SilentScream213 Pummeling, unrelenting force, brutal and chaotic to the untrained ear, but held together by immense technical prowess. The album that both Brutal Death and Tech Death are now compared against, Cryptopsy set the bar unreachably high with only their second album. None So Vile is a nonstop riff fest that absolutely assaults the listener with dense, twisted guitarwork and some of the wildest drumming I’ve yet heard.

Cryptopsy didn’t exactly name the game here – taking big influence from bands like Death, Suffcation, and a bit of Nespithe perhaps – but they just did it so well. Brutal Death Metal is among my less-liked Death Metal subgenres because of its tendency to forgo focusing on crafting good riffs to instead create a wall of punishment in auditory form. Similarly, Tech Death, while often very good, can lose points in songwriting when getting too stuck on showing off the musician’s technical prowess. Well, this music is certainly every bit as punishing and impressive, but not for one second did the band forget how write an awesome riff. Every song is jam packed with some of the best, and backed by aggressive drumming that never falls into “constant blast beat” boredom. Its loaded with creative fills and different drumming patterns, even slowing down every so often for some added weight. Wonderfully crafted music!

There is a huge issue for me, and that’s the vocals. They don’t sound terrible, but even when reading along to the lyrics, they are indecipherable, they don’t even attempt to speak or follow along. It’s pathetic, embarrassing really. The vocalist just got in the booth and growled without trying? It’s polar opposite to the incredible hard work and dedication shown by every musician on the record. You would think when all you are contributing to an album filled with such incredible songwriting and musicianship is growled vocals, you would make absolutely sure that you nailed that performance and crafted some lyrical quality to boot. The lyrics unfortunately are just okay usually, sometimes similarly bad. These points ensure the album will never be a masterpiece to me.

bartosso They do that rather well, don’t you think?

I often ponder the appeal of extreme music, be it death metal, avant-garde jazz or modern classical, and I always end up with the same conclusion, no matter how hard I try to come up with something fancy. Extreme music is kind of like bungee jumping. It’s an exercise in going beyond what's safe, what's considered correct. Besides being an artistic experience, it's also about reaching beyond the comfort zone, challenging your limits and having fun in the process. I believe this is exactly why it all boils down to grit; no matter how technically proficient you are, how good a songwriter you are, it’s all for naught if you have no spirit, no balls. And fuck me if these Canadian bastards are not amongst the craziest on the planet.

By today’s standards, None So Vile may not seem as brutal as some of the records spawned every ten seconds by the modern extreme metal scene. Sound production has obviously evolved considerably since the 90s and that’s why many classic death metal albums have lost their edge. Not this one, though, or at least not in a way that would make it unappealing to the contemporary audience. I was talking about balls before. They’re made of metal, remember? Dusty and somewhat rusty but timeless, still rocking. The point is that None So Vile is not only brutal on the outside, it’s actually boiling with aggressive, fearless creativity at its very core. The album, and to some extent its predecessor, is a seamless, unprecedented blend of technical death metal, grindcore and classical music. While not overtly experimental, the beast got some bon-vivant swagger without having its claws trimmed down. The resulting record is both deadly and playful - It’s toying with you before ripping your head off.

I might have been too young to remember this, but back in 1996 this album rocked the underground boat big time. It was filthy, provocative and uncompromising but at the same time cleverly arranged and well written. Even if I dig Cryptopsy’s experimental and jazzy Once Was Not a bit more, this album is a death metal classic and it aged incredibly well.

Warthur A cataclysmically brutal album, Cryptopsy's None So Vile uses all the band's technicality to combine the sickest and most extreme elements of death metal and grindcore into a seamless union. Mercifully brief at half an hour, the album simply doesn't let up, with occasional breakdowns keeping things varied enough to save the album from becoming monotonous whilst at the same time maintaining the terrifyingly high level of intensity throughout. Lord Wind, in particular, sounds like an absolute beast here, and his fellow musicians must be sheer geniuses to be able to bring to bear the level of technical excellence they accomplish whilst at the same time issuing forth such a furiously unrestrained blast of brutality.

NorseGangsta Brutal death metal isn't a genre I am normally a fan of, nor even accustomed to. I have never been a fan of such bands as Cannibal Corpse or suffocation; any death metal I listen to on a regular basis has some connection to prog. None So Vile, however, blows away nearly all other death metal that I have come across over the years.

This album is sheer, raw, crushing brutality. The production is of a low-enough quality to fit in with other brutal death metal albums of this style, yet crisp enough so that each instrument can be clearly heard. The guitars provide nonstop dissonant riffs; some tremolo picked, others with a fair amount of groove. Solos are also present throughout, a few adding hints of neoclassical styling. The bass is not as prevalent in the mix as it was in Blasphemy Made Flesh, but it also doesn't feel out of place as it often did on that album.

While the stringed instruments may provide the musical backbone of the band, the show is stolen by drummer Flo Mounier. Mounier essentially gives a 30-minute performance of blast beats and lightning-fast fills, resulting in what is one of the greatest metal drumming albums of all time.

The instruments of the band are brutally heavy, and Worm's vocals are no exception. Imagine the sound of a dozen chainsaws emulated through human vocal cords and you will have what Lord Worm sounds like. There may not be any 40-second screams on this album, but the diversity shown in Worm's growls, grunts, and howls is impressive. His lyrics are also of note; relatively few bands would have such "graceful" lyrics as "Pardon, please, the narrow confinement of your limbs/Unfortunately, it's necessary for your correction/Shriek to your heart's content, if you wish/I promise you pain and nightmares, in that sequence."

This is one of the most brutal albums of all time, and a landmark classic of death metal. Any fan of extreme metal should experience this aural assault at least once.