By the end of the 2000s, the underground had written off CRYPTOPSY as dead following an album best left unmentioned. But when the recent JUNO Award winners returned from a critical exile in 2011, they reclaimed their crown as death metal’s most vile name with their self-titled album. Even though he had not touched a guitar since leaving the band seven years earlier, John Levasseur returned to help CRYPTOPSY regain its balance between jazzy experimentation and brutal technical mastery. The future classic “Two-Pound Torch” also features a typically catchy riff. Although he was no longer a newcomer, Matt McGachy established himself as the vocalist of CRYPTOPSY on the band’s self-titled album. Each track reveals a sordid chapter of Canadian lore. Strange cymbals and striking leads greet chilling UFO sightings on fan favorite “Shag Harbour’s Visitors.” More than two decades after the start of an already legendary career, CRYPTOPSY kicked off the triumphant second act of the band. For fans of SUFFOCATION, GORGUTS, DYING FETUS, WORMED. Artwork by Mircea Gabriel Eftemie.