Customer Reviews

Unspoken King

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

From the forefront of the death metal and extreme music scene to this derivitive mess. This was embarassing to listen to, and I am proud of myself for making it almost through Track 6. I want my money back! I wanna know who these clowns are masquarading as Cryptopsy. I actually took the CD outta my player, cuz I seriously thought it was the wrong cd. Yeah, they still shred like maniacs at times, but this la la singing just smashes any momentum. They sold out to a proven formula, and the sad thing is, they aren't even very good at it. I wanna weep....if you wanna know what pride dying sounds like, try to endure this thing.

Cryptopsy's "The Unspoken King" was greeted by almost unprecedented prerelease venom. Crytopsy has always caused a lot of whining (Where's Lord Worm? This isn't "None So Vile" etc.), but none of that compares to the hatred unleashed towards "The Unspoken King" and its deathcore styling. Many suppose this makes it a substantial change of direction and a blatantly commercial move, a laughable accusation because 1- deathcore doesn't sell that much better than straight death metal and 2- deathcore isn't all that far removed from straight death metal 3- Cryptopsy has long had hardcore elements. (Only the singing is legitimately new, and it is used sparingly.) I find almost all straight ahead metalcore and hardcore to be incredibly dull (tech-metalcore is often great, though), but the superficial elements many hardliners disdain aren't what makes these genres weaker: it's the flavorless, chugging riffs, the simplistic alternation between breakdowns and blasting sections and the trite, formulaic songwriting. Mid-range vox, breakdowns, atmospheric sections--these elements are superficial. I care about the intricate riffing, the harsh tempo changes and the winding, unpredictable song structures that define tech-death (and tech-metal in general), and these elements all remain in "The Unspoken King." Granted, they aren't as strong this time around: It's somewhat less frantic and technical, and the riff- and song- writing aren't as consistent, but it's largely the same Cryptopsy sound, just with a few new twists.

The most immediately evident change is in the production: Crytopsy albums were generally either noisy (Whisper Supremacy), raw (None So Vile) or somewhat thin (Once Was Not), but "The Unspoken King" is very clean and mechanistic (shades of Beneath the Massacre). New singer Matt McGachy is much and inexplicably loathed. He's a typical mid-range extreme metal vocalist, and he generates no strong response in me either way. (I do note, however, that attacking the vox is the main way that mainstreamers deride extreme metal in general. Strange how quick hardline DM fans are to adapt their tactics.) I can understand hating his singing, though I do not, but this shouldn't destroy the whole album, as it is used sporadically.

The opening 3 tracks emphasize the deathcore elements while still remaining entrenched in the Crytopsy ethos. All contain frequent riff and tempo changes plus some more conventionally core-ish breakdowns and Beneath the Massacre style sweeping and tapping. "The Headsman" is the best, most dynamic and fully formed track on the album, but they save the next most impressive spastic metal outburst for much later in "Anoint the Dead," a frenetic beast of a song that is as unpredicatable as any earlier Cryptopsy material. These tracks are deathcore, yes, but the core elements are integrated into the technical DM structure, not used as repetitive songwriting crutches.

The middle portions of the album move further from the basic band style, including more atmospherics and singing. They again avoid core-style cliché songwriting, integrating these elements in a seemingly random, haphazard fashion. The middle tracks aren't as strong from a songwriting standpoint, but they add a surprising variety to the album. "Bemoan the Marty", perhaps the most maligned track, is intriguing, moving from spacey atmospherics and melodic vox to frantic, jerking death metal to a skewed breakdown and back again. These varied elements all come together in the final full song, "Bound Dead," which effectively combines some epic, melodic vox with a full sampler of the various riff styles found in the album.

Unfortunately, the end of the album is a bit inconsistent, and "Resurgence of an Empire" and "Contemplate Regicide" could both be cut. Again, the flaw is not the overt core styling, but the rather dull, listless riffwriting. This, however, is likely a sign of a band losing a major songwriter and becoming somewhat stodgier and complacent with age, rather than a fundamental stylistic change.

Though I like this album, I can't help but worry for Cryptopsy's future. Auburn has since left the band, leaving them with Mounier and Langlois as the only longtime members, and with the massively negative response to this album, who knows where they'll go from here. Still, they're six for six so far, and I'll be sure to approach whatever they come up with next optimistically and with an open mind, though perhaps not many others will. . .

This album really isn't as bad as most people have been saying. It's still Cryptopsy, for the most part it's still brutal(especially the first two tracks) and it still has some great technical savagery. The problem is, somebody told their new singer he can actually "sing"-and oh my Lord(Wurm), he can't! He sounds identical to "Whisper Supremacy" era Cryptopsy on most of the album, but his nu-metal deathcore "crooning" is absolutely AWFUL. The drumming is still amazing, the album deserves at least two stars for the drums alone. If you skip through the crap, it's not a bad listen. Hopefully they'll listen to their fans and stay away from the horrid deathcore sound and stick to what they still do best next time...

I purchased this album in hopes of hearing techdeath similar to the Faceless
I found that the first four songs are enjoyable to listen to.
But when I reached the song "Leach" I felt the musical sophistication was lost.
So I jumped to "The Plagued" it started out cheesy but then picked up pace.
"Resurgence Of an Empire" is ok-ish at parts
"Anoint the Dead" was when I felt the musical technicality came back into play.
"Contemplate Regicide" I didn't realy like
"Bound Dead" starts out pretty good, got cheesy, then got good again, then just started sucking.
"(Exit)the Few" starts out like a marilyn manson song, then finished leaving me wondering if I could get my money back for buying the cd...

I would not lable this album with the genre of metal
in my opinion if your looking for tech death don't purchase anything after the first four tracks
because it switches to rock and then the rest of the album blows....

This is my opinion and my taste in music is not the same as everyone
i only wrote this so that ppl searching for good tech deth albums would know what they are buying.

I'll keep this review short, but I could basically sum up what I am saying with this one fact: Cryptopsy is dead.

I can't believe that the same people that recorded "Blasphemy Made Flesh" and "None So Vile" could make something this awful. It enrages me that this band went from the decent "Once Was Not" to this disgraceful sell out. Forget the technical death metal that Cryptopsy used to perform so well in their past, but the only thing that awaits on "The Unspoken King" is extremely commercialized and completely uninspired deathcore. Just don't buy this garbage.

Money makes people do some strange and stupid things, and this is a prime example. Congratulations Cryptopsy, you have officially become jokes of death metal. Was it worth it?

a "quirky" deathcore cash-in that sounds like a cross between despised icon and coldplay. yet another case of "experimentalism" being used as an excuse to sell trite music. love is over.

Forget None So Vile... check out this DEATHCORE masterpiece... filled with clean vocals, chuga chuga riffs, and GENERIC sounding songs. :)

Avoid NONE SO VILE at all costs!

First, I have to say that I like the METAL on this record better than the last two Cryptopsy albums. The first song I heard singing on, Bemoan the Martyr, didn't totally make me want to vomit. I didn't like it but it did kind of remind me of Confessor, only not good. Also some of the singing on this record just reminds me of the symphonic cheese metal, which lots of metal dudes love. There is plenty of 10th generation Pearl Jam on this record but not all the singing falls into that category. I am not surprised by the response this record has gotten though, because death metal fans are second only to black metal fans in their unwavering devotion/rigid defense of their scene. No poseurs, no weakness, no letting up, the death metal army does not forget, and rarely does it forgive. This album sucks, but only in parts. I would give it 2 1/2 stars if I could, and would certainly give it 3 if there was no singing. I do like some of the more experimental passages the use of different tempos than would usually be find on a Cryptopsy record are welcome. This album is brutal, and I can't say what the band's motivations were in making this. I do know the Flow can still decimate 90% of death metal drummers in his speed and originality. So over all yes the singing parts are vomitrocious and they feel totally shoe horned into the album, but there is still some pretty good boilerplate Cryptopsy here. I feel like some of the heavy parts the best that Cryptopsy has written in a long time, unfortunately they are on this record.

Don't buy the new Cryptopsy. If you must hear it to witness the train wreck, go download it. Let the "new" fans buy it. This album is not for us. Buy new stuff from Brain Drill, Origin or Hate Eternal.

Cryptopsy has always been a band I've been big on, even with the albums that have Mike DiSalvo on vocals. Unfortunately, after "Once Was Not" came out in 2005, featuring the return of original vocalist Lord Worm, he decides to leave the band. Who would be the new vocalist for Cryptopsy? Well, it seems that 3 Mile Scream vocalist Matt McGachy would join the group. Is he suitable for the group?

The answer is no. I've listened to 3 Mile Scream's album and the vocals ruined it. With this new Cryptopsy album, he vocally ruins it as well. Everything he shouts out sounds completely forced and obnoxious, but what's worse is that HE ACTUALLY SINGS. Cryptopsy were never a band meant for clean singing passages. It worked for Augury, it worked for Akercocke, but it sure does not work for Cryptopsy.

The music doesn't do much to impress either. It still has some elements of the trademark Cryptopsy sound, but it's all rather b-sides material that's completely sloppy and ridden with more breakdowns than a extremely aged truck with a rusted out engine. When the singing starts, it even changes pace to what you'd expect from some 3rd rate radio rock knockoff.

How the mighty have fallen. Listen at your own risk.