Cryptopsy
And Then You'll Beg

THE REVIEW

Underrated.

Hugely underrated.

This is what I think every time I listen to "And Then You'll Beg", the fourth studio album (and the last with Mike Di Salvo on vocals) for the Canadian combo Cryptopsy. The album in question was released two years after the magnificent "Whisper Supremacy", which in turn followed the unparalleled masterpiece "None So Vile". After the departure of Lord Worm, who with his unique and inimitable growl and unmistakable lyrics had left an indelible mark on the band's early albums ("Blasphemy Made Flesh" and the aforementioned "None So Vile"), Cryptopsy embarked on a new path, moving further away from the relative "simplicity" of their early compositions to delve into an ever more technical and brutal death metal, seasoned with strong progressive influences. Thus, once they recruited new vocalist Mike Di Salvo, "Whisper Supremacy" was released, the first step towards an evolution that culminates in this "And Then You'll Beg". However, before proceeding, it's necessary to break a lance in favor of Di Salvo, accused of tarnishing the band's sound with his vocals. Personally, I have always found his vocal style perfect, impeccable for what Cryptopsy were playing in those years. Having said that, let's proceed with the analysis of the album...

The album opens with "...And Then It Passes", 5 minutes of brutal and highly technical death metal: an indecipherable structure, supported by countless tempo changes and incredibly complex riffs, a veritable locomotive launched at the speed of light towards the listener, featuring the unusually expressive and furious vocals of Di Salvo. After such a majestic opening, how do you manage to do better? Cryptopsy succeeds, delivering with the next track one of their finest compositions, a track worthy of purchasing the album alone: "We Bleed". Even today, after countless listens, I scarcely find the words to describe it: 6 minutes of a suite that seems to encapsulate all the elements that have made this band great (or better yet "immense"), with Flou Mounier's drumming as always shocking and compelling (after the performance in "Once Was Not", this remains his best performance), Eric Langlois's bass as alive and pulsing as ever and the Levasseur-Auburn guitar duo capable of alternating compressed and intricate riffs with solos of incredible melodic taste.

The remaining songs, though inferior to "We Bleed", continue their path along the lines of excellence, showcasing the creative genius of a band at the peak of its power under every light. A small curiosity is related to the eighth track, "Back To The Worms", which is actually a revisit of a track taken from the band's first demo "Ungentle Exhumation". Thus, after the atmospheric intro of "Screams Go Unheard" and the subsequent (magnificent, I might add) frontal assault, we reach the conclusion of this "And Then You'll Beg", the penultimate gem (there is still the morbid "Once Was Not") before the collapse that occurred with the recent "The Unspoken King", which, despite an intriguing artwork, marked an inexplicable and disastrous fall into the realms of death-core...

I began the review with one word: "Underrated"...Why has such a jewel gone unnoticed by most for years? And mind you, I'm not just talking about fringe kids with Suicide Silence t-shirts, but also pure genre aficionados...Why? Many accuse Cryptopsy of going too "far" with this album, sacrificing listenability in favor of a too daunting and technical proposal, for which even repeated and frequent listens are not enough to enjoy it...You know what I say? This is precisely the charm of this platter, its insane, inhuman inscrutability... Now it's up to you... We are facing one of the best death metal albums released from 2000 to today (alongside "Destroy The Opposition" and "In Their Darkened Shrines" by Nile), eclectic as few, unmistakable, unique, special...