HARDWARES

It's been a long five years since And Then You'll Beg, but one listen to Once Was Not makes the intervening half-decade more than worth it. Seriously, this new Cryptopsy effort is such a multi-faceted listen that you'll wonder why more bands don't put out records as good as this. Combining seemingly all eras of Cryptopsy, Once Was Not harbours the complexity Flo Mounier and company are known for, but also brings some straight-forward material to the table, giving the upcoming live audience something to chew on. These tracks are so epic and so grand, yet also so down-to-earth and listenable: Cryptopsy has crafted the album of its career, with brutal death, grandiose moments and even those rad little jazzcore and punked-up bits all completely accounted for.