Welcome to The Saw’s Butcher Shop! 2023 has been the year of Death Metal! With Obituary getting us started by dropping a new album back in January, Sanguisugabogg in February, Cattle Decapitation, Frozen Soul, and Vomitory in May, Creeping Death in June, Darkened in July, Incantation, Exmortus, Dethklok, and Grand Cadaver in August, and Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse (and now) Cryptopsy in September! As Gomorrah Burns was released (via Nuclear Blast) on September 8, 2023. 

We’ve unpacked Cryptopsy in the past – the viciously brutal, technical Death Metal band out of Canada. Over their 35-year career, the band have covered the spectrum of this northern style of the genre. From their debut in 1994 to the hugely popular, None So Vile (1996), through the self-titled in 2012, and the two EPs, The Book of Suffering, in 2015 and 2018 Cryptopsy have been a frenzy of out-of-control riffs, corkscrews and twisting, almost inhuman song structures, incredible speed, blast-beats, and deep gutterals with piercing screeches and screams. The one consistency in Cryptopsy has been the brilliant drumming of Flo Mounier (Ultimas) – founding member, and driving force behind any era of Cryptopsy. 

So, for the last few years, Cryptopsy have had a consistent line-up and, I think, As Gomorrah Burns is the best work from these four – Flo Mounier (drums), Christian Donaldson (guitars), Matt McCatchy (vocals), and Oliver Pinard (Cattle Decapitation) on bass. The fan-favorite for Cryptopsy is the None So Vile record, and this new album doesn’t sound like that one either; and I’m ok with that! As Gomorrah Burns is a fantastic album, and is an expression of where Cryptopsy is, today. The technicality, the genius musicianship, and death-defying song compositions are incredibly precise and exact.  

As Gomorrah Burns is a mature sounding Cryptopsy. Album openers “Lascivious Undivine,” lead single “In Abeyance,” and “Godless Deceiver” are your typical ‘organized chaos’ we’ve come to expect from this outfit. “The Righteous Lost” fits in with these two tracks, with crazy time stamps, psychotic lyrical delivery, and insane drumming. “Obeisant” brings a beat-down of blast-beats, with buzzing, spiraling, and crunching riffs; but with harmonizing leads of melody. Cryptopsy are nothing if not unpredictable. 

Then there are three other tracks – “Ill Ender,” the fourth song on the album, switches gears and momentum so often, it’s mind-boggling! The incredibly smooth double-bass (also dropping into another gear), and the chaotic riff changes are very Cattle Decapitation-like; layered with a wicked atmospheric guitar filler, and insane pinch harmonics. The vocal delivery is all over the place! 

“Flayed the Swine” is an epic song, and one of my favorites. Almost a jazz opening gives way to a beautiful blackened riff; lyrical delivery is in double-time (like two or three lines in every verse!). The bridge and chorus breaks are dramatic shifts, while the lead take-off is melodic, really giving the track a dark sense and feel. The chorus, here, is beautifully executed both vocally and musically. Just excellent!

The album closer, “Praise the Filth,” is (for the most part) a-whole-nother tempo than the rest of the album. You already know Ya Girl loves the blackened feel being incorporated into Death Metal today, and this track is the most purely Death Metal song on the album. As Gomorrah Burns ends its 33-minutes of chaos with a real sense of the burning – blackened Death Metal, especially vocally, with atmospheric horror and Black Metal-esque drumming; the song and album end on a fade of doom and despair. A brilliant blend of everything the genre has to offer!

Rating: 9/10! Cryptopsy are incredibly brilliant, and As Gomorrah Burns is a perfect iteration of the fact!

Favorite Songs: Ill Ender, Flayed the Swine, Praise the Filth

Stay Metal,

THE SAW