Band:	Cryptopsy
Album:	None So Vile
Style:	Brutal death metal
Release date:	July 03, 1996
Guest review by:	Oaken

01. Crown Of Horns
02. Slit Your Guts
03. Graves Of The Fathers
04. Dead And Dripping
05. Benedictine Convulsions
06. Phobophile
07. Lichmistress
08. Orgiastic Disembowelment

Death metal. The musical genre concerned with death, hatred and anguish. The aural paragon of blood, gore and mutilation. Ever since it was created about 20 years ago, death metal left nothing nasty undealt with; from the repulsive scenery of gory violence to the deepest of mental aberrations, it covered pretty much everything vile, both musically and lyrically, with death being the recurring theme. Not all bands though were able to convey the actual horror of death, but some wrote albums that redefined death in an aural way. One of these records is Cryptopsy's None So Vile.

None So Vile is a death metal album with the brutality cranked up to the max, and that's just about it. The guitar riffs are as savage as a chainsaw to an infant's flesh, but also quite technical, dynamic and always changing. The solos kick ass even more. If you don't agree, just skip to 1:40 on "Dead And Dripping" and jizz your pants on that solo. Beneath the crushing riffs and the blazing solos, the bass pummels hysterically and unrelentingly, adding to the attack of the album. Flo Mounier is an octopus of a drummer, and an astounding one indeed, with his whimsically technical style. Listening to None So Vile with headphones makes you actually feel his drumset is inside your brain. All of this is topped by the screams, groans, growls, etc., of the notorious Lord Worm. His vocals are a love/hate matter, and personally, after having despised them for a long time, I now think they suit the morbid music perfectly.

Together, the instruments and the vocals create nothing but a merciless, brutal aural assault. Listening to it feels like being shelled with every kind of tank ever made, in a good way. Cryptopsy have actually managed to max out the brutality, while still playing with "soul." The guitar riffs craft soundscapes that evoke agony, pain and fear. Moreover, a touch of grandeur is injected at the beginning of "Phobophile" with the usage of pianos, before it turns out into an aggravating frenzy of ferocious riffage and vicious drumming. And my description is just close enough.

With a great, aggressive production, sickening lyrics and ahead-of-its-time death metal music, Cryptopsy have created an opus that influenced many bands for generations to come. Do I recommend it? Of course I do, because this is a death metal classic, and probably an essential album in any death metaller's collection. Go on and listen to it RIGHT NOW, unless you don't want the aural equivalent of being smashed in the face by a mallet* for 33 minutes. Nonstop.

*feels pretty good