Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King

[obscurehaven]

"Who are Cryptopsy trying to appeal to here? This is easily the most bizarre case of 'selloutitis' I've ever witnessed..." - MA review #1

"If you must listen to this album, borrow or steal it. Do not encourage or fund this shitty band." - MA review #2

"The poor attempt at deathcore isn't really the main problem, though. I'm sure most readers were familiar with Flo's terrible attempts at justifying this album, explaining something along the lines of 'no one has ever put such an open minded mix of FEELING into extreme metal', or some sort of crap along those lines anyway. Well, I guess the reason why no one has is that the end result sounds like shite..." - MA review #3

"We all knew we were doomed when Lord Worm left Cryptopsy again. Flo Mounier must really be on something, because he hired a singer from one of the millions of unoriginal metalcore bands. This singer comes from 3 Mile Scream, which basically explains enough when it comes to predictions on the vocalist. They also recruited a keyboardist, but why did they? I can barely hear any keyboards at all. Oh, I get it, it's all for show because the keyboardist is a female. It doesn't matter if she's as talented as Mozart or a braindead monkey, it's completely useless." - MA review #4

What you see above are just some of the opinions for Cryptopsy's newest album, "The Unspoken King". I really didn't want to jump to any conclusions, although its very easy to do so with the announcement of the new singer, keyboardist, and two unflattering demo leaks, but I've been a fan of the band for a number of years and as music lover, sometimes the harshest reviews can be one sided and with that people miss out on some great songs. But, when it comes to Cryptopsy, as a metal fan, you can expect a few things right of the bat. Flo Mounier (drums) is always expected to create some of the wildest, most complicated drum patterns in all of the death metal, and that could be heard in their previous album "Once Was Not", but in this album it seems he took more than a day off; the same could be said for the rest of band as well.

The usual formula for Cryptopsy is technicality, brutality, and speed but it seems that upon hiring Matt McGachy (vocals) the musicianship downgraded to closely fit McGachy's vocal style. McGachy does have a nice vocal range in that he can hit highs, mids, and lows but the pattern in which he is more focused on is the typical American Hardcore style, that stop-n-go, chugg chugg chugg pattern, and if you know Cryptopsy's style, and know their most prolific album "None So Vile", then this new style would not sit kindly with a fan of that era or even the Mike DiSalvo era. Matt McGachy also incorporated the clean vocal style, not once but many times, in this album and to hear that in conjunction with the name "Cryptopsy" is very much so an oxymoron. But given the attempt a chance, it would have worked if, and only if, it wasn't done under the Cryptopsy name.

Visit my blog site for samples of the album; Warning: Only for those with a strong stomach


As for the musicianship, the entire album is completely mixed up and indecisive. At times, you hear "cryptopsy" peeking through and for the rest of the time you hear a completely different band entirely. This is what leads the listener down a very unfavorable road because you are literally fighting your emotions to either love or hate certain sections and pieces that, if extended, re-written, or re-arranged, could make the song memorable. I'll be honest, the entire album is very forgettable because even though there are small hooks and a few nice riffs, the entire album is unfocused and self defeating. If you give this album change, you could find, at best, two songs that could be considered "singles" but the rest of the album is just a very painful to listen to and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in the metal community, for that matter even the hardcore community.

I think its pretty sad that Flo has derailed his own band by simply not starting a new side project to express his new found musical influences. I could see this music working to some degree under a different and by also removing any and all parts that resemble "Cryptopsy". The only thing that the album needs is focus, direction, and time, and by time I mean time for Matt McGachy to develop his vocal range, for new keyboardist Maggy Durand to find herself and not hide underneath the mix, also a few piano lessons wouldn't hurt, and for Flo to come to a conclusion that the drummer doesn't need to be overly complex and technically. I agree that sometimes simple is better and well Cryptopsy has never been a simple band but I think a vacation from the name/image would be best for Flo and anyone else that has been through all the turmoil of the recent years.

[Vossyrus]

^ I believe that is the very first mature review of the their new album, or at least that I have seen.

I think that even the band did release the album under a different name, the album would still get a ton of negative and immature reviews. People would be saying "Flo quit Cryptopsy for this!?" and the cries being a "sell-out" would still be present. The comparisons to Cryptopsy would still be there too so I doubt the sentiment would change much.

I'm not really a Cryptopsy fan so it really has no impact on me but I just wish people wouldn't be so childish in opinion about things they don't like. I guess I'm not surprised that Metal-Archives accepted so many horribly-written reviews - it is Metal-Archives after all.

[obscurehaven]

Thanks for the positive spin on my review. I think that if Flo had started a side project, and stated that its purpose, he wouldn't get much slack from many fans. But this album really is a train wreck in so many aspects. I think the most infamous track, "Bemoan The Martyr" sums up the entire album and its mixed emotions. Not only does that track start off with a horrible intro, the track also has a great middle verse and chorus but sadly returns to the intro/outro that destroy the little greatness the track had.

[IntoPhagist]

I can see why everyone hates this new album..But it really aint the worst album i've heard this year...

[rushzil2112]

I personally enjoy this cd. His cleans remind me of Layne Stayley somewhat, and I can understand his growls/screams much better than the uncomprehensible Lord Worm, and Flo is still Flo, and his drumming is amazing and it just shows a little breathing room for him.

[IntoPhagist]

Drums rule, Lord worm blows...This singer has a good clean vocal..I dont understand the hate..Flo's drumming is insane still. But you gotta look at it.Your dealing with one of the most underground extreme metal bands with a strong cult following and now they sound sorta deathcorEish. Fans will leave..Which is sad...Flo wrote on his forums to his fans about the album..He seems fully confident with the release and I'm sure its bothering him sorta.

[DemonJay]

Honestly, can we expect bands to make the same album over and over again? The only band that I know of that can get away with that is AC/DC. I haven't even heard this album yet but I'm willing to at least get it a fair chance, I'm interested on what direction they're taking their creativity and how they're progressing as musicians.

[Bleakest Harvest]

Just posted a review for UM here: Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King

For the record, i agree completely with Obscurehaven's review.

[Djofullfinn]

this is the worst album of 2008 easy.theres no positive things to say
about it.not gonna say anything more than,dont buy this.there are
better cds to spend money on.