Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence

Written by on 06-09-2025 at 09:08.

Worldwide, legions of people spend hours and hours on social media. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Telegram, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp and X are wildly popular and for many a source of daily entertainment. They offer, among other things, the possibility to chat with family, friends or colleagues, to share photos and videos and are also a source of an almost inexhaustible amount of (mis)information and inspiration. The advantages seem endless, but there’s also nothing wrong with openly asking yourself what negative influence social media actually has on a person and on humanity in general.

It is the subject that Cryptopsy delves into on its new album An Insatiable Violence. The Canadian foursome delves into themes like the harmful, toxic effects of social media on mental health and on social interactions. The idea for the album comes from a dream by vocalist Matt McGachy. “It’s about someone who wakes up every day and repairs a machine. He tinkers with it, tries to improve it all day … and at night he ties himself to that machine and that machine tortures him, and he loves it. Then the next day he wakes up and repairs it again to make it more efficient, to keep controlling it, and it just keeps repeating itself.” In the video for the track Malicious Needs this somewhat twisted metaphor for the compulsive, toxic involvement of society with social media and the warped acceptance of being constantly connected is visualized in an interesting way.

The eight tracks on the album are full of fast, razor-sharp riffs, roaring blast beats, biting accelerations and venomous vocals. The foursome keeps hitting you over the head with a fearless rowdiness and boundless energy. A track like the straightforward opener The Nimis Adoration, but also the splintering Dead Eyes Replete and the vicious Embrace the Nihility are anchored in relentless brutality. More than anything else, with this album the band shows that it’s still able to come up with interesting, unruly, furious death metal. But not everything on the album relies solely on ruthless force. Now and then a melodic arrangement (The Nimis Adoration, The Art Of Emptiness) emerges or biting grooves (Malicious Needs, Our Great Deception) take over. And although the band certainly leans strongly on the past, there is also an effort to intensify and amplify the sound. Not just going for banal reuse of musical templates from a rich – but not always equally successful – history, but searching for an even more coherent and better thought-out creation. Only praiseworthy, right?

Could it be because the album was written during a tour for As Gomorrah Burns it picked up more of the dynamics and liveliness of live performances? “My focus is now more on dynamics” drummer Flo Mournier said at the time of promoting this new album. And it shows. The dynamic range of An Insatiable Violence ensures that the already not sparse aggression comes across even more impressively and dramatically. Just listen to Until There’s Nothing Left or the thundering Malicious Needs.

The process of writing and the approach to it were a bit different this time compared to previous albums. “Ever since Covid our focus is clearer, a lot of work gets done faster, and we push each other to get it done” says Mounier. The band tackled the compositions efficiently and purposefully, resulting in tracks where unnecessary frills or excesses are avoided. Short and concise, but oh so effective. With a playing time of just over half an hour, An Insatiable Violence is brief. But better a brief, detailed exposure to all-devouring brutal, technical death metal than drowning in an abundance of compositions dragged out too long, where all power, fierceness and unruliness slip through your fingers. Right?

An interesting detail is that the album cover for An Insatiable Violence was made by the band’s former vocalist who passed away in 2024: Martin Lacroix. “The album artwork has got to be one of the most important things to us!”, says the band “Martin Lacroix was one of our vocalists, one of our great friends and one of the nicest people that anyone could have the privilege to meet. We really wish he was here with us to share this moment. His perfect smile would say it all! Rest in peace brother.”

No, I won’t be tempted into cliché remarks like ‘An Insatiable Violence lives up to its title’ and ‘past results offer no guarantee for the future’. And also a cheap comparison with true classics like Blasphemy Made Flesh and None So Vile or with the giant flop The Unspoken King I will avoid. If only because that would do the current Cryptopsy a great disservice. An Insatiable Violence shows that in 2025 the band not only still brims with energy and hasn’t forgotten how to create intriguing biting death metal, but also still manages to remain at the forefront.

Score:

85/100

Label:

Season of Mist, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. The Nimis Adoration
  2. Until There’s Nothing Left
  3. Dead Eyes Replete
  4. Fools Last Acclaim
  5. The Art of Emptiness
  6. Our Great Deception
  7. Embrace the Nihility
  8. Malicious Needs

Line-up:

  • Christian Donaldson – Guitars
  • Flo Mounier – Drums, vocals
  • Matt McGachy – Vocals
  • Oli Pinard – Bass

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