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Cryptopsy - None So Live
(Century Media) |
It’s hard to believe that Montreal, Canada's Cryptopsy has been in existence (Starting out as Necrosis) some eleven years! After their 1994 debut Blasphemy Made Flesh made it’s way to the press, it established the band as something more than the average metal band. Two years later, None So Vile proved the point even further, and in modern standard, established itself as a classic grind album.
A change of vocalist and a new label pre-empted the release of 1998’s Whisper Supremacy, but 2000’s And Then You’ll Beg was the last recording by vocalist Michael DiSalvo. The album surpassed all previous efforts, and propelled Cryptopsy into the elite of death metal acts.
With new vocalist Martin Lacroix joining the ranks (Along side Jon Levasseur on lead and rhythm guitars, Alex Auburn on rhythm, lead guitars and vocals, Eric Langlois on bass and Flo Mounier on drums and vocals), Cryptopsy took to the road with Vader, Dimmu Borgir and Krisiun.
As you would expect, None So Live was recorded at the Medley in Cryptopsy’s hometown of Montreal in June 2002, making it their first live album and Lacroix’s debut.
As hard as it is to comprehend, Cryptopsy can actually reproduce what they play on their albums on the stage. The sheer brutality of tracks such as ‘Slit Your Guts’, ‘Open Face Surgery’ and ‘Cold Hate, Warm Blood’ mix well will latter day complexity of tracks such ‘We Bleed’ and ‘Shroud’.
Flo Mounier allows himself a solo spotlight on the album (Proving that his skill behind the kit is beyond mere human comprehension), while Lacroix’s vocal remain true to the original design set out all those years ago. While his style is different from DiSalvo’s, he does perform a remarkable job keeping up with the relentless pace of the material.
The production is again amazing, with long time producer Pierre Remillard (Who merely mixed the album this time around) giving the band the best sound quality possible.
If there were a fault to pick, then it would be the absence of any new material on the albums ten tracks. But like I said, that’s if there was something to gripe about. It only means that I’ll have to wait till the end of the year when the new studio album is due to be released!
By: Justin Donnelly
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