I recently got a chance to reach out to Chris Donaldson, the skilled guitar shredder for Cryptopsy. With the band being an independent band, they are always busy, this is there 9-5 only its more of a 24-7 job. So they are busy trying to make a living, and have a life. They are back from the most recent tour and i wanted to get a quick interview in while the members had some free time.
This is my interview with Chris,
Alright Chris so I did get a brief chance to talk to you at your last U.S. show but I wanted to ask you a few questions to help the fans get more connected.
Badger- So how has 2015 been for you so far?
Chris- 2015, mmmm it must have been amazing probably, I can’t even figure out what month we are(in), (I should put windows in my studio! Hehe)
Badger- After the Book Of Suffering E.P. is released will we be seeing any more youtube play through videos of you?
Chris – we don’t have any plans for that now, but if the demand is there, I will shred that axe for you!!
Badger-Was the Back to the U.S tour special in the sense that we haven’t seen Cryptopsy in a few years. Was it as special for you, and the rest of the band?
Chris- It was special is a sense that it was a bill that we choose in majority. It was awesome to tour with all our friends. The vibe was just fantastic! He hope all the fans felt that too!
Badger- When the Back to the U.S. tour ended, you guys drove home, unpacked, showered etc. Is there any one thing you like to do first? For example go to your favorite restaurant, listen to a local radio station, catch up on your favorite tv shows, spend time with family etc?
Chris- It really depends on where was that tour, and what time who are back home. Majority of the time, we are dead tired (for example you spent 2 hung-over days in an airport to go back to your house plus the jetlag!) so I would say, sleep! But other than that, me and Oli like to go drink at our favorite pub in Montreal “le saint-elisabeth”!!
Badger-And my last question If you can describe The Book Of Suffering E.P. in five words. What would those five words be?
Chris- brutal, fast, dark, melodic, experimental
Thank you very much you guys are some really stand up down to earth cool individuals, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing you guys in Syracuse. And I look forward to hearing the new music when it comes out. I want to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
Chris – Peace man !!!
So there you have it, make sure you check out their indiegogo campaign, and make a contribution. They even have an option for $1.00 which they will send you a thank you video for. here’s the link http://igg.me/at/Cryptopsy/x/10796470
but seriously if you look at the pricing, for the digital E.P. or even the physical, its a pretty damn good price. Only you can feel better that you are helping the band out.
Sorry for any delay to any metal news there is, i happened to take a vacation this past week that included seeing Cryptopsy wrap up their ” Back to the U.S. tour in Syracuse, Ny, and then making my way down to Florida to relax by the beach or pool and read Extremity Retained written by Misery Index’s own Jason Netherton. Needless to say i did not have my computer or wifi so any posts i could do were few and far between and on my phone with only a 1G and maybe if I was lucky 3G/4G service. At any rate lots to report and i still wont be able to fit it all in to one post without everyones ADD needing to look at something different, so i am going to break this up into a few posts just to keep you guys engaged.
Parkway drive just released a video yesterday for the song ” Vice Grip” if you are a Parkway fan then be sure to check this out, if not hey maybe you will like them or move along to the next story i have.
Heart of a coward, new video released today on Century Medieas youtube channel, they are a bit more mainstream sounding but anyone who listens i bvet you could hear them on either Sirius XM Liquid Metal or Octane easily. Not bad definitely check them out.
Slipknot released the video to the song Killpop yesterday and has already broken a million views, 1,381,960 to be exact right now as i am typing this which is a big feat considering it was released yesterday.
Stream High on Fire’s new album “ Luminiferous” because why nowadays bands are putting it out there to stream the whole album. I say YES because if i like it i am still going to buy it. Call me old but i like to have the CD. I like being able to physically hold it in my hands and read the booklet. See where it was recorded who produced it, all the way to the thank you’s. Shit i used to find a way to the record store, pick up a cd, and the first thing i did was read the booklet. See who the band thanked, who they toured with etc. you get a good idea of the smaller less known bands that way and i would end up checking them out to see what they sounded like, go to shows or buy their albums if i could. So with High on Fire putting the album to stream you can get a good listen to all the tracks and make up your mind and buy it when you can. i have listened to all the tracks and it is good, I really dig The Black Plot! so go on and check it out
Shadows fall hiatus is over? Whether or not this is just a one show gig, or if they are going to come back at it full swing its still pretty cool. The band announces summer show at The Big Kahuna Festival in Providence RI Saturday August 22nd. Maybe this will lead up to more band news, maybe it won’t but if you are in the New England area and you are a Shadows Fall fan you may not want to miss this show.
Cannibal Corpse and Testament will be going on a Latin America Tour! This fall the Tour will have Testament and Cannibal Corpse playing in November and December dates listed on their Facebook page so far are;
17-Nov-15 -Porto Alegre, Brazil – Opiniao
18-Nov-15 -Curitiba, Brazil -Vanilla Music Hall
20-Nov-15 -Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Circo Voador
21-Nov-15 -Sao Paulo, Brazil -Carioca Club
24-Nov-15 -Buenos Aires, Argentina -Groove
25-Nov-15 -Santiago, Chile -Teatro Caupolican
26-Nov-15 -Lima, Peru -Embarcadero 41
28-Nov-15 -Bogota, Colombia – Downtown Majestic
29-Nov-15 – San Jose, Costa Rica -Club Peppers
1-Dec-15 -Mexico City, MX -Pabellón Oeste Del Palacio de los Deportes
2-Dec-15 – Guadalajara, MX – Teatro Studio Cavaret
Sickdrummer Magazine posts a video of Archspires Spencer Pruwett killing it on the drums to “ Rapid Elemental Dissolve”Now I have heard a few different opinions on the band from the vocals to the sound. Everyone has an opinion, Mine is that Spencer is a great drummer and I really dig watching his playthrough videos on youtube. He has one for Lucid Collective Somnabulation that is just great to watch becuase it covers several different camera angles. So here is the video from Sickdrummer Magazine
Cryptopsy crowdfunding only has 29 days left, and $6,366.00 raised so far click on the link to help them reach their goal!
I know I have posted a lot about Cryptopsy, but you have to understand, when they formed years back most of the metal was just the typical death metal. These guys are from Canada and just created a sound like no one else, and still no one can pull off the same sound. I have always been a huge fan of Flo Mounier as a drummer, the guy is just incredible. and also i had the chance to meet and talk to the band at their last show in Syracuse, NY. The guys are some of the most down to earth people, and are all a bunch of great guys who have lives like you and me. Each had great stuff to talk about with the new album, and also had great ideas for the future music from Cryptopsy. So check out their crowdfunding Indie gogo page, maybe you have never heard their music before, listen to some songs and heck if you dont want to buy a cd buy the digital download, its only $5.00! You can even have exclusives like Matt doing vocals for your band or flow doing drum tracks etc.
Warpath Ireland reveal guest vocals for a track have been recorded with the one and only Mark Kloeppel from Misery Index for the upcoming E.P. ” The Ambiance of War”. The track Mark did vocals on is listed as ” Hunted like the prey that you are”. Which sounds like it will be a killer track. if you want to get some more information on this news check out Warpath’s facebooks page at; https://www.facebook.com/warpath.ireland
Other misery Index news the legendary Jason Netherton Bassist and founding member of both Misery Index, and Dying fetus as well as author of Extremity Retained will be presenting at the Modern Heavy Metal Conference in Helsinki Finland. Also if you are a fan of metal, and like me grew up listening to it, do yourself a favor, pick up Jason’s book Extremity Retained. It is a must have for every fan of metal.
And of course as I posted yesterday Lamb of God has the audio for the track titled “512” up to listen to. Its not a fast tempo song, its a good mid tempo song that has some powerful background fueling the lyrics. Randy had spoke to Rollingstone magazine and said that his cell number while in prison over seas was 512. So if you have not listened to it yet, get on that. New Lamb of God what are you waiting for?
And right now the Video for Killpop has 1,382,160 views and picking up steam.
So thats just part of my news cathc up stay tuned for more. and make sure to support local music, and actually buy the music. Bands need to earn a living too.
You grow up knowing that you will work a certain profession some day. You need to pick a career and try to work your hardest at it to succeed. Now lets say you land a good job. You go to work, put in your time, earn a paycheck. You look at that pay check and you have all of your standard deductions and tax deductions etc. now lets say your employer also takes a portion of your paycheck. Many of you are probably wondering well why would they do that? Some of you are probably saying “ hell no I don’t like the sound of that”. Some of you are probably wondering where I am going with this so I will explain.
For bands they have a few paths to take, they start out fresh and they do the typical journey of playing shows at dive bars basically anywhere that will allow an original artist to play. Now coming from experience you don’t really make squat when you are doing this, if you get paid, its peanuts. Your goal is to get on a label, because a label is where life gets a little easier. You don’t have to do your own promotions, you aren’t the ones making the calls, booking the shows, the label handles that for you. However if your livelihood is based on this type of career you are missing out on a lot. You are on the road constantly, you are trying to navigate the digital age we live in today, and at some point you want to actually earn enough to make a living doing this. Now what if you had started out made a big name for yourselves, got onto huge labels, but you were not really pulling in enough? Meaning you grossed a lot over a year, but the net you actually saw was a very small fraction of your gross earnings? What do you do then? There is one option, and that is go independent, but you have to work hard, and I mean work real hard for it. you are taking all the calls, trying to manage everything yourselves.
Cryptopsy did just that, they created a big name for themselves, and a fan base to go with it. This path is like starting your own company/ business. Anybody who has ever tried to start their own business knows it is not easy. You are your own boss and you don’t have a staff working the financials, the phone calls, the business planning, merchandise, product, etc. You are doing all the work to go the distance needed for success. Cryptopsy is doing that, they are handling all the business they can.
Imagine going independent, and then going on a tour. Work doesn’t stop because you are on tour, work is non stop. The world doesn’t go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time. 24-7 there is business to be handled, and Cryptopsy are doing that. They just finished up a tour that started in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ended in Syracuse, NY. They played shows all across the U.S. trying to stir up some support for their upcoming E.P. If you were fortunate to see them then chances are you not only were blown away by a great performance, you may have also heard a track from the upcoming E.P. title “ The Book of Suffering Tome 1” . I saw them in Syracuse and I have to tell you the new material sounds amazing. They played songs from all their albums, and of course the first song I ever heard from them “ Emaciate” now that song blew me away the first time I heard it. From that moment I was a Cryptopsy fan for life. I got a chance to talk to Flo this past Monday and had mentioned that songs impact on me. To my surprise he told me they would be playing it that night. I can’t even begin to tell you how badass that is. That song came off their ” Whisper Supremcy” album from 1998, and to see them play it live is still having that “ WOW” effect on me. Then he tells me they will also be playing a new fresh song that will be on the Book of Suffering E.P. and then to hear that new song live was incredible, actually incredible is a monumental understatement. It was an experience like no other.
Now why should you be concerned whether they are independent or not? Because if you found out that in order for one of the best metal acts to put out new music is by getting a head count for who will actually by the album and pre ordering it. wouldn’t you want to help them out? Its like seeing signs for shop local, or help small business. Who wants to hear new music from a super talented group aiming to just crush every boundary and set the bar at astronomical levels? Who wants to help out a really stand up great group of guys living a life like you and I ? They are working hard for it, possessing integrity, principal, and devotion they took on a challenge that is a harder road. They aren’t just doing it for themselves, they are doing it for the fans. To get new music out more often, to give the fans their absolute best effort every time.
Now if none of this is getting you to check out their indiegogo page, then let me give my personal perspective. I have talked to these guys, they are all really cool collected guys. Every member had great things to say, and were very professional. They were nice, I mean you could talk to these guys like a friend. They have great ideas ahead, and to get their they just need a little help along the way. From hearing them for the first time, Flo Mounier became a drummer I have admired for over a decade. Talking to Chris (guitars) he has great ideas for the future of Cryptopsy and the guy is a really cool guy to speak with, shoot my girlfriend came to the show with me. The first thing she said when we lef tthe show was ” They were so nice, and Chris was so sincere, he looked scary angry like on stage but he was so nice, they were so cool. Matt (vocals) was constantly thanking the fans for coming out, when I spoke to him he was just very precise on what they wanted to accomplish. Make great music, give the fans the best they can. Oliver (Bass) is a cool guy, also thanking people for their support. And I gotta say, you see him on stage and he just has this menacing look like he is about to fuck shit up in a hard way. Then to talk to him after he is one of the nicest guys you will meet. Seriously these guys are a couple of normal guys trying to live the dream by working hard and delivering only the best they can to their fans. Buy their merchandise, Pre order the new album or pre order a campaign shirt. Hell they have options from digital download to having them do mixing for a song for your band. They are their own business, they are their own boss, they are their own marketers, they are their own sales, and all they want is for their product ( great technical grinding metal from Canada) to be the absolute best and put on great performances.
With that said check out a few videos to try and get you to understand what you could be a part of just by pre ordering something, and everything comes with a digital download of the album. So it’s a win, win, win situation. You win by pre ordering something, you win by being a part of something, Cryptopsy wins by getting what they need to give us their best, and being able to continue to do so.
Here’s a little clip to get you amped for the new E.P.
So if that’s not enough
Here’s Flo, and why he’s one of my absolute favorite drummers:
Here’s Oliver, and Chris doing a play through for “ Two Pound Torch”
And because its not easy to find any videos of just Matt here are a few videos of live performance with Matt killing it:
SO COME ON! LETS HELP CRYPTOPSY MEET THEIR GOAL!!! Seriously right now their Facebook page has 277,000 page likes. And on their indiegogo page they have only 207 backers and $5,491 raised, with only 34 days left. That means they only have a quarter raised so far, out of 277 thousand page likes only a quarter raised. So come on anything will make a difference, maybe you know someone who would love a new Cryptopsy shirt, or the experience of a lifetime of guitar lesson via skype with Chris. The bare minimum donation is $5.00 for a digital download of the E.P. and since many people only use Mp3’s for their sound medium heck why not, $5.00 could help these guys out. It won’t buy you a pack of cigarettes but it will buy you extremely talented technical metal in the form of a digital download. So check their Indiegogo page out.
So I figured why the hell not? If you listen to metal than surely you have those albums that you will go back and listen to and really bring you back. I know I do, and hearing about Vehemence putting out a new album, Neurosis doing a tour, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed playing at Maryland Deathfest. It really put me in the mood to listen to some good stuff I remember buying when it came out, and going to shows.
SO to start things off will be a video by Vehemence. This is called by your bedside off of the “ Helping the World to See” album;
Next will be a video by Coalesce, from the album “ 0:12 revolution in just listening” I couldn’t find any actual video footage of this song, but it’s a good listen.
Now bringing it back to 1995 we have At the gates, Blinded by Fear off of the “ Slaughter of the Soul album” This album was one of those monumental albums. I remember picking up an Earache records Compilation that had this song on it.
Now this is only going back to 2003 but “ As the Palaces Burn” came out while I was in college. And this album was one of the albums that I would listen to , while getting pumped up before my band would play a show. After my sound check I would play a song form this album or “ New American Gospel” theres something about how Chris Adler plays the drums I dig his style. At the time he didn’t do any blast beats or anything, it was just drums with great fills and solid timing. So here is the song “ Ruin”
And here is a live performance of O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E
Now it brings me to Neurosis, this song “ Under the Surface” is what got me into these guys. There was something dark yet powerful about this song.
Here it is off of the “ Times of Grace” album
Next is a band from the earlier days of metalcore, these guys were one of those bands you listen to this song “ Bitter” and you can see how far the Metalcore genre has come. Whether some of the newer bands ever listened to them or not, I would say these guys had a big influence one way or another.
Here it is Bitter off the “ Fifty ninth session” album
Now bringing metal back to the year 1999 where Internal Bleeding put out “ Driven to Conquer” So its not an official video, but it still allows you to take in the song “ Falling Down” with pretty good audio, and getting to see the album cover.
Lets go back to 1998 with Arch Enemy’s “ Stigmata” Album, the opening track “ Beast Of Man” when I first heard this song I just loved the guitars in this song. I was in the 8th hgrade and rocking out to this song off a Century Media Records compilation CD I bought at a Newbury comics. This compilation was the first of many that really got me into new bands. I think I paid $3.00 for 20 songs and this song was on there. I wish this video was an official video, however there is an “ Official” video from a few years ago. Obviously its with Angela Gossow on vocals, and from a different album. To me this may be an “ Official” video, but its not original.
At any rate here is the original song off of “ Stigmata”
And then off of “ Root of all evil” with Angela;
Another Band i got into early on was Opeth, i first heard them back in middle school and bought their album titled “Morningrise” i really got into their epic metal sound, just heavy haunting menacing vocals at times and soft sincere vocals at others. this is an art form. i have never heard another band that has the bipolar, yet progressive metal song structure as Opeth.
Here is the track ” Advent” of the Morningrise album;
Now last but not least I bring you Cryptopsy with the album “ Whisper Supremecy” the track titled “ Emaciate” which happens to be the first song I ever heard, and was absolutely blown away by Flo’s drumming skills. Still listening to this song I am in awe of the talent Flo has. Now this is with a different vocalist at the time. I will not take away from current vocalist Matt’s talent. I personally really dig his vocals the best, I think all the other guys were great and added to the albums respectively. Since Matt McGachy has taken over vocal duties I think he really adds the missing element for vocals. He has great sound, great range, and can pull off the older songs great.
SO with that said here is “ Emaciate”
And don’t forget to check out Cryptopsy’s indiegogo page as they are trying to put out a new E.P. they are crowdfunding currently. Here is that link ;
So that wraps up this weeks #TBT Throwback Thursday metal edition. Feel free to comment, offer some details about a metal song or album that brings you back to a time period every time you listen to it.
So I am checking out Cryptopsy’s indiegogo crowd funding page, and i noticed that there are only 47 days left, and only $4,242 has been raised so far. So to try and help boost your awareness, and ambition to spend a few dollars for a killer band’s next album. Here are a few videos for Cryptopsy, I’m talking Flo on drums, music videos anything to get you to pull out your wallet and spend a few dollars. Shoot just to get a CD+ a digital Copy is only $20. and that includes shipping. you cant get that any most music shops in your local mall.
Worship your demons;
Bass and guitar playthrough;
Book of suffering promo
Flo Drum solo
Slit your guts live:
And more FLO!!!
So go and check out their indiegogo page and give this album a chance. i mean shoot if you go to the page there are options for if they exceed their goal if they can triple their goal they can also put out the second installment of the Book of suffering.
These guys are brutal, the first time I heard them was the song ” Emaciate” and I was just absolutley blown away. It was from that moment I became a Cryptopsy fan. ANd they are on tour right now, check out their facebook page for dates
So here i am checking things out and i go take a look at Cryptopsy’s facebook page to see how their tour is going and i see this
All i can say is this is a great feeling to have when i saw this. Being a Cryptopsy fan since i was a freshman in highschool till now, i have always admired Flo’s drumming and their technical brutality. Whisper supremecy blew me away when i first heard it, and these guys are still raising the bar. now lets get on there crowdfunding campaign and get this album going. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-fund-cryptopsy-s-the-book-of-suffering#/story
Cryptopsy are on to the 3rd show of their tour, right now they are in Brooklyn, NY. man i wish i could have been there but i am planning on making it out to another show of theirs during this tour. Keep in mind they are an independant band, they do not have a record label and they are taking it all on themselves. What does that mean, it means you have guys using their own money to accomplish these feats. They are also crowdfunding E.P.’s to try and put out new music more often. Their current crowdfunding campaign is for a new E.P. titled ” The Book of Suffering”. Make sure to be a part of this great campaign, If you are not sure about whether or not to bother. DO IT!!! have you heard Flo on drums? seriously the guy is amazing. Check the guy out https://youtu.be/zCen_sEFJzs This is what I’m talking about not good enough check out a video from a live performance a song from their last album ” Cryptopsy” this is Two Pound torch https://youtu.be/Lnb2M-sMXas
So get in on this Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and lets help Cryptopsy get some new music out to us.
Canada’s brutilizing grind metal band Cryptopsy are crowd funding their new EP through Indie gogo. They are planning to do this for the next few EP’s trying to give us the fans new music more often. If you are a fan of Cryptopsy get in on this, they have several packages ranging from a digital download EP, all the way to having Matt do guest vocals, or even the backdrop they have used on tour since 2012. Clicking on the above link will also give you a a sample to what their new EP will sound like. With just over 50 days left lets try to share this as much as possible. Who wouldnt want to hear new music from Cryptops. who wouldnt want to hear new sounds coming form the brilliant Flo Mounier? this is a greta opportunity to help a great band. again you can just clink on this link right here http://igg.me/at/Cryptopsy/x/10796470
The Metal Breakdown 