Cryptopsy "The Unspoken King" CD

I delayed buying this album for a couple reasons. First, because I like the first two Cryptopsy albums best, and when Lord Worm returned for their 5th album, I figured it would be a triumphant return. However, “Once Was Not” was fairly mediocre, both vocally and musically. The second reason I delayed purchasing “Unspoken King” was because it received such widespread negative backlash, I figured it HAD to be bad. But I was wrong, as is most every other reviewer on this page. So wrong in fact that I felt compelled to write my first, and only, review for metal-archives.
The description for this album says “the band instead perform deathcore on this album”. I find this to be an interesting opinion. I am fortunate enough to be ignorant as to what exactly defines “deathcore”. Is it because there is a small amount of clean singing on this album? Is it because there are some start-stop riffs? Is it because there are some faint keyboards? Does any of this automatically make Cryptopsy a “deathcore” band?
I don’t know, and I really don’t care. Because aside from these minimal “new elements” (or "drawbacks", if you will) in their music, the rest of the album is Cryptopsy the way you would have expected them to play and sound at that point in their career. Face it, they’re not going back to the writing style of their first two albums. I agree, the clean singing is out of place and does not belong in this band. While I don’t fault any band for wanting to expand their horizons and try something different, the clean vocals in this case just don’t cut it and are simply out of that sort of “comfort zone” for this listener for this band.
But while I can agree on that point, it must be understood that clean vocals account for a very small percentage on this album. And yeah, I could have done without the start-stop riffs too. And keyboards? The worst part about them is the fact that they attempted to introduce a sixth member of the band. (You could consider the band photo the third reason why I delayed purchasing the album. Sorry, I just don't get bands that have more than 5 members. My Dying Bride excepted...). Fortunately the keyboards are practically unnoticeable.
Overall, these drawbacks are small enough to overlook and appreciate the rest of the album for what it is: your typical millennium-era Cryptopsy. If this album is what you call “deathcore”, then you might as well label most of their catalog as “deathcore”. Because, musically speaking, “The Unspoken King” is not that far off from anything they’ve done since “None So Vile”.
“The Unspoken King” is certainly not their best, but it’s still a good listen, and a worthwhile purchase for true fans that know, understand, and enjoy the band’s back catalog, or for those extreme metal fans that have an open mind and who are able to run with their gut instincts rather than be turned off by that wretched label of “deathcore” assigned to by others.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...