Cryptopsy

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Cryptopsy is a Canadian death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1988. The band has sold over 300,000 records.^[5]

History

Necrosis (1988–1992)

Cryptopsy was formed in 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan Greening (who would later, according to metallian.com, take the name "Lord Worm" because he would dig up and ingest worms on stage) under the name "Necrosis". This line-up would add John Todds on bass. From 1989 until 1992, each year they released demos those being, Mastication and Heterodontism, Masticating on Pathogenia, Realms Of Pathogenia & Necrosis. The band made their first live appearance in 1992, and changed their name to "Cryptopsy" the same year.

During this time, Todds introduced the band to a young drummer by the name of Flo Mounier. Atkin, whose musical direction was heading in a slightly different direction in a more thrash/speed metal vein, passed the torch to Mounier, whose "high speed and hard hitting drumming" style would mark the beginning of the Cryptopsy sound. Original bassist John Todds left Necrosis shortly thereafter and retired from music to focus on his family.

Blasphemy Made Flesh (1993–1995)

Wasting no time, Cryptopsy recruited a new bassist called Kevin Weagle and in 1993 released their debut demo, Ungentle Exhumation. This demo caught the attention of local label Gore Records (later called Great White North). Gore Records would proceed to re-release the demo and would, for a brief period, manage the band as well. Cryptopsy's first demo release earned them some attention in the Canadian death metal underground, as well as from the German label Invasion Records.

By 1994, the band lineup would change yet again when Bassist Kevin Weagle was replaced by Martin Fercuson, and Dave Galea left to be replaced by new lead guitarist Jon Levasseur. This line-up recorded their debut album, Blasphemy Made Flesh, which at first was independently released in 1994 and later licensed to Invasion Records. The album gained them a wide following for death metal in the Canadian underground.

Despite recent recognition, difficulties ensued with their label Invasion Records. Invasion was collapsing because of financial problems and as a result Cryptopsy was now without a label to support their tour and album activities. Despite setback, the album would later come in the possession of Dutch label Displeased Records. After successful touring in support of Blasphemy Made Flesh, guitarist Steve Thibault left the band but remained manager for a few short months. Bassist Martin Fercuson was replaced by the now well-known death metal bassist Eric Langlois. The addition of Langlois incorporated funk-style bass slaps into the Cryptopsy sound.

None So Vile (1996–1997)

Then in 1996, the line-up of Lord Worm, Flo Mounier, Jon Levasseur, and Eric Langlois released the album None So Vile on the Swedish label Wrong Again Records. This album took the extreme and technical elements further than the last outing and is now considered a benchmark of technical death metal. Jon Levasseur's riffing was complex and difficult to pull off at high speeds. By this time, Levasseur was a very prominent songwriter in the band. His guitar leads consisted of very fast yet complex shreds, which were played in usually short bursts. Although Jon Levasseur handled all the guitar parts on the album, the band would add a second guitarist named Miguel Roy to join the band for touring.

After the tour in support of None So Vile, Lord Worm departed the band, focusing his career as an English teacher. The band had reached some musical differences as well, as the rest of the band wanted to evolve and expand more, and Lord Worm expressed a dislike for the experimental path that Cryptopsy's music was then taking^{[citation needed]}.

By early 1997 new vocalist Mike DiSalvo joined the band. He was an American from Boston and had the personal approval by Lord Worm to be the new vocalist. Mike DiSalvo also used a different vocal style than Lord Worm, had more intelligible lyrics, often less extreme and more hardcore sounding voice. In July 1997, Cryptopsy’s appearance at the Milwaukee Metalfest XI gained the attention of many American metalheads as well as a larger label in Century Media.

Whisper Supremacy (1998–1999)

Cryptopsy's next album, Whisper Supremacy, was released on Century Media in 1998, and featured Miguel Roy on second guitar. It took Cryptopsy's style further, incorporating some jazz and fusion elements, quite evident on the song "Cold Hate, Warm Blood." Some fans criticised Mike DiSalvo's vocal style, citing that it was too similar to that of hardcore vocalists and preferred the more extreme death metal style of Lord Worm, whereas others welcomed the more intelligible lyrics and vocal presence of DiSalvo^{[citation needed]}. The tour in support of Whisper Supremacy also took the band on their first trek through the United States, increasing their fan-base significantly.

…And Then You'll Beg (2000–2001)

Cryptopsy released their fourth studio effort, …And Then You'll Beg, in 2000. The album featured a new guitarist, Alex Auburn, replacing Miguel Roy. Alex also played more solos, and would later replace Levasseur as Cryptopsy's main guitarist. This album is viewed as a bit less extreme than the previous albums, but just as experimental and as technical as ever. This album also incorporated even more progressive elements into the music. After the first portion of the tour, Mike DiSalvo departed from the band to pursue a family life with his girlfriend in Montreal and with a son on the way^{[citation needed]}. A new singer had to be recruited for the Europe and Japan wings of the tour.

In 2001, Montreal-area Cryptopsy fan Martin LaCroix took over the position as Cryptopsy's singer. His style was viewed by many fans as being in between the styles of Lord Worm and Mike DiSalvo, making him a convenient choice to front the band.

None So Live (2002–2004)

Lord Worm and Alex Auburn live in Århus, 2006. Photo: Anders Teibel.

In June 2001, Cryptopsy played their first concert in their hometown of Montreal in four years and attracted an audience of more than 2,000, which is generally considered large for a death metal concert. The concert was recorded and released as a live album, None So Live, in May 2003. This release was LaCroix's only contribution to Cryptopsy's discography. The band soon realised that the French-speaking LaCroix did not have a full enough mastery of the English language, which prevented him from writing lyrics on par with his predecessors. According to a later interview in metallian.com, Lord Worm was actually teaching LaCroix English.

Later in 2003, it was announced that Lord Worm, Cryptopsy's original vocalist, had rejoined the band. Throughout summer 2004, Cryptopsy played shows in the Montreal area, and continued a full Canada tour on September 7, with former guitarist Miguel Roy filling in for the unavailable Jon Levasseur. Beginning on October 9, Martyr and former Gorguts guitarist Dan Mongrain took over second guitar duties for the live dates. The setlist for this tour began with all 8 songs from None So Vile played in a row, and then followed by songs from Blasphemy Made Flesh and Whisper Supremacy. The Canada 2004 tour ended at Cryptopsy's performance on November 6 at the Trois-Rivieres Metalfest IV, which was filmed for a live DVD.

Once Was Not (2005–2006)

On January 31, 2005, Jon Levasseur announced that he had lost interest in extreme music and amicably departed Cryptopsy. Daniel Mongrain also remained on guitar duties for the Back to the Worms tour, Cryptopsy's headlining trek through the United States from February to May. After the tour's completion Daniel Mongrain also departed in order to continue his work with Martyr. It was then announced that Cryptopsy's next album, Once Was Not, would be released on October 18, 2005. The album features original vocalist Lord Worm, Flo Mounier, Eric Langlois, and Alex Auburn handling all guitar duties except the intro track "Luminum". On September 28 it was announced that the new touring guitarist would be Christian Donaldson of Mythosis. The band completed a North American tour with Suffocation, Despised Icon, and Aborted. Advanced copies of the new album were available at the shows. After a well-deserved holiday break and the release of Flo Mounier's instructional drumming 2DVD set Extreme Metal Drumming 101, the band toured Europe with Grave, Aborted, Dew-Scented, and others, with tours also in United States and Australia. Following their second running tour of Europe, UK, and Scandinavia; guitarist Christian Donalson was hired as a permanent member of the band.

The Unspoken King (Since 2007)

The new album was supposed to be called "The Book of Suffering" making it a double album^[6] but on April 23, 2007, Cryptopsy announced that Lord Worm had been kicked out of the band and that they were looking for a new vocalist.^[7] After the announcement, Lord Worm stated that he left the group earlier than planned for health reasons which contradicts the previous information of him being kicked out.

On December 4, 2007, Cryptopsy revealed the addition of vocalist Matt McGachy and keyboardist Maggie Durand to the band. With these additions, the band's style became deathcore-oriented, incorporating melodic elements and making use of clean vocals. Their new album, The Unspoken King, was released on June 24, 2008.^[4]

The album was subject to a backlash from fans of the band's previous works, due to the album's metalcore influence and the addition of clean singing.^[8] The band has posted a song on their MySpace, "It's Dinner Time", mocking their detractors.

In early February 2009, longtime guitarist Alex Auburn left the band. On MySpace, he announced his departure, saying that there were numerous reasons for his leaving, and that he and the rest of the band agreed with the departure.

A few months later, the band announced that they had a new guitarist, Youri Raymond, from the Montreal band Unhuman.

According to their MySpace page, they are writing new material.

Members

Current members

• Flo Mounier – drums, backing vocals (Since 1992) Born 1974
• Eric Langlois – bass guitar (Since 1995)
• Christian Donaldson – rhythm & lead guitars (Since 2005)
• Matt McGachy – lead vocals (Since 2007)
• Youri Raymond – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (Since 2009)

Former members

Vocals

• Lord Worm – lead vocals (1988–1997, 2003–2007)
• Mike DiSalvo – lead vocals (1997–2001)
• Martin Lacroix – lead vocals (2001–2003)

Rhythm guitar

• Steve Thibault – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1988–1995, 1996)
• Miguel Roy – rhythm & lead guitars (1996–1999, 2004)
• Alex Auburn – rhythm guitars & lead, backing vocals (1999–2009)

Bass guitar

• John Todds – bass guitar (1988–1992) as Necrosis
• Kevin Weagle – bass guitar (1992–1993)
• Martin Fergusson – bass (1994–1995)

Drums

• Mike Atkin – drums (1988–1992) as Necrosis

Lead Guitar

• Dave Galea – lead & rhythm guitars, vocals (1992–1993, 2000)
• Jon Levasseur – lead & rhythm guitars (1993–2005)

Keyboards

• Maggie Durand – keyboards (2007–2008)

Session members

• Dan Mongrain - Lead Guitar (2004)
• Steve Shyy – keyboards (studio and live) as Necrosis

Discography

Studio albums

• Blasphemy Made Flesh (1994)
• None So Vile (1996)
• Whisper Supremacy (1998)
• …And Then You'll Beg (2000)
• Once Was Not (2005)
• The Unspoken King (2008)

Live albums

• None So Live (2003)

Demos

• Ungentle Exhumation (1993)

References

External links

• Cryptopsy at MySpace
• Cryptopsy biography at Allmusic
• Cryptopsy discography at MusicBrainz
• Cryptopsy at Discogs
• MTV News article about the band's new record
• Interview with Flo Mounier on Chronicles of Chaos