INTERNATIONAL FEATURE ARTIST: Crypitus (Vermont, USA)

For a shot of metal straight from the heart of Vermont in the good ol' US of A, meet heavy lords Crypitus, a recently revamped group who take some textbook thrash with a hint of death metal and inject a backwoods twist.

Showcasing roaring guitars and crashing percussion, Crypitus often lyrically traipse into the worlds of dystopia, death and natural disasters - but somehow they manage to avoid becoming a metal cliche, expanding their reach beyond the norm and incorporating elements including punk, jazz and just the right amount of face-melting.

With their first release 'Exhibit 1: Prelude to the Dead World' officially out in the world last year, the group are now about to embark on recording their first ever full-length. But before the new tunes are unleashed, The Soundcheck had a chat to the guys about furry creatures, influences and performing in piranha bars. Interview below.

• BAND NAME: Crypitus

• HOMETOWN: Rutland, Vermont

• BAND MEMBERS: Doug Friend - Vocals/Guitar Peter Snee - Guitar Joe Minard - Bass Zach Patch - Percussion

• HOW DID CRYPITUS GET STARTED? Pete: Doug and I jammed together in the basement of the house we lived in. We decided to find a drummer and we found Zach. The rest is history Joe: I joined after I was introduced by a friend when they needed a bassist. Zach: I was desperately searching the internet for musicians to jam with. Pete just happened to be the first to respond with Doug in tow Doug: I started to play music with Pete in 2016. After he picked up a few of my tunes we went searching for drummers, in a small town it wasn’t easier but soon enough we found Zach just up the hill. After a few mishaps with bassists we finally have Joe, who is reliable as hell.

• HOW LONG HAS CRYPITUS BEEN GOING FOR? Pete: About 2 years now. Zach: I've been part of Crypitus for about 2 years. Doug: We started in May of 2016

• WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES? Pete: Animals as Leaders, Between the Buried and Me, Black Dahlia Murder Joe: Metallica and Primus Zach: My all time favorite band is Between the Buried and Me. I also really love Frank Zappa and Mike Portnoy. Doug: Death, Dissection, Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies & Voivod.

• DESCRIBE CRYPITUS IN THREE WORDS: Pete: Some breaking bones . Joe: Proggy thrash metal. Zach: Psychedelic thrash metal. Doug: Just listen already.

• WHAT'S THE MOST MEMORABLE GIG YOU'VE PLAYED SO FAR AND WHY? Pete: Psychostick was pretty memorable. It was my first time crowd surfing or playing in front of a really big crowd. Joe: We played in the piranha bar in Montreal there bar is also a fish tank with turtles and piranhas. Zach: Probably the night we got to play with Psychostick. Doug: I had a lot of fun at our first night in Maine at The Cage in Lewiston; such a warm welcoming!

• WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE CRYPITUS SONG? Pete: Thunder is my favorite. It’s fast and technical and death metally. Joe: Symphony #1 sounds pretty cool. Zach: Symphony #1. It's an instrumental and it's really groovy. Doug: Loaded Gun, it’s very powerful.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW? ANY NEW THINGS ON THE HORIZON? Pete: We have a festival in August. Then we’re going into the studio to record a full length album. Joe: We're doin a small tour soon, working on new songs and an album eventually. Zach: We have a ton of new music in the works. We have plenty of big things on the horizon. Doug: Giggin’ Workin’ Writin’ and Recordin’!

• IF YOU WEREN'T PLAYING MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE DOING? Pete: Hiking, making other kinds of art Zach: Fishing. That's it. Think I'm heading to do that now actually Doug: Wandering in a forest.

• IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE OTHER BAND, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? Pete: An Unction in Braille Joe: An Unction in Braille cuz they're cool guys. Zach: Unction in Braille. At least we wouldn't get bored. Doug: Ice Giant; so we could stay COOL.

• PINEAPPLE ON A PIZZA, YES OR NO? Pete: Fuck. No. Joe: It's alright. Zach: FUCK YES. Doug: Pineapple directly in my mouth.

• CATS OR DOGS? Pete: Dogs because they show their love for you more. Joe: I like dogs more. Zach: Both. There is no other option. We love our furry children. Doug: Cats, because at least they shit in a box and not on your floor.

• WOULD CRYPITUS SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE? Pete: Zach’s got enough firepower so we’d be fine. Joe: I'm sure we would be fine. Zach: Yes. We have lots of guns and a fortress Doug: Zach definitely got us covered hahaha.

• AND FINALLY, WHAT'S THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME AND WHY? Pete: We haven’t written it yet. Joe: There's a lot of great song I don't think there's a greatest one though. Zach: Idk. White Walls or something. Doug: No such thing!

FOR MORE CRYPITUS INFO, HEAD TO: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP

BY TIANA SPETER

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