“Fucking hell, this better be good”: actual words I said to myself as I got this latest from Quebec trailblazers Cryptopsy ready to play. I mean, this band has so much baggage they're practically Metallica for those with sweatpants boners over the latest Blood Incantation release, right? 

Opener “Lascivious Undivine” does what it needs to do: it's a concise, tech-death rager with a killer vocal performance come climax and a brutal breakdown ending. “In Abeyance” doesn't miss a beat with the intensity, and this is good, this is Cryptopsy doing what they need to do here in their first full-length since 2012 (!). That was a solid if unmemorable record, but it was nowhere near the misstep of 2008's The Unspoken King. As Gomorrah Burns aims to get a bit of the ruthless earworms of the band's first four albums back, “Godless Deceiver” showcasing a classy guitar solo and a don't-get-too-comfortable groove that I don't mind seeing Cryptopsy flirt with, a bit. 

“Flayed The Swine” showcases good labyrinthine technical grinding DM although the band does constantly come back to a more mid-paced grooving place, but it's not like this is modern Decapitated—Cryptopsy still have the fire, or rather, the fire is back after some time away. By the time the album comes to a close, I'm not blown away, but I'm impressed, everything is as it should be, Cryptopsy simply trying to put out great records while dealing with the weight of having a mind-bending past behind them. 

I'm not sure if this band will ever again have that certain something that they once had, but this is as close as they've ever gotten, so I'm happy. Fucking hell, it's good.