Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King review
| Band: | Cryptopsy |
| Album: | The Unspoken King |
| Style: | Deathcore |
| Release date: | May 23, 2008 |
| A review by: | jupitreas |
01. Worship Your Demons
02. The Headsmen
03. Silence The Tyrants
04. Bemoan The Martyr
05. Leach
06. The Plagued
07. Resurgence Of An Empire
08. Anoint The Dead
09. Contemplate Regicide
10. Bound Dead
11. (Exit) The Few
In what is likely to be the single most shocking event on the scene this year, longtime brutal death metal stalwarts Cryptopsy decided to reinvent themselves as crazy jacks-of-all-trades for their latest release, The Unspoken King. Nevertheless, this album shouldn't get buried by the chaos that will certainly ensue amongst old fans and other more orthodox death metal types. This is because it is just too good to be mired by ridiculous genre discussions.
Yes, what you heard is true - this album contains clean vocals, melodeath leads, funky bass lines, breakdowns augmented by brass instruments, jazzoid guitar solos, samples and keyboards (amongst other things). At the same time, the band doesn't abandon their brutal side at all. The difference is that within the more interesting and dynamic song structures that their expanded means allow for, Cryptopsy now doesn't dwell in brutality for its own sake. The enjoyment of this music doesn't come from the novelty of how ridiculously technical and violent it is. Instead, an appreciation of how these traits are incorporated into concise and impressive musical pieces comes to the fore and the Canadians clearly have the song writing chops to make it all work together in a memorable way. Bands like Protest The Hero or SikTh also make unpredictable ADD-metal that jumps all over the place stylistically; however, thanks to their musical pedigree and experience with chaotic song writing, Cryptopsy simply do it better and with more class.
The Unspoken King is unpredictable but flows well together. As songs like "Leach" and "The Plagued" demonstrate, the key to making this album work lies in memorable motives and the remarkably innovative ways of fusing them together. "The Plagued" is actually, as difficult as that is to believe, an extreme metal ballad. Of particular note is also the song "Bound Dead", which mixes death metal with vocal melodies recalling Alice In Chains with a finesse that can only be described as frightening.
Bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried And Me and Divine Heresy take notice: Cryptopsy is giving you a run for your money. Music should be evaluated based on how successful a band is at achieving the given aim of a collection of songs. The Unspoken King passes this with flying colors. One thing is for sure: this band sure does have balls.
 | Written on 17.04.2008 by With Metal Storm since 2002, jupitreas has been subjecting the masses to his reviews for quite a while now. He lives in Warsaw, Poland, where he does his best to avoid prosecution for being so cool. |
Rating:
5.0
5.0
|
Rating: 5.0 |
Cryptopsy are a household name when it comes to brutal death metal, and for five albums over the past fourteen years that is exactly what they delivered. Until now. Lord Worm is out of the band, replaced by metalcore vocalist Matt McGachy and for the first time in the band's history a keyboard player, Maggie Durand, is introduced to the ranks. Musically Cryptopsy are a completely different band, shedding their brutal death metal skins and wriggling towards the metalcore whilst still keeping some technical death metal ties. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 122
Visited by: 503 users
| GT Coffee!! Staff Posts: 5101  |
Sounds pretty interesting...might give it a try
----  Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
This actually is the best thing Cryoptopsy have released ever. Thanks god the boring derivative brutal death metal days they seemed to be stuck in are gone. Especially recommended to fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan et al.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
Cryptopsy made a BIG mistake by releasing this album under that name, with such a huge change in style old fans will spit at this album, and new fans that get into this album will look into "Cryptopsy" and find nothing but brutal death metal (which they probably won't like..) regarding the album - Cryptopsy DO abandon their brutal side, this is not a brutal death metal album. as far as I am concerned this is not Cryptopsy, this is a different band to the one that released all the previous albums. Flo is still the best thing in Cryptopsy, with the odd bursts of blastbeats, etc. but even when all hell is breaking loose behind the drum kit - the guy screaming over it just sounds BAD and out of place.. (end of "The Headsmen") it is a shame Flo's skills are being wasted on this band now I can see why some people might do the un-thinkable and like this album, it does have a few interesting points.. but generally this is not the kind of music I subject myself to (with the screaming and all) - it is a completely different style of extreme metal! ..and neither will it be the kind of music old Cryptopsy fans in general will want to listen to - so like I said, the biggest mistake here is that they released this pile of.. album.. under the name "Cryptopsy" they can't expect to not have an army of people waiting for them with pitchforks really..
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
I think that this album will show how close-minded metalfans actually are. I am sure that most will not accept the fact that this is a GREAT album. Only because of the name Cryptopsy which is attached to it. This really is Cryptopsy's BEST album EVER
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
that is just laughable - if this is not the kind of music someone such as myself would normally listen to - and I decide to not like it, that is because I have a closed mind? ha this album cannot be compared to their previous albums, it is totally different - they used to be a brutal death metal band - and this is more hardcore/technical death metal.. you would never hear whiney clean vocals in past albums.. you can say this is the best they have done "EVER" because you probably prefer this style - wheras the people that are actually going to be looking into an album with the Cryptopsy name on it will most definitely prefer the old style
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
as for what I think to the actual album - listening to this album to me like eating a really nice chocolate cake that has nails inside of it.. (actually it is more like trying to eat a bag of nails with chocolate bits in it!!) the album has its good moments, namely when Flo picks up the tempo, but most of the time while I am listening out for the bits I like, I am being battered by screaming and whiney clean vocals and boring slow music and a big smell of commercial-"like me! like me! like me!" I can listen to this album but I am just glad humans have the ability to switch attention off when need-be
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659  |
Cryptopsy arent drug dealers, their purpose isnt to satisfy your craving for that brutal death metal fix. They are musicians and therefore their purpose is to communicate something interesting or at least intriguing to whoever is listening. Surely music is more than just an economic transaction between band and fans, more than just an example of the dynamics of supply and demand. With this album, Cryptopsy has graduated from being only a supplier of a product to a band that actually has something interesting for people to hear. I wish more bands did that, since, as mentioned in the review, it takes balls. Good for them!
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| Deadsoulman Elite Posts: 8004  |
I've never found Cryptopsy's brutal death albums really good, mainly because I thought it all sounded like a big purposeless chaotic mess that was technical just for the hell of it and I couldn't stand their previous vocalists (expecially Lord "Growling At Random" Worm). + I found the demos of the new songs sounded like a massive pile of crap haha. Especially the vocals. = I don't have much hope left before I listen to the whole album. But I will listen to it anyway as I usually tend to agree with jupitreas. So, more thoughts later.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
I dont get it - are you close minded just because you don't like when a band evolves in a way that you don't like - or because you can't appreciate all genres?
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| DoomGuard Posts: 368  |
I'm not buying this album cause I'm close-minded.... Don't care what people think
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by [user id=26778] on 17.04.2008 at 16:47 I guess open-minded means that you like everything that ordinary people doesn't like =D
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
What I mean by the close-minded part is that if this album had been done by another band people would have loved it. But because people are stuck in the Cryptopsy has to play non-inventive brutal death metal rut, they somehow can't see what a great album it actually is. Set your preconceptions aside and listen to it. But it seems most metalheads somehow just can't do that. And that is such a shame.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Clintagräm Shrinebuilder Posts: 5773  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 18:40 Well, what would you think if one of your favorite bands put the album out? I have a hard time thinking you'd agree with your own statement. Regardless, from what I've heard, it doesn't sound like anything I'd listen to, so it's just normal Cryptopsy to me anyways.
---- The force will be with you, always.
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| kackbratze Posts: 234  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 18:40 Haha, I actually don't think so because the vocals REALLY suck. I wouldn't listen to it. And: I find it more open-minded to say that this album sucks than to pretend to like it just because it has the name of Cryptopsy and you liked their older releases. (which I think you don't, but anyway...)
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| Inlé Posts: 334  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 18:40 I would say the opposite. A lot of people will force themselves to like this one but will write off similar just because this has the name "Cryptopsy". If people like this then they'll like pretty much all of metalcore. I didn't like this album. I don't like the breakdown rapeage, I don't like the sloppy mish mash of death metal and metalcore/nu/emo vocals. I don't think it flows well at all. The screams and death growl attempts are dire. It sounded ok when it got a bit of speed up but the plodding with THOSE clean vocals made me want to reach for the skip button (especialy in the middle of the album, which contained the worst tracks.)
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| totaliteraliter Posts: 656  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 11:52 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 12:05 Written by jupitreas on 17.04.2008 at 13:43 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 18:40  Have you people been listening to this band? At all? First, two musically innovative and ambitious albums with lyricism that represents the genre at its peak. Then a series of directionless water-treading with new vocalists and no identity, followed by a lame and soulless reunion cash-in effort. And now, with the band finally going in full on sellout cash-in-on-current-trend-trying-to-appeal-to-new-fanbase mode, it's their best album??? Now they finally have something interesting for people to hear??? How open-minded you must be to appreciate Cryptopsy's bravely diluted hop onto the metalcore bandwagon! Whatever quality can be found on the new one, it really represents Cryptopsy finally shifting from leaders to followers.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by totaliteraliter on 17.04.2008 at 20:19 Yep, actually ever since their 1994 Blasphemy Made Flesh debut full-length have I been listening to this band.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| totaliteraliter Posts: 656 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 20:24 Then I am forced to conclude that either a) you need to listen to those albums a second time, or b) it all went over your head. It's impossible to argue that Cryptopsy were making "boring derivative brutal death metal" in 1992-1996, and even if they were, I can't comprehend why someone would prefer boring derivative metalcore.
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.04.2008 at 18:40 come on! give us a little more credit than that. speaking personally if I like an album, I will like it regardless of style tag or band it is not small minded at all to dislike an album that is completely different stylistically in a less favourable way to the past albums of the same band - from a band that used to put out great, solid brutal death metal releases every time.
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659 |
Written by totaliteraliter on 17.04.2008 at 20:29 Neither do I. Good thing Cryptopsy doesnt play boring derivative metalcore on this album.
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659 |
Written by Baz Anderson on 17.04.2008 at 20:32 you are free to dislike anything you want. you should be able to recognize if something is good regardless of your personal prejudices towards it though.
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| SteTech Posts: 576  |
Hang on, wasn't it announced they wouldn't be releasing this because of the controversy?
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659 |
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| totaliteraliter Posts: 656 |
Written by jupitreas on 17.04.2008 at 20:32 Not specific enough for you or what? I should put down my Fuck The Facts/Sikth/Dillenger/etc. records and listen to this johnny-come-lately to the scene effort because...?
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659 |
Written by totaliteraliter on 17.04.2008 at 20:50 Noone told you to put them down. As for Cryptopsy, their attempt at the style is well executed. The album has good songwriting. It is definitely innovative on a technical level, although not really on a stylistic one. Oh wait... Didnt I already state this IN THE REVIEW. Dont people read the review that they are commenting on?
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| MetalManic Posts: 653  |
This discussion is heated. Flames of hell really. I see excellent points from both sides and I have to agree with jupitreas' admiration of the 'balls' this band actually has! Perhaps it was a drastic change from being brutal to this but in all honesty, stagnant music (i.e. - no progression just carbon copies with or without improvement) is really boring. For those of you who think that this change has something to do with $$$, well folks, welcome to North America.
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| totaliteraliter Posts: 656 |
Written by jupitreas on 17.04.2008 at 20:58 Skimmed it over, reviews on this site tend to be a little fluffy. Didn't even notice you wrote it. How is it technically innovative? Bottom line, even if it is well-executed, fuck it. We all know what Cryptopsy's motivations are, and we've seen how creatively bankrupt they are without Lord Worm's vision to tie the spazz together. There's a million bands doing this better and more honestly. I only object to idiots playing the open-minded card in this case, and you lauding them for having the "balls" to change their sound to something hip and trendy. They haven't fooled me, at least.
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659 |
These comments are for the review, dont post here if you havent even read it.
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