Cryptopsy are one of the stranger bands
of the death metal scene. The band combines technical death
metal with acid jazz, thrash, ambience and experimental metal. Once
Was Not marks the return of vocalist Lord Worm, whose
vocals are a combination of cookie monster growls, indecipherable
shrieks and some spoken parts. The vocals combined with the
band's experimental style make the album interesting but borderline
unlistenable at times. Cryptopsy are not the best that death
metal has to offer, but surely the most adventurous.
An acoustic piece, "Luminum," carries into "In The Kingdom
Where Everything Dies, The Sky Is Mortal," a meshing of the
album's many varied sounds. This song -- and the entire first
half of the record, for that matter -- is all over the place.
The band members are talented musicians, but fail to stick
with their good ideas long enough before moving in a completely
different direction. Tracks sometimes stop out of nowhere
for a quick bassline or strange acoustic part before restarting
in a completely different direction.
The second half of the album is still diverse, but has more
of a complete sound. "Angelskingarden" (great title) is where
the album starts to get good. After an eerie intro, the song
takes off with a menacing groovy riff, then blasts its way
to the end. Following "The Pestilence That Walketh In Darkness"
begins as a slower, brooding track with creepy spoken lyrics
by Lord Worm. The use of samples here and there add some interesting
parts. "The End" is a cool acoustic piece with a very Egyptian
feel. Maybe the band is taking a page from Nile with this
track. It fits very well here, though. "The Endless Cemetery"
closes out the album with sheer brutal blasts and a crushing
riff toward the end of the song.
Once Was Not could be classified as experimental
death metal. It's extremely heavy and fast, but just because
you're into death or extreme metal, doesn't mean you'll like
this album. If you can take in the over-the-top vocals and
have an open mind for experimentation, then check this out. |
