cryptopsy - none so vile

the third and final record of this pleasing order at animate records is the second cryptopsy full length release called "none so vile". it was the band's first album for the new label wrong again records from sweden. it was unleashed in 1996 and was singer dan greening's farewell record. the farewell turned out to be just a hiatus before he returned in 2005 for "once was not".

again the record is extremely intense. the high level of technicality keeps this release relevant. a timeless piece which doesn't feel like being over twenty years old already. the only little weakness to me are the vocals again. no problem that they are a bit one-dimensional but still they are so hard to understand. this time the quality of the songs outgun the imperfection of the vocal performance. check out the whole record here. it isn't a fan favourite for nothing.

wrong again records didn't press the album to vinyl. still their cd version has quite a value among collectors (thirty to fourty bucks is considerable). it wasn't until 2005 until emetic records came up with a compilation release, combining "blasphemy made flesh" and "none so vile". in 2012 war on music finally gave the album the single vinyl treatment it deserved. this is a re-press from last year on clear orange vinyl out of 200 copies. war on music. 2016.

cryptopsy - blasphemy made flesh

cryptopsy and me wasn't love at first sight. the first time i heard of them was via lenny's blog the emerging addiction. back then i wasn't interested. my musical taste evolved since then and i began to dig into the history of extreme metal. at the moment i obsess over early death metal releases. "blasphemy made flesh" was released in 1994, a time where death metal was right in the process of declining after a peak in the late eighties and early nineties. cryptopsy went down a more extreme path.

the band played a highly technical demanding and challenging brand of death metal. after i re-visited lenny's blog and came across cryptopsy for a second time i checked out some tunes on the tube. i still wasn't sold but found it interesting at least. when i was browsing through the animate records mailorder looking for a record to add to the benediction lp, i thought it was good idea to finally give it a go. "blasphemy made flesh" is a rock solid piece of technical death metal. great song structures, fast and slow in a good mix (more fast than slow) and some great melodies.

the only thing i find a bit bothering is the voice of vocalist dan greening a.k.a. lord worm. it is so incrompehensible that sounds like cloudy barking and that sucks at times. listen for yourself. animate had a black friday deal going on and so i paid twenty percent off the regular price, which was decent already. a steal in my book. i am happy that i snagged a war on music records pressing. they come in a single sleeve instead of a gatefold sleeve like hammerheart records pressed them a year ago. heavy clear vinyl out of 250 copies. war on music. 2015.