Cryptopsy

Once Was Not

[5/5] Most of the attention being given to Cryptopsy’s first new album in five years focuses on the fact that original vocalist Lord Worm is back in the fold, having finally replaced longtime fan punching-bag Mike DiSalvo to restore these Canadian technical death-metal gods to their rightful place at the top of the heap. And to that, we say, whatever: Lord Worm’s performance on Once Was Not, like pretty much every other sound on the album that isn’t being picked up by a drum mic, immediately becomes an afterthought once drummer Flo Mounier swings into gear. His playing on this album is legendary; at times (see “In The Kingdom Where Everything Dies, The Sky Is Mortal”), it sounds as if the studio is literally raining drums. And Sébastien Marsan’s production is so focused on the nuances of Mounier’s blinding, time-shattering technique that–bass solos, jazz interludes and eerie acoustic overtures be damned–everyone who hears this album has no choice but to give the drummer some. (CENTURY MEDIA) Aaron Burgess