When vocalist Matt McGachy and keyboardist Maggie Durant joined the band, their style veered considerably towards deathcore. This style change, combined with McGachy's clean vocals, earned a considerable backlash from fans.
Their most recent studio release, titled Cryptopsy, is nothing less than a return to form. Gone are the keys and clean singing, and back is guiding member and guitar player Jon Levasseur. The focus of this new record in once again death metal at its most technical and dynamic, with a focus on the percussive and concussive, the musical possibilities of violence and ballistics.
The release of The Best Of You Bleed comes at a moment when Cryptopsy are once again at the height of their powers, with a strong grip on their aesthetic and identity, and therefore serves as an excellent point to look back on their extensive and explosive career.
With thirty-two tracks spread across two CDs, the collection is both vast and varied. The selections are extremely intelligent and well-thought-out, from the three best tracks of Whisper Supremacy to selections from the live record None So Live.
Even more exciting than the studio selections are the harder to find tracks, like Japanese live tracks, a fantastic Strapping Young Lad cover, demos, and three recent, unreleased studio tracks. Taken all together, The Best Of Us Bleed is as fine an example of a necessary compilation album than any out there. For fans of the band, this is a must-have, beautifully presented and well-chosen at every turn.
(released November 20, 2012 on Century Media Records)
