Album Review : Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns (2023)
Cryptopsy is one of the rare consensus bands in extreme music. Whatever you might think of their later years output, they’re largely considered to be a landmark death metal band. Their iconic album None So Vile is what the genre is supposed to sound like. Even if they’ve released quality material over the last decade, it’s been a long road for Cryptopsy to escape the shadow their masterpiece cast of on their later efforts, but they’ve done it. As Gomorrah Burns is out and it’s the best thing the band did in twenty years.
One thing that’s clear 15 seconds into the opener Lascivious Undivine is that even if it’s brutal as fuck, the band has definitely moved past the gurgling wetness traditionally associated with brutal death metal and embraced their identity as a technical death metal band. This thing is alive with crazy riffs and out of the box ideas. Vocalist Matt McGachy has this emotional high pitched segment about 90 seconds in that gave me goosebumps. Lascivious Undivine is an absolute statement of an opener. Killer song.
As Gomorrah Burns transitions then into the first single In Abeyance, a muscular, more straightforward death metal song than Lascivious Undivine that highlights the versatility of Flo Mounier’s drumming. This is not a blast-beats-and-growl type of song. Flo can do it with the best of them, but he’s got a much wider creative vision. Sometimes he’s at the forefront. Sometimes he’s just supporting Chris Donaldson’s riffing. He’s in total command. Although it’s not one of my favorite song on the record, I love the craftsmanship.
The intro to Godless Deceiver channels the brutal death metal legacy I was talking about earlier, but it doesn’t take long for Chris Donaldson to change direction and sweep the song into unexpected territory. Once again, love Matt’s high pitched shrieks in there. There’s real emotion to them, which adds unlikely texture to a death metal song. There’s a throwback guitar bridge about two thirds into it that changes the pace again and makes the song even more disorienting and grim.
Also, am I hearing mathcore elements in the guitar riffs? The ghost of Dillinger Escape Plan is strong with this one.
Ill Ender has this chuggy, groovy guitar riffs and wild changes of tempo that keep your on your toes and give the song a powerful identity. It’s bouncy, muscular song where Flo Mounier and Olivier Pinard’s play really shine. The second single Flayed the Swine is one of the most tormented and emotional songs on As Gomorrah Burns. It’s powered by this screechy, uncomfortable vocal performance, seesaw guitar riffs and a haunting outro where the unbridled fury and recklessness of the song culminates.
The Righteous Lost is my other high point on As Gomorrah Burns. That song fucking rips. Where to start? The short bass bridges at the start reminded me of Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse, the bouncing riffs are delivered with such energy and command, there’s a short melodic solo that cuts the song in half, once again Matt hurls a high pitched part that drips with negative energy. The Righteous Lost is brutal, byzantine and full of wild surprises like a good technical death metal song should be.
The following song Obeisant couldn’t be any more different and I mean that in the best possible way. It alternated between mid-tempo, death doom atmosphere and these more chunky, complex passages to create a schizophrenic and unpredictable atmosphere that sometimes hang on the edge of what could be considered death metal. I feel like it’s become a calling card of Cryptopsy with As Gomorrah Burns: exploring the confines of what technical death metal can offer without breaking free from the genre.
Praise The Filth is as brutal of a closer as one can hope for. It’s also slightly more atmospheric than the rest on the record, given how atmospheric a band like Cryptopsy can actually get (not very). The screams are stretched for longer, the texture of the vocals seem high in the mix, the bulkier parts linger just a little bit longer. I mean it’s not an atmospheric song by any means, but it feels darker and cavernous than the others. That outro is deliciously long and murky and Matt closes the show in unforgettable fashion.
*
I’m not the biggest fan of technical death metal and As Gomorrah Burns suffers from problems present on every tech death record that some of you might not see as problems. Notably that there’s so many interesting ideas, they don’t have enough time to live. I’m hearing a cool riff or drum fill and it’s over and the song goes into a whole other direction before I can really let it soak in. As Gomorrah Burns is decently balanced in that regard though and offers emotional high points amidst the tech death creative ADHD.
This is a bulky, intense and different album where Cryptopsy unashamedly leave the past behind and head into the future. As Gomorrah Burns is a bold record. This is as good as tech death gets for me.
