Customer Reviews

Once Was Not

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How much more of a perfect release could Cryptopsy have wanted? This CD is amazing. The first time you listen to it you are just completely stunned, taking a few minutes to try and comprehend the technical perfection you have just experienced. I'm a Lord Worm fan, so having him back on vocals was good enough. Flo, the man with 80 arms and legs, takes his drumming to so much of an insane level that it's hard to even put it into words. Take what he did on None So Vile, multiply that times 10 and maybe you have it. There's no need to go into each song: they are equally 10 out of 10 masterpieces. Sound quality on this recording is sick! It's one of those CD's that's so loud and clear while still having that raw edge that makes all Death Metal the most extreme music in the universe. Once Was Not WILL go down as THE technical Death Metal release that all others will be compared to. Only one (in my opinion) that comes close is None So Vile. Don't even think about getting this one, just do it. All Hail Cryptopsy!!!

Necrosoul.

Cryptopsy's latest album is the most hatefully fresh sounding DM album i've heard in awhile. It's brutal in the expected fashion, with Mournier's hyper-drumming as impressive as ever, if not more so and with the return of Lord Worm's frantic & demonic histrionics (x5) is intertwined with the band's usual writing & technical aptitudes. It's heavier than a black hole and it is full of aggression that screams for the bloodletting of angels and deicide. Yet what is the appeal if this all sounds a little too familiar? Cryptopsy has achieved at least two exciting things here: a tighter synthesis of brutality and technicality, yet with wider swings in either diretion; and some of the tracks on this album are very evocative and atmospheric amidst the extreme BRUTALness, far more so than anything on previous albums. Songs like "Carrionstine", "The Curse of the Great", and "Keeping the Cadaver Dogs at Bay" are bound to become classics of the band's repertoire. Extra credit: the last song "Endless Cemetary" might be the best they've done! Highly recommended... especially the limited edition digipak which is a far more suitable aesthetic complement to the quality of the album.

This is my first reveiw ever for Amazon- cool! Anyway, the same Crytopsy riffing and Lord Worm unique lyric writing style is back (no suprise really). The differences I heard really were just in the generous use of effects/synth orchestration, Lord Worm's vokill's didn't have that 'hollow' effect (he said in an interview I read one time that he couldn't get that sound anymore), and the lyrics weren't as gory (glad about that actually). I haven't accessed the extras yet, but as one reviewer said it doesn't have any video which sucks, but that's not why I gave it four stars. I gave it four stars 'cause while it shows the finer side of extreme metal (there's a finer side?), it's just more Cryptopsy power with, due to the conceptual nature of the songs, expanded width. It's worth getting for everyone into extreme metal (and some of those into new-school metalcore), but definitely for Cryptopsy fans.

I am an extremely happy death head these days. Suffocation reformed last year, Nile's new one kills, Behemoth is steadily getting better and better, Hate Eternal's new album is a hell of alot better than I expected and now we have the new Cryptopsy with the return of Lord Worm. Well being a huge fan of Lord Worm's work on None so Vile I was extactic to hear he was coming back and let me say that his hiatus from death metal has definately taken it's toll on his vocals. Don't get me wrong he is not horrid by all means, I think he really performs well on this album, however it is a very different Lord Worm. More high pitch screams and mid range growls take center stage here and really do compliment the music well, I guess I just had some idea of what to expect in my mind and was somewhat disappointed when I heard the final product. After a few listens that goes away! The music on this one is absolutely fantastic as with any other Cryptopsy CD, crisp guitar playing, Eric is one hell of a bass player and Flo... Man I must admit at first I was thrown off by the production but how can you dislike the production of any album that pushes the most impressive musician to the forefront? The drums on this one are thunderous, even the strongest stereo equipment will shudder, and Flo destroys his kit on this one as usual. There is one part in particular where the music comes to a halt and Flo goes off with quick double bass kicks then systematically slows them down to a crawl with such precision it made my jaw drop. He proves every time out why he is considered one of if not the best drummer in metal today. Overall this is as strong an album as Cryptopsy has ever released, I can't say I like it better than NSV or Whisper Supremacy but I can say that it blows And Then You'll Beg out of the water. 2005 has been a great year for metal, death metal in particular and Once Was Not is definately the best death metal album to be released this year.

Well this album blew me away. There are only a few "technical" death metal bands that I really like (and that are really THAT technical, for that matter). Nile, Hate Eternal, and Cryptopsy. I'm a fan of older material and it sounds pretty similar to me. So they didn't lose their sound, and that's a good thing.

The production was odd I think, but I was nonetheless impressed. It took me a few spins to realize that the "nitty-gritty" drums pushed to the forefront, make the album more unique. The actual tuning of the toms have a very flat sound as well (almost sh**ty if you think about how drums usually sound). But that really sets this record apart. Flo is the most insane drummer ever and my personal favorite, but it doesn't take away from the insane riffage to compliment the former. Same style of complete tech death metal with nutso time signature changes, offbeat polyrhythms, and extreme layered complexities. Very textured album, done a little differently than usual. Lord worm is back. He's good and was always a bit different, but I don't bust a nut over his reentry. His lyrics are off the wall though. I can't tell if he's a genious, or just an insane idiot-sevant. I don't comprehend the lyrics, but apparently there is a conceptual theme.

If you like old Crytopsy, Nile, HE, and/or are looking for something a bit fresh/off the wall, then this album is defintely good to purchase.

Enjoy.

..but I really liked this band. Being a drummer with a jazz/fusion-background this type of playing was never something I heard very often, but I can guarantee that any drummer looking for speed will not be let down. The drummers doublepedal work is unbelivable. The singer is terrible but I should probably just accept the fact that it's what most people listening to this genre wants to hear and I'll go with that. A wall of noice is a good way of describing the sound. Nice little tempochanges here and there keeps me listening.

In the five years since 'And Then You'll Beg' the tech metal scene has bloomed to the point of near absurdity with the birth and rise of all things core (see 4/5 of the Willowtip roster). During this time, the once great Crytopsy was nowhere to be found, receiving not close to enough credit for kick starting the tech revolution (Cryptopsy should always be mentioned in the same breath as The Dillinger Escape Plan). With their early albums already being dubbed underground classics and Mike DiSalvo's vocal work (not quite as good, but far more digestible than Lord Worm) they could have become "the" band. But all of that aside, 'Once Was Not' sees the band perfectly fusing the brutality of 'None So Vile' with the over-the-top tech performances of 'Whisper Supremecy", that, along with the return of the god-like Lord Worm, creating what is definitely the tech album of the millennium. There is diversity abound on here, with sounds ranging from straight ahead death metal (see the raging first 30 seconds of "Carrionshine") to freeform jazz (see the beyond cool intro to "Keeping the Cadaver Dogs Busy") to doomy goth (see the November's Doomesqu "Pestilence That Walketh in Darkness (Psalm 91: 5-8)"), all done convincingly. If you have ever listened to Cryptopsy you know what to expect from the quality of this record; expert musical chops (along with my vote for best percussive performance of the decade) and fantastic vocal / lyrical work (Lord Worm is back and at the top of his game. The aspect of the record which impresses most is the riff after riff after riff of pure ingenuity, some of the most technical and catchiest (?) guitar work I've heard in quite a long time (seriously, "Frantic Pace of Dying" contains the best riffs of the year). As made clear from the moment this album hits your speakers Once Was Not' is not only a death metal triumph, but also may be the best Crytopsy record yet. Definitely a contender for album of the year.

9.5 / 10

This is the most amazing album I have ever heard since none so vile. The production on this album is so clean you have got to blast it in a quality stereo to really understand. All you grimy girls downloading horrible quality versions of this masterpiece need to buy this CD.

Lord Worm has a voice unlike any other in any music. If you are going to criticize this album because of Lord Worm and his lyrics-you are missing the point. After this, I heard the albums with Mike DiSalvo, and did not really like his understandable vocals.(relatively speaking) This is how its supposed to sound- Brutal and Ugly not Big and Tough.

Flo is the most insane drummer today. Just try keeping time with this guy. You can't even program drums like this. Not just speed, but highly technical and precise. I never heard bass drums being played like this -like they were finger tapping.

Enough raving. This album might even be better than None So Vile, it all depends on when you started listening to Cryptopsy.

Best Songs: Carrionshine, The Pestilence that walketh in Darkness, In the Kingdom where everything...

THE BEST CD of the past 3 years.

I bought this "Limited Edition" version of the cd, because I thought it would have some video or something of interest.

All it has extra is wallpepers,buddy icons & gallery!!!

I HATE DIGI-PACK CDS!!

I should have bought the jewel-case version.

BUT, now that my rant about how Century Media has tricked me into paying extra for crap...

The Music is AMAZING!!!

I'm so glad LORD WORM is back. To me, he's the only singer they should have.

There are some things in the production that could have been better, but overall it's awesome.

2005 was a very good year for death metalheads. But even if Nile, Burn the Priest, Six Feet Under, Behemoth, Bloodbath, Black Dahlia Murder, Napalm Death, and Bolt Thrower (to name a few) hadn't all released new albums (which ranged from solid to great), it still would have been a great year, because Cryptopsy released a new one, entitled "Once Was Not." With this, their sixth record, Cryptopsy definitely deserve the right to be in the same league as giants like Behemoth, Nile, and Death. And, even though they sometimes sound a bit too much like those bands (especially Nile), Cryptopsy are different because they incorporate some of Meshuggah's meticulousness, and the type of technicality that Dying Fetus have made famous. The first and tenth songs on here are thrown in to break up the monotony and consist of pretty acoustic arrangements. But, barring an occasional prog-ish breakdown with Primus-esque noodling (as in tracks four and eight), every other track on "Once Is Not" makes for a very brutal and punishing (yet oddly satisfying) assault on the listener's ear drums. The vocals are deep and gruff, somewhere in between growling and snarling. And the great, scorching riffs and ridiculously fast and heavy blast beats make many of these songs (like "In The Kingdom Where Everything Dies, The Sky Is Mortal" and "Keeping The Cadaver Dogs Busy") have jackhammer rhythms. Highlights include "Carrionshine," which is an explosive tune with thunderous, rapid-fire drums, the careening guitar solo and absolutely insane drumming on "Adeste Infidelis," and the lightning fast drumming on "Frantic Pace of Dying." Track five, "Curse of the Great," is another standout because it begins slowly, but its airtight, machine gun double bass drumming eventually makes the song speed up. So, this is a great album, and essential listening for all death metal fans, because if it wasn't the best death metal album of 2005, then it was definitely a close contender.