Band:	Cryptopsy
Album:	As Gomorrah Burns
Style:	Brutal death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	September 2023

01. Lascivious Undivine
02. In Abeyance
03. Godless Deceiver
04. Ill Ender
05. Flayed The Swine
06. The Righteous Lost
07. Obeisant
08. Praise The Filth

Here is the long-awaited return of Cryptopsy, and, As Gomorrah Burns, we listen and hold the masters of brutality themselves responsible for their diabolical actions.

Cryptopsy are undoubtedly one of the biggest names on the brutal death metal scene and have been so since their beginning, with legendary releases such as None So Vile being amongst the most iconic in the sub-genre. It's now been almost three decades (twenty-nine years, to be precise) since these Canadian masters of slamming brutality unleashed their outrageous debut Blasphemy Made Flesh upon us back in 1994. It still holds up as one of the band's best releases to date, and, since then, the band have gone on shattering the Earth with another six devastating releases. Now, making a comeback after an eleven-year absence, Cryptopsy now introduce us to their eighth release to date: As Gomorrah Burns, a release featuring eight tracks in total with a runtime of thirty-three minutes. This may sound relatively short to most of you, but it's not unusual for albums in Cryptopsy's discography to be short. So, does this latest offering follow the same brutal fashion of their 2012 self-titled release Cryptopsy? The answer to that question is... yes, it certainly does, and perhaps even more so.

Aside from one of the best cover-arts you'll see all year, this latest output is actually quite unsurprising, really. We all know that Cryptopsy are masterful brutal death metal performers, and, looking back through their discography, not an awful lot has changed in that respect, with As Gomorrah Burns really being no exception. By now, you shouldn't expect None So Vile to be matched in terms of quality — that release will always set the brutal death metal standard, so don't even begin to think of comparing that classic to this latest offering. What we should still expect, even after this lengthy absence, is a degree of quality musicianship and consistency, and that's exactly what we get here on As Gomorrah Burns.

As a whole, the album flows rather well (as expected), and the consistency is clearly there. So, brutal death metal fans will undoubtedly be pleased by this mighty fine effort. But, in terms of actual stand-out tracks, it's usually tricky to pinpoint any out in a genre such as this. However, on this album, there are a few; the first being "Flayed The Swine", which is one of the most groovy and catchiest songs on the album (if not the band's whole discography). The riffs, in general, are quite striking, although perhaps overly technical at certain times, and the harsh vocals are some of the best performed on the album, from the agonizing shouts to deep death growls. But, it's the drumming that's the clear highlight here. The blast-beats are relentless but have a solid rhythmic pattern. They are excellently performed instead of just insanely pounding away for the sake of it.

Now, skipping forward to the last track, we have "Praise The Filth". At just shy of six minutes, the track is actually one of the band's most lengthy, but also one of the best (if not the best) tracks the band have ever written and shows some of the finest examples of the band's songwriting prowess. There's hardly any other way to describe this than as a relentless onslaught of devastating brutal madness, with bone-crushing slamming to ferociously energetic riffs and crazy blast-beating to strikingly rhythmic d-beats. The track starts off with a great mid-tempo riff, but soon goes into full-on manic mode, before the fading mid-to-slow-tempo outro is introduced.

Now, I'm not going to lie, I have to admit that up to the final track I was actually quite disappointed in the overall songwriting and song structures, with the meaty guitar tone and complex rhythmic drumming being the only things really standing out besides the tightly textured production. This poses a common problem for me when it comes to brutal death metal in general. However, there are certain groovy moments that are pleasing to my ears amidst all the chaotic ferocity, as well as some well-performed shredding solos, which are also worth pointing out. What this band has going for them the most, though, is their excellent sound quality. This is due to the tremendously tight, clean production which makes the song structures more bearable for one's ears.

Overall, As Gomorrah Burns is far from original in terms of brutal/technical death metal, and the songwriting may not have you in awe. But, if this extreme genre is your thing, then I can't see how this release will disappoint you. Once again, these Canadians show, even after a long absence from the scene, that they haven't in any way lost their touch.