Cryptopsy

Ever since demos of two new Cryptopsy tracks leaked well before their intended release, the group have come under fire from fans and critics alike for their perceived regression into "generic deathcore.” While claims of this album’s repugnance are greatly exaggerated, The Unspoken King is their second consecutive disappointment, albeit not to the degree of the near-unlistenable Once Was Not. New vocalist Matt McGachy delivers an overall solid performance, barring his occasional outright embarrassing attempts at soaring cleans, à la Mike Patton. The production is improved, being audible and clear while retaining a hefty low-end. Musically, the songs are the tightest and most direct the group have written in quite some time, so much so that even the almighty Flo seems to be reining it in a fair bit. There are several passable attempts at metalcore-inspired breakdowns and far too many of the aforementioned melodic segues and (god forbid) full-blown clean choruses. Progression for a group is natural and should be welcomed but one gets the feeling there were too many cooks in the kitchen this time around and certain elements shouldn’t have made it past the initial demo stages. The Unspoken King is not the utter catastrophe many feared but Cryptopsy were once Quebec’s premier tech/death outfit and have proven themselves capable of much better.