Brutal Technical Death Metal pioneers CRYPTOPSY are back with their 8^th full-length album “As Gomorrah Burns”, more than 30 years after their formation. The new album of the Canadian legends was produced, mixed, and mastered by Christian Donaldson (BEYOND CREATION; DESPISED ICON; INGESTED) at The Grid in Montreal, Canada. It has a length of about 33 minutes. “As Gomorrah Burns” was released via German Metal label Nuclear Blast.

 The album starts as expected from any CRYPTOPSY album: with pace, aggression, devastating guitar riffing, and a lot of technicalities in the guitar playing and drumming. “Lascivious Undivine” has many twists and turns in rhythm and pace, and it is well kept together by the vocals, which cover the whole spectrum of growls and screams across the entire guttural range. The album opener eventually ends with a short down-tempo break. “In Abeyance” is a brutal hammering starting blisteringly fast and abruptly changes rhythm at a measured tempo. The melodies during those slower sequences have some epic features. However, most of the track is a pure pummeling. “In Abeyance” is the official video release, and the YouTube link is provided below.

 The hammering continues with “Godless Deceiver”, which is a mixture between superfast parts and down-tempo parts. The riffing is brutal, especially during the down-tempo parts. “Godless Deceiver” is a Death Metal carnage with crunching basslines, insane twists in rhythm, and complexity in the song structure, which is challenging to follow at times. “Ill Ender” is one of the tracks that are easier to digest as the riffing is relatively direct and most of the changes are mainly tempo and rhythm twists. One highlight of the track is the relentless drumming of Flo Mounier, whose technicality gives “Ill Ender” an extra dimension. Another one is the devastating down-tempo break near the end of the track. “Flayed The Swine” has a frantic start and it is another brutal hammering at crazy speed for most of the playing time. The guitar riffing is highly technical with a lot of lead contributions in between. The melodies have a lot of melancholic vibes.

 “The Righteous Lost” focusses more on the technicality of all instruments and less on brutality. It is a track that constantly changes tempo and direction, several sound structures are mixed into one track at perfection, and again the drumming is outstanding. However, it is vocalist Matt McGachy, who keeps the track perfectly together and grabs the opportunity to shine. “Obeisant” is one of the rare tracks which starts with a tension-building pre-lude, before it explodes to another brutal Death Metal attack. It is also one of the few tracks, which are relatively straightforward in tempo and rhythm. It would not be a CRYPTOPSY song when there would not be any twists, but they are reduced to that what is needed. At the end, the track finishes with the pummeling pace as it begun. The album finishes with “Praise The Filth” and it has a powerful start with thunderous riffing at a measured tempo and almost stomping rhythm. It does not take long until the track breaks out into utter madness and destruction. It is a blast-beat festival at frantic pace at times varied with mid-tempo parts. The final third of the track is epic with melancholic melodies. “Praise The Filth” is one of the album highlights and a great way to end the album.

 CRYPTOPSY do what they do best and deliver an excellent album. “As Gomorrah Burns” is a masterpiece of technical, brutal Death Metal. It is an album that is driven by the technical skills of each band member; however, it is more than the sum of each individual player. The songs are cohesive and expertly kept together by an excellent vocalist. The song writing is excellent throughout. The album is well produced. “As Gomorrah Burns” is an album by a band which is at the top of their game, and it belongs to the collection of every Death Metal fan.