Regardless of how anyone feels about these Canadians, I don't think anyone would deny their uniqueness and the highest level of mastery.
After a prolonged silence, the return of Lord Worm, and other lineup changes, they've come back with a new album.
I've been listening to this disc for over a year now and continue to be amazed by the multifaceted nature of Once Was Not. My mind constantly unearths something new and unusual from its depths. I never cease to marvel at just how far the Canadians have pushed the boundaries of their music while still remaining within the framework of death metal.
And while, for example, their debut Blasphemy Made Flesh astonished with its novelty, technicality, drive, and fury back in '94, Once Was Not, without losing those qualities, delights with a mature approach to music creation and the ease and elegance with which it shifts from one extreme to another. But all these metamorphoses are so organic that it's hard to believe we're talking about rather brutal music.
Although there's not much point in talking about the music directly — you simply need to listen to it — I'd still like to touch on a few aspects.
CRYPTOPSY is now essentially the Flo Mounier show, around whom the entire carousel revolves. Thank God there's something worth revolving around. His technique and mastery are staggering — a veritable six-armed god of the drum kit.
Now the guitars: Although Levasseur (Jon Levasseur) left the band and they supposedly should have been left without his surgical guitar shredding, that didn't happen — the new guitarist (Alex Auburn) handles his duties no worse.
Arrangements: Perhaps the album owes its diversity to the magnificent arrangements and competent production. The 50 minutes of playing time never feel drawn out and fly by in one breath.
Vocals: Lord Worm's return behind the microphone stand made some people happy and others not so much. Some call his vocals on this album the most horrific and repulsive (in the literal sense of those words) in all of death metal, while others are quite pleased. Yes, he screams, rasps, shrieks, and wheezes — a classic growl rarely comes out of him — but in my humble opinion, Lord Worm did an excellent job and no one else could have done anything like it. He adds character to the band, setting them apart from others.
Without question, the album is very good — for me, one of the best of 2005.