Hi, everyone. Bonethony Crushtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a classic review of Cryptopsy's, None So Vile.

This is the sophomore full-length LP from Canadian metal outfit, Cryptopsy. As I said, a true death metal classic and proof that Canadian extreme metal just hits different. So by the mid '90s, the growing extreme metal scenes in the US and Europe, respectively, were pretty much proof that death metal was here to stay. In fact, it was evolving, too, as the genre's pioneers began to churn out some of the most brutal records in the genre's history, whether it's Cannibal Corpse's hideous, The Bleeding, Suffocation's, Pierced From Within; fellow Canadians, Gorguts, had also already dropped The Erosion Of Sanity.

And as I said, None So Vile isn't even Cryptopsy's first rodeo, as this record dropped a few years after the group's debut, Blasphemy Made Flesh, in 1994, an album that was also embracing chunkier guitars, uglier riffs, more aggressive drums, more abrasive vocals, all of which would culminate into a sound that would help further define brutal death metal, but also proved that death was a very distinct style from the thrash and other extreme metal variations and hardcore variations that came before it.

So yeah, None So Vile is one of those defining, breaking point records, not just because of its relentless brutality, but its technical proficiency, too. And when I say this album is very technical, very flashy, I don't mean in a, 'look ma, no hands' sort of way, I mean in a, 'we're going to take nearly every ounce of our collective virtuosity and pour it into generating one of the most abrasive and blood-curdling sounds known to man' sort of way. Because it just feels like on this record, every ounce of the band's energy is going toward making sure None So Vile is not an easy listening experience.

Now, at this point, the band had already undergone a few lineup changes. Even the only vocalist they had had up until this record, Lord Worm, who was known for eating worms, peaced out shortly after, but would join the band again down the road for some more recordings. The group's longest running member, Flo Mounier, the drummer of the band, is not even an original member, which I bring up to illustrate that Cryptopsy's existence was very much hanging on by a thread. Like many of the greatest acts in underground and extreme metal and rock, they've had a lot of rosters over the years.

Many new and additional members of these bands see themselves as contributing to a greater legacy that pays tribute to the greater history of what bands like Cryptopsy, pioneered in their early years. An energy that has very much been maintained as the band has tried to mount a bit of a comeback in recent years with two pretty respectable albums.

But again, remember, we're talking about a record that is almost 30 years old at this point. A record whose sound, and style, and precision, and hideousness, are a feat because a lot of its magic came down to the very specific roster the band was running around this time, which really makes this a 'stars-aligning' moment, whether, again, you're talking about Flo, who on the drums is just such a monstrous talent.

His raw performances on this LP sound better and more exciting and more mind-blowing than what a lot of bands come out with after hours of editing in the studio to make sure every single drum hit is exactly where they want it to be. There's videos of this dude rehearsing songs like "Phobophile", and he's just in a complete flow state, no pun intended, especially in the first minute as he's speeding the tempo of the song up with the rest of the band and maintaining, still, these incredibly busy rhythms and patterns with absolutely flawless execution. The fluidity is crazy. There's a reason this guy is considered to be one of the best drummers in extreme metal, of all time.

Then there's Lord Worm, who is not only a gross and blasphemous lyricist whose words will make you wince, but his range is pretty impressive, too. His performances that also push the envelope for death metal vocals as well. I mean, he already had some pretty harsh and mind-blowing performances on Blasphemy, and he somehow managed to edge out sounds that are just even more stomach-churning on this record, between his guttural growls and monstrous searing screams.

Then there's bassist Eric Langlois, who's a refreshing change of pace on this record. Not only are his lines interesting, but he really eats up these little breaks and bass solo passages where he goes all in on these pop and slap sections, which you just don't get that often in death metal music. And then guitarist Jon Levasseur, who handles the solos and all the riffs and rhythm guitar sections here, his blaring tone does eat up a lot of the mix on the album, I will say. But I can't deny he makes great use of the space with headbanging riffs, fast sporadic little tremolo lines, surprisingly melodic solos, and the occasional lead that brings some very clear classical influence as well.

Now, this album in total is a pretty brief and trim 30 minutes and eight tracks, but it's still an onslaught all the same, with the opening track being a very great tone setter. A perfect example of what makes this album so brutal and ahead of the curve, because I feel like there's a lot of sounds and ideas here that would eventually go on to be the rule of thumb for what makes brutal and extreme death metal, whether it's Lord Worm's vocals, which make me feel like I'm being swallowed by a demon, or Flo's relentless, but versatile drumming, which never lets up and is always moving on to different patterns, much like the guitars, really locked into the groove wherever he goes. His playing is just so well complemented by how just dry and detailed the production is on this thing; it makes all of his drumming sound so punchy. You feel every drum hit and all the other sounds in this recording, for that matter. No vile detail is hidden. It's a really crisp and interesting recording for death metal in general.

Even the bass guitar has a distinctly clunky snarl to it that's very separate from the six-string guitars. You hear all those strings hitting the neck, and it sounds especially great when some of those slap passages I mentioned earlier come in. Collectively, the band is just such a well-oiled machine. You feel the change in dynamics as they shift from going all in on these blast beats and speedily picked tremolo sections, to when they all lock in on something a little slower and groovier.

Take, for example, the separation on "Slit Your Guts" between these demented, shrill, lightning fast guitar leads, and then how the band sounds and feels on these headbanging riff sections in the second half or even the solo passages. Then also compare and contrast the spiraling leads that color many sections of "Graves of the Fathers" with the chunky triplet riffs that the band throws out every once in a while that are impeccably beefy.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the super heavy, slower, double bass and tom sections in the middle of this track. And just when you think the band has exhausted every element of their super fast, super extreme sound, we get dead and dripping, which suddenly comes in with these very harmonious, slow, heavy, almost doom-metal flavored guitar passages.

Meanwhile, "Benedictine Convulsions" is one of those cuts where that slap bass really comes in heavy and starts giving the band's riffs a little extra punch. The lyrics on the track read a lot like a prayer of sorts, but then eventually go on to describe Mary's only son as being devoured by some kind of, Christ-spider-monster, or at least that's how I read it; it's unhinged, to say the least. Again, it's very much fitting for the tone of the music underneath. This track also ends with what to me sounds like one of the longest death growls I've ever heard on a metal album, ever. Very lengthy and sounds like it was all just done off one breath. Maybe there's some studio trickery here at play. Somebody must know. But the volume, the harshness, and the sustained volume of this guttural scream is actually mind-blowing. Again, truly makes this record sound like it wasn't just recorded in a normal music studio by humans, but instead by Satan himself or whatever.

"Phobophile" definitely lives up to its lyrics, detailing what feels like a sexual attraction to fear and some pretty demented imagery. But the edge of that is taken off a little with the clear classical influence, Baroque influence even, coming through on some of the guitar work, even the sad and dreary piano passage that opens the song up. The band doubles down on all of this melodicism with a great lengthy solo passage, which is honestly one of the best in death metal, not only for the fact that it goes the distance and stays interesting the entire time with some great shredding, some cool harmony lines, too, but just the fact that it contrasts, with a lot of beauty, what is going on beneath.

The final moments of this record come together pretty well, too. You have "Lichmistress", which is the shortest here and is maybe the closest this album comes to a love song. I'm kidding, but there is some genuine reverence going on here in the lyrics outside of all of the ritualistic gore and semen. Then the closing track feels like a big bang finale-type moment where every nasty, fast, dizzying, disorienting sound the band could possibly muster goes into this one moment to just finalize things.

But again, after all of these years, 30 years this year, actually, None So Vile continues to be just a standard bearer in death metal for its speed, for its heaviness, for its vileness, and just the impressive virtuosity that goes into nearly every moment of this project.

I'm going to leave it here because those are my thoughts.

Anthony Fantano, Cryptopsy, Forever.