are coming our way. At any moment we can receive vicious blast beats, neck sweeps, pentatonic scale playing, and vocals that refuse to sit nicely in one corner alone; vocally the performance is all over the place whether it’s the guttural lows or the rising, scathing highs that give this record such a visceral edge. That’s what I appreciate about this record more so than your conventional by the books death metal album: As Gomorrah Burns delivers on more than what you’d expect from contemporary death metal. There’s a leanness and sharp aesthetic running through their soundscape that draws you in since it feels less rounded than your typical old school band would offer.
It definitely feels like Cryptopsy are still gunning for new vistas by which they can propel their sound forward as opposed to merely recreating None So Vile for the umpteenth time as less experienced bands would opt to attempt. If anything, I’d argue the break between studio records has done the band a favour, allowing them the time needed to garner new ideas across each other to see what could stick and what doesn’t. Returning to the riffs, the band didn’t just employ typical, blocky guitar riffs that hit like bricks. Instead the band leaned towards something that has real energy lock inside that, when performed, unleashes utter barrages of intensity that easily bind us to the band and whatever comes next because they’ve effectively taught us early on the total unpredictability their songwriting is playing with. Half the riffs off this record feel like they’re on the verge of that last snapping synapse prior to insanity; as if a second longer after this album is done we run the risk of total mental failure owing to the album’s thirty-three minute runtime.
But, knowing how much the band throw us at once, this record ran the danger of losing our attention owing to our inability to process and digest everything going on. That’s where I feel the mixing has really come in clutch as we’re able to receive each of the varying elements together without any becoming lost in the onslaught nor does a riff segment overpower the drums and vice versa. The band have managed to mix this album together beautifully, even enabling the bass to have its moments to shine for you can pick out the bass trundling along even as blast beats and vocals shear away your senses. In addition, the bass this record possesses has established a hard foundation the band can work off of so even when the band undergo the more technically erratic work they’re regarded for, it doesn’t become lost on us since the band have firmly shown they can launch a cavalcade of things at us and it can bounce back again. As a result, our engagement never wanes since that connection between audience and As Gomorrah Burns is forever being reinforced by thick guitar tones and bass drums that have all the taut and fat resonance a band like Cryptopsy would wish them to have.
In conclusion, I genuinely believe As Gomorrah Burns is their strongest material since None So Vile. It’s so rare to see a band effectively take a break from studio material for over a decade and come back thoroughly renewed and reinvigorated with life. As Gomorrah Burns is a rampant, rapid-fire onslaught of what Cryptopsy are all about: blistering riffs, unconventional songwriting, vocals to rattle your head. After some time away, some fans may be sceptical over what the band have in store; I can however safely assure those more trepidatious over this record that the band deliver in spades and then some. From beginning to end the band are basically out to kill you physically and mentally, for their performance leaves such little room to breathe that those final seconds spent with “Praise The Filth” is less an ending and more a release. With just thirty-three minutes, the band launch everything they have at us and go on to show there’s more life in the Cryptopsy machine yet. It fills me with excitement to see what this band may still be capable of and I personally hope this break between studio works will result in more records that are just as fierce and relentless as this offering. A devastating return.
