Whisper Supremacy

When founding vocalist Lord Worm left tech-death upstarts Cryptopsy after 1996’s None So Vile, they took the opportunity to change their style somewhat. They were still making intricate, high-wire technical death metal, but new vocalist Mike DiSalvo and new second guitarist Miguel Roy allowed the three remaining members — guitarist Jon Levasseur, bassist Éric Langlois, and drummer Flo Mounier — to take the music in a punchier, more viscerally aggressive direction. DiSalvo is more of a grindcore/hardcore drill instructor than a death metal grunter, and the two guitars crank up the intensity to a sometimes shocking degree. Songs like “Cold Hate, Warm Blood” are classic tech-death, turning on a dime from aggro-shred riffage to gentle, almost jazzy interludes, but other tracks like “Emaciate,” “White Worms,” and “Loathe” are chugging, knuckle-walking moshpit anthems.