review by: Roberto Martinelli

As I came straight from getting off of work at 8 p.m., I missed Poison the Well. By the time I got in and met up with Maelstrom contributor Liam, Origin had already gone through half of their set. I didn't regret it. While the band's death metal initially seemed pleasing, it became very apparent to both of us that 10 minutes was more than enough to get a grasp of indeed everything Origin had to offer. They were heavy, they were brutal, they were guttural, they were monotonous.

Candiria was next. I have to admit that my knowledge of hardcore is as deep as once having heard an Earth Crisis CD. As Candiria seems to be quite highly acclaimed in their circle, I guess it was my lack of ear that made their set seem barely adequate to me.

Two things about Candiria stuck out. One was how great and powerful the drummer was. In retrospect, I get images of a lean, muscular windmill whipping around at high speed.

The other thing that struck me immediately was how silly the vocalist was. Ok, it's true that every genre's style can be called silly, but what's up with the constant jumping up and down? Even before songs, the vocalist had to not only jump up and down (he even gave the reason for this as "I gotta keep moving"), but also spin in the air. Aside from the piston action, the routine repetition of the band's catch phrase, "set it off," became way too apparent - almost corporate. Candiria's set was high-energy, and some of the crowd at least seemed to love it, but for the life of me I couldn't seem to latch on to any of the music. The best way I can explain it is that Candiria's sound seems like it's got a lot of empty space in it.

Tempers in the audience had flared and some fights broke out, apparently due to conflicts between the metal and hardcore scenes. Relative to the kind of tough-guy show this was, a quite sensitive message came on the PA about respecting each other and not fighting, just like the bands on the tour had been doing. The burly security staff's senses were on edge for the rest of the night.

Then came the big feast. I'm not even talking about Cryptopsy's set, but rather about Flo Mounier's warm up on the drums. Who can explain the fact that the man is so much faster and incredible live than on disk? The appreciative audience was cheering.

When the rest of the band took their places, the crowd, which had lost some mass as the hardcore kids left, was champing at the bit. Cryptopsy opened with "And then It Passes," the first track of their latest album. Most of the set was composed of songs off the new album, And So You'll Beg, with "Shroud" and "Back to the Worms" coming next. One fan essentially summed up the whole experience of seeing Cryptopsy live as he yelled: "you're not human!" to Mounier between songs. The rest of the audience loved it, because everyone felt the same way.

The French Canadian five-piece put on a show whose tightness and proficiency is the benchmark of what death metal is measured by, along with other top acts like Morbid Angel, Vader, Dying Fetus, and Nile. Being familiar with Cryptopsy's material made it all the more sweet. The band sounded exactly the way it does on disk, from all the slappy, funky bass parts and frentetic-yet-mindbogglingly-technical solos to Mike DiSalvo's vocals.

Meanwhile, the audience was shouting out what it wanted to hear, the popular choices being "Phobophile" and "Slit Your Guts," both from the band's essential second album, None So Vile. Yours truly was screaming for his fave track of that album, "Benedictine Convulsions."

Cryptopsy obliged with "Slit Your Guts," and the energy of the crowd became more electric. The band played "Warm Hate, Cold Blood" from their third album, Whisper Supremacy, but as the shotgun blast and the awesome "go ahead and run…run home and cry to MAMA!" sound clip of Bruce Campbell from the movie "Army of Darkness" was heard, eyes grew wide in frantic anticipation. Everyone knew that "Orgiastic Disembowelment" was next. What a treat it was. Without a doubt the crowd reacted best to the None So Vile material, and why not? It's Cryptopsy's best album.

The band followed with "Defenestration," the only track represented from their first album, Blasphemy Made Flesh. This too was quite well received.

Finally, Cryptopsy wrapped it up with "Screams Go Unheard," another song from their new album, with the crowd still chanting "Phobophile!" The spectators seemed to give up rather easily as the five members left the stage. It appeared that an encore had been planned, but in order for that to happen the crowd needed some prodding from the PA announcer to make a little noise while Cryptopsy waited in the wings.

The members took their places once again. Mounier tapped a sample trigger and the lovely, forlorn piano intro to "Phobophile" kicked in. People cheered as the level of anticipation swelled during the transition between the piano intro and the bass guitar opener, and both the band and the audience totally cut loose in unison as the song kicked in. What more could a Cryptopsy fan ask for?

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