Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King (2008)Release ID: 562
Having mentioned Cryptopsy in a thread a day before this review, I decided to check out one of that band's albums. And in one of the oddest moves I've made in this site, the deathcore devil made me choose their own "St. Anger" album. If I was into brutal tech-death, I would've picked one of their first two albums (Blasphemy Made Flesh or None So Vile), but alas, I wimped out. But despite how sh*tty The Unspoken King is, my rating is only a half-star less than Morbid Angel's Illud Divinum Insanus...
Besides infecting their brutal tech-death with proto-symphonic deathcore (the latter I still enjoy), there are a couple things that have set fans off. First, the widely praised Lord Worm was replaced by Matt McGachy. I'm sorry but his vocals are f***ing horrid. As much as I like the high screaming that can also be heard in deathcore bands that I enjoy, his sounds strained are on the verge of collapsing. He also sings clean vocals which are fine but I can understand why longtime fans hate it. Though they're not as out of place as that other thing, the use of keyboards that I'm OK with anywhere but here. Winds of Plague had done it better with their debut album that year.
The short opening blitz "Worship Your Demons" has some nice riffing not too far off from Job for a Cowboy. However, their attempt at mixing brutality and dissonance ends up falling flat on its face. "The Headsmen" is pretty solid, one of only a couple songs I like here. "Silence the Tyrants" finally adds in some melody and keys which Winds of Plague and Fleshgod Apocalypse would build upon with their albums next year. However, those are better off in those bands, NOT HERE. "Bemoan the Martyr" has more brutal-sounding melody, though it's all ruined by the d*mn cleans and keys. "Leach" continues that sh*tshow despite starting off thrashy. The worst of it all has to be "The Plagued" which sounds like a badly-designed attempt at a tech-death Korn, probably worse.
Then we have a greater trio, starting with the not-so-far-out "Resurgence of an Empire". Next track "Anoint the Dead" is a far better blend of brutality of dissonance, tearing down the walls the way technical deathcore is meant to. "Contemplate Regicide" is less reliant on electronics. The less said about the final two tracks though, the better.
See, I would've loved The Unspoken King a whole lot more if it was made by a band who's professional at playing deathcore, rather than a longtime brutal tech-death band. Alongside that, there really could've been a better vocalist or the idea of using keyboards more subtly. You can't change anyone's minds about this being Cryptopsy's worst album. If the band was thinking "Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?" (just like the title of The Cranberries' debut), this bullsh*t is why....
Favorites (only two I even slightly like): "The Headsmen", "Anoint the Dead"
