Cryptopsy

No Zodiac – Altars of Impurity Review

By Ferrous Beuller on April 11, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Deathcore, Hardcore, Reviews, Deathcore, Hardcore, 23 comments

“I’m an extreme guy. By this I don’t mean that I consider myself dangerous or an advocate of some horrendous 90’s marketing initiative, rather that I am a man of extremes – when I like something, I like it a lot; when I dislike something, I have almost no capacity to hide it. Having said that, I pride myself on giving anything and anyone a fair chance, and so it is with music. Lest I resort to using an entire genre as a de facto pejorative, I make sure that it’s an informed opinion that I weigh against an act. Thus, when I say I’m not a huge fan of deathcore, it’s an evaluated choice – not a trendy point of view.” Extreme regression.

70000 Tons of Metal: One Man’s Journey

By Mark Z. on March 12, 2017 in 2017, Blog Posts, Live Reviews, 39 comments

“My friends ask me what happened, but my ability to verbally communicate has been reduced to moaning and a weeping noise that sounds something like a baby panda crying for milk. I wonder how I’m going to make it through the final day of this floating festival. I wonder when the aching will subside. I wonder where my life went so wrong. How did I end up here, on the 7th annual 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, weak with exhaustion and feeling like my body has been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer? My mind drifts back…” Tales from a 70000 ton heavy thing.

Sinister – Syncretism Review

By Mark Z. on February 18, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Massacre Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 34 comments

“I’ve noticed something weird about me and death metal over the years. No matter how much of it I listen to, it seems like there’s always at least one more big-name underground band that I’ve somehow never come across. Recently, that band came in the form of Dutch quintet Sinister.” Where the hell have you been, Z?

Yer Metal is Olde: Cryptopsy – None So Vile

By Kronos on August 18, 2016 in Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 36 comments

“The life of a metal drummer is one of near saintly asceticism. Your kit is about ten times heavier – and more expensive – than the six-strings that your guitarists snapped up off of craigslist. It breaks constantly and takes about half an hour to set up on stage, and while you’re busting your ass carting it around the rest of the band just loafs about because they’re too stupid to help set it up properly. And when you finally get to play it, nobody can see the intricacies of your cymbal work or the incredible sweatiness of your torso because a bunch of Rapunzely assholes are standing in front of you on stage. It would be a thankless task were it not for the dedicated few fans that really appreciate your craft. Kronos is such a fan.” The man loves a good beating.

Defeated Sanity – Disposal of the Dead // Dharmata Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on July 27, 2016 in 2016, Death Metal, German Metal, Progressive Death, Reviews, Willowtip, Death Metal, 29 comments

“Most people can’t, for one reason or another, split their talents and passions into two separate wholes. The pizza place near my home in Ontario makes good wings, but they’re not great enough to start up a separate wing business and succeed, so they just do both at once. Some folks are terrible salespeople, so they invite you over to their place to eat some pizza and have a “party” while they try to pitch you an energy drink-based pyramid scheme; the free pizza is supposed to make up for the fact that they couldn’t sell icewater in the Sahara Desert, I guess. Germany’s Defeated Sanity are not most people. They happen to like ultra-brutal death metal and the old Florida proggy death scene, so instead of just combining the two they up and did a split with themselves.” Schizoids are never alone.

Despised Icon – Beast Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on July 22, 2016 in 2016, Canadian Metal, Deathcore, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Deathcore, 49 comments

“The state of deathcore in 2016 isn’t an enviable one. It’s not quite old enough yet to spur on needlessly salty debates about the best MySpace pages, and it’s not fashionable or ubiquitous enough anymore to act as a gateway to further extremity as it once did for so many. Suicide Silence was never that good to begin with, but their records have noticeably declined in quality since their debut. Job for a Cowboy has been a boring modern death metal band since Genesis. All Shall Perish hasn’t released an album since 2011, let alone a good one since 2008; the list goes on. Enter the best-known Canadian deathcore band that’s not Cryptopsy in 2008: Despised Icon.” Deathcore in da house!

Internal Suffering – Cyclonic Void of Power Review

By Kronos on June 24, 2016 in 2016, Colombian Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, 17 comments

“Don’t be surprised if this is the first you’ve seen of an album from Internal Suffering. The long-running Colombian brutal death metal band has been silent for the past ten years, shuffling from city to city without releasing so much as an EP. And I’m fine with that, seeing as much of their previous output was not to my liking. 2006’s Awakening of the Rebel was naught but a smear of blast beats to me, and the continuous aggression of their music largely defeated itself. Cyclonic Void of Power, however, is a step in the right direction.” Is this the dawn of Vagabond metal?

Abnormality – Mechanisms of Omniscience Review

By Kronos on April 27, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 16 comments

“When it came time to hand out songwriting chops, Satan smiled on Abnormality. The Massachusetts quintet’s debut, Contaminating the Hive Mind, was a throat-crushing extravaganza of pure death metal that capitalized on the group’s seven years together previous to its release. Contaminating is an exemplar death metal record, fusing tight and energetic performance with succinct writing and an ear for brutality that few bands can match. It’s the undead embodiment of kickassery, and expectations are high for Mechanisms of Omniscience, especially after a four-year wait.” Fours years of anticipation makes Kronos an edgy guy.

Serocs – And When The Sky Was Opened Review

By Dr. Fisting on November 27, 2015 in 2015, Comatose Music, Death Metal, Mexican Metal, Progressive Death, Reviews, 34 comments

“There are times where I suspect that this website exerts some sort of observer effect on the bands we review. AMG writers have had several interactions with musicians that likely influenced their output, and at least one band that seems to have reunited for no reason other than being in a 90’s Metal Weirdness column here. This brings me to international tech-death collective Serocs, whose album The Next was critiqued here a couple years ago.” Respect our authoritah!

Cryptopsy – The Book of Suffering: Tome 1 Review

By Kronos on October 21, 2015 in 2015, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, 36 comments

“If Cryptopsy’s bandcamp page is to be believed, the legendary brutal/tech-death pioneers took a quick 16 year break after releasing the classic None So Vile, triumphantly regrouping to produce 2012’s unfuckwithable Cryptopsy. Yet as fans know all too well, the truth is quite a lot messier.” We’re pretty OCD here at AMG, so we’ll clean up that mess for you.