Representative Albums: "Money Talks," "Convicted," "Speak Your Peace"
Biography
The original Speedcore merchants, Cryptic Slaughter dealt a West Coast hand into the late ‘80's Crossover movement, a movement that saw the normally warring armies of punk rock and thrash metal finally come together into a unified front bent on exposing social injustice and political hypocrisy. Powered by a previously unimagined sense of informed aggression, the band's uncompromising political stance and lightning-fast tempos ultimately proved too harsh for mainstream tastes, but their status as underground legends remains unquestioned. Vocalist/bassist Bill Crooks, guitarists Les Evans and Adam Scott, and drummer Scott Peterson first met while playing on their High School soccer team, and formed Cryptic Slaughter in 1984. Scott was soon on the outs, but the remaining trio still managed to cut their five-song "Life in Grave" demo by May of the following year. Its sheer speed and unbridled ferocity quickly made it a favorite conversation piece on the all-important underground tape-trading network -- a worldwide phenomenon that had already launched dozens of successful acts before them -- and eventually landed Cryptic Slaughter a contract with fast-rising independent Metal Blade Records. Issued in 1986, the band's debut album Convicted introduced new bassist Rob Nicholson (freeing Crooks to focus on his rabid vocal delivery) and somehow crammed fourteen tracks into a violently giddy, adrenalin-charged half hour, every single cut spewing a torrent of anti-establishment bile and fury. Follow-up efforts like 1987's Money Talks and 1988's Stream Of Consciousness added only the smallest of sonic refinements, and kept the group's ever-expanding legion of fans happy by staying true to their original, raw and frenetic style. But the strain of constant in-fighting and unending tours in exchange for barely scraping by financially eventually took its toll on Cryptic Slaughter, which fell apart shortly after an especially troubled tour with Angkor Wat. Evans relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he attempted to stage a comeback two years later, reforming the group with vocalist Dave Hollingsworth, bassist Bret Davis and drummer Brian Lehfeldt (of Sweaty Nipples infamy); but fans were not impressed by 1990's Speak Your Peace and this line-up quickly broke up as well. Though Cryptic Slaughter lay dormant over the ensuing decade, Evans noticed that copies of the band's now quite rare LP's began selling for hundreds of dollars online. This eventually prompted him to reunite with Lehfeldt and original members Crooks and Nicholson with intentions of recording a new album. In the meantime, he saw to it that those early albums be re-released with bonus tracks by Relapse Records in 2003. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide
Cryptic Slaughter was formed in 1984 by Les Evans (age 17), Scott Peterson (age 14) and Adam Scott (age 15), who met through their mutual participation in the American Youth Soccer League (AYSO). Soon they were joined by Bill Crooks (age 15), a friend of Adam Scott and a fellow soccer player. Adam Scott was let go a few months later due to conflicts regarding his parents and school.
Their first demo, Life in Grave, was produced in 1985 and became well circulated in the burgeoning tape-trader underground. Their first full length LP, Convicted, was released in 1986 on Death/Metal Blade records, whose artist roster also boasted D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Dr. Know, The Mentors, and Beyond Possession. Within its first year of release, Convicted sold over 25,000 copies and earned Cryptic the reputation as being one of the fastest bands in hardcore. Next came Money Talks in 1987, which is still considered by many to be the band's best effort. Mixing crushing grooves with lightning speed, Money Talks surpassed Convicted's success by selling 35,000 in its first year and by earning Cryptic Slaughter a fanatical following around the world. Their progressive and politically conscious lyrics rival those of Dead Kennedies and others and gained them many fans. They took on the right-wing theocracy directly, with songs like "Freedom of Expression" that skewered the censorial nature of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), founded by Al Gore's wife Tipper. Their "America Heroes" directly confronted the mass media heroic mythology of the astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, when millions toil to survive daily in a world of injustice. Along with DRI they were at the forefront of a musical genre known as much for its relentless energy as its radical anti-authoritarian politics, even if all the listeners did not pay attention.
The original line-up recorded their final studio album, Stream of Consciousness, in 1988. Unhappy with the recording process and the album's production, the band's internal problems were magnified by life on the road. They broke up in the summer on tour before Stream was released later that fall. They played their last show in Detroit on July 14, 1988.
Shortly after returning home, however, guitarist Les Evans and bassist Rob Nicholson recruited new member Eli Nelson and continued on in a new direction. This new incarnation was short-lived, however, and Evans moved to Portland in May 1989 to reform the band with an entirely new line-up, which included Brian Lehfeldt of Wehrmacht fame. The final Cryptic Slaughter album, Speak Your Peace, was a definite departure from the previous material, heavily influenced by a changing music scene.
Cryptic Slaughter are often credited as one of the progenitors of crossover, the thrash metal and hardcore punk crossover genre, along with such seminal acts as D.R.I. and Corrosion of Conformity.
In 2003, Relapse Records reissued Convicted and Money Talks with added bonus tracks from Cryptic Slaughter's demo and live recordings.
