Cryptopsy - None So Vile [CD]

They made blasphemy sound fresh on their debut, but with their follow-up, Cryptopsy claimed the crown as the most vile band in all of death metal. From the album's classic cover painting down to it's guttural production, None So Vile established death metal as a truly vulgar art form. The somber piano that opens "Phobophile" only premeditates madness. With each slurp from his chalice, Lord Worm smears the line between what's sacred and profane until it's dead and dripping. "Hatred and violence are not our ways, but firm we are", he barks before "Slit Your Guts" splats beneath the brutal slap of bassist Eric Langlois. Jon Levasseur shouldered more of the songwriting duties, though that didn't stop the band's lead guitarist continued to shred seamlessly between brutal chugs and blistering technical riffing. For his finishing move, he erupts into a white-hot solo on album closer "Orgiastic Disembowelment. Of course, Cryptopsy has always followed the textbook drumming of Flo Mounier. "Graves of the Fathers" quickly cemented itself amongst circle pits, trampled underfoot by a relentless piling-on of blast beats and oddly-timed bursts of double bass. Cryptopsy would win a JUNO after continuing to push the limits of extremity over the next three decades. Still, their second album is worshiped by gatekeepers and fresh heshers to the underground. "You won't find a more deserving album to be the first-ever Canadian entry into the Decibel Hall of Fame", the magazine wrote about None So Vile, which they named the tenth best death metal album of all time. On None So Vile, Cryptopsy cemented their place forever amongst metal's unholy crypt.