The veteran Chicago metal troupe Usurper returns with Crytobeast, a bombastic 10-track affair that at first glance, many metal fans may take as a joke. After all, anyone that wears spikes and leather and writes a serious song titled “Kill For Metal” surely cannot be for real, right? Try telling that to this quintet, whose Spinal Tap-esque imagery and lyrical content may seem over the top, but whose brutal music is not to be taken lightly in the least. Sounding like the soundtrack of a World War, Usurper’s relentless twin guitar assault, when combined with a rhythm section that emits more sonic firepower than gun turrets on an aircraft carrier, is a potent and vicious entity, even if they are singing about campy things like werewolves and the like. Suspend your disbelief for the real and dig out your leathers, because Usurper’s crushing blend of black, thrash, and death metal is the best metal escape this side of Manowar.