Billy Strings Joins Cryptopsy for “Blasphemy Made Fresh”

Not every underground icon lives long enough to lord above death metal’s crypt three decades into their career. But Cryptopsy are proving once again why they’re the most vile band of them all. A year after winning their first JUNO Award, the brutal Canadians have graced the cover of Decibel, snatched Metal Injection‘s Artist of the Month honor and cracked the Billboard charts with their critically-acclaimed new album An Insatiable Violence.

Of course, Cryptopsy have been making blasphemy fresh ever since they came writhing and screaming into the world of extreme metal with their instant classic debut. This Friday, the band are reissuing Blasphemy Made Flesh for the first time since signing with Season of Mist. And they’ve added another bloody milestone to commemorate this special occasion.  

“For a while now, we have performed a medley of Blasphemy Made Flesh on tour”, Cryptopsy vocalist Matt McGachy says. “But for the album’s 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something really special”. 

“Blasphemy Made Fresh” is a new 8-minute medley that sharpens and steels the album’s many surgical hooks and pathological rhythms with a murderer’s row of today’s top death metal vocalists: Ben Deurr (Shadow of Intent), Bridget Lynch (Stabbing), Alexander Sason (Undeath), Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa) and Mallika Sundaramurthy (Emasculator). This hellacious parade of death growls paves the way for a righteous guitar solo from none other than two-time Grammy winner and mega Cryptopsy fan Billy Strings.     

“We are super stoked at how excited each guest was to be part of this unique homage to Cryptopsy’s first classic”, McGachy says. “We are beyond proud of this medley and are so happy that we can now share it with our new and old fans”.   

Listen to “Blasphemy Made Fresh” on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/miPjohxeXxo

Season of Mist is reissuing Blasphemy Made Flesh this Friday, July 18.

Pre-order
https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/CryptopsyReissues

Available Formats
Digital Download
2xCD Jewel Case*
12″ Vinyl (Black)
12″ Vinyl (Red with Black Splatters)
*includes “Blasphemy Made Fresh” + 1995 Live Set

Cryptopsy have been stringing together bits and pieces of their first album into the setlist since they first cracked open The Book of Suffering. “When we cut together this medley, we went straight for the parts that make our blood boil and heads bang”, the band’s guitarist Christian Donaldson says. “If it does that for other people, too, then mission accomplished”.

But the seeds for “Blasphemy Made Fresh” were sown just a few years ago, while McGachy was listening to The Jasta Show. “Jamey had suggested to Terrence Hobbs that Suffocation should invite a bunch of guests to re-record vocals for one of their classic albums”, he remembers. “That inspired me to hit up some killer young extreme metal vocalists to perform on this medley”.

As the first guest to sink his teeth into “Blasphemy Made Fresh”, Alexander Jones is quick to stake his claim. “‘Defenestration’ is a Top 5 all-time metal opening track – argue with a wall”, says the Undeath vocalist, who rips through the merciless “Abigor”. “Cryptopsy is by far one of my all-time favorite death metal bands and hold a special place in my heart due to them being one of the very first that I got into. When Matt asked me if I’d like to contribute to this medley alongside so many other contemporary vocalists I admire, I was floored. It was truly an honor to contribute even a little bit to a celebration of such an incredible, landmark record. I can’t begin to thank the guys enough for this incredible opportunity”. 

To help fill the brutal grooves of “Born Headless”, Cryptopsy didn’t have to look any further than their fellow Canadians in Carcosa. “Cryptopsy is sewn into the fabric of my Canadian death metal soul and has been since I was young”, the band’s vocalist Johnny Ciardullo says. “It would be an understatement to say that it’s an honour to have performed on a Cryptopsy song, but I mean it in every sense. I truly cherish the opportunity to celebrate such an important record in Canadian metal history”.

Bridget Lynch nails the riff-lashing of “Swine of the Cross” with demonic gutturals. “I’ve been into brutal death metal since I was a young teenager and Blasphemy Made Flesh was my introduction to Cryptopsy early on”, Stabbing’s vocalist says. “I think Lord Worm is one of the most iconic vocalists in the genre, so I tried my best to do this part justice. I feel really honored to be a part of this”.

While the original is known for its deranged delivery, Mallika Sundaramurthy puts on a vocal clinic during the knuckle-dragging midsection of “Open Face Surgery”. “Blasphemy Made Flesh was such an important album for me as a youth getting into brutal death metal”, the Emasculator vocalist says. “I wouldn’t be the vocalist I am today without Lord Worm and Cryptopsy. So of course I was honored when Matt invited me to participate in a medley honoring the album’s legacy. I’m really stoked to have collaborated with the living legends!”

Bringing together a rabid pack of extreme metal vocalists is memorable feat on its own, but to do the legendary solo on Blasphemy Made Flesh justice required a real twist of fate. Last year, Cryptopsy were getting ready for a show when who should happen to be playing up the road from them that night but one of their most famous fans.

“Cryptopsy is my all-time favorite death metal band”, says William Apostol, who’s better known as Billy Strings. “I was so bummed that I had my own show, because I’ve always dreamed of seeing them live. So I figured that the best thing to do was send the guys a cake that said ‘Open Cake Surgery'”.

After sending someone from his camp down to visit the band’s merch booth, Strings got a video of the guys devouring his gift. “It blew my mind!” he continues. “I was just so happy I could at least pay my respects in the form of frosting and that they didn’t think I was a total weirdo”.

Despite returning to their respected corners of the music world, when Cryptopsy needed a guest guitarist to perform “Open Face Surgery”, they knew just who to ask. “Of course, the answer was a resounding HELL YES!” Strings says. “Blasphemy Made Flesh is one of the best albums ever. That and None So Vile changed my life!”. While he’s used to picking bluegrass, his fretwork on “Blasphemy Made Fresh” is downright filthy. “I was a bit nervous because I hadn’t played heavy music in quite some time, but I got comfy on the track and I’m really pleased with the end result. Contributing to a Cryptopsy track is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. I’ll always be grateful to the guys for trusting me with this great honor”.          

Billy Strings appears on “Blasphemy Made Fresh” courtesy of Reprise Records.

The cover art for “Blasphemy Made Fresh” was created by Remedy Art Design (@remedyartdesign)
   
Cryptopsy’s new album An Insatiable Violence is out now on Season of Mist.

Order & Stream
https://orcd.co/cryptopsyaninsatiableviolence

Praise for An Insatiable Violence

“An Insatiable Violence is as explosive, violent and technical as anything in their catalogue. For fans of ruthless, boundary smashing brutality, this is a gift from the death metal gods” – Blabbermouth (8.5/10)

“Cryptopsy proves that even after decades of dominance, they remain hungry – hungry to evolve, to experiment, and to push the limits of brutal death metal. Far from resting on their laurels, the band has crafted an album that feels both contemporary and timeless” – Lambgoat (8/10)

“Fans of Cryptopsy will not be dissapointed….An Insatiable Violence is going to be an insatiable earworm for death metal fans across the board” – BangerTV (4/5)

“Devastating grooves, brooding melodies and hyper blast tempos come together in a way that only Cryptopsy is able to harness properly” – Dead Rhetoric (9.5/10)

“Cryptopsy are still kings of brutal technical death metal” – Bravewords (9/10)

“Cryptopsy is back, baby” – New Noise (4.5/5)

“Cryptopsy doesn’t miss” – The Rockfather (10/10)

This record just begs for repeated listens, and Cryptopsy has proven once again to be one of Death Metal’s most vital bands. While modern day DM outfits spin their superficial, uber-technical wheels, these boys just bring it as it was always meant to be brought: with unrelenting brutality and no bullshit songwriting methods” – Metal Bite (9/10)

“This is brutal music for sure, but it’s a reflection of a world that is brutal, even in the places that were meant to offer us an escape from its horrors” – Metal Lair (4.5/5)

“Cryptopsy are undoubtedly at the top of the food chain when it comes to Canadian Death Metal, and An Insatiable Violence will certainly fuel them for a lot more in the near future, beautifully spreading their violence and passion for heavy music to all four corners of the earth” – The Headbanging Moose (4/5)

“Cryptopsy is like a fine wine and just gets better over time and is a band that is willing to push their sound, test different genres and musical influences, and continue to deliver a commanding and powerful sonic assault of technical brutal death metal that this band has perfected over thirty years” – Frozen Moon Promotions (4.5/5)

“Cryptopsy details how technology, and particularly, social media act as this machine that tortures us for inputting things into the algorithm. It’s a toxic cycle, and An Insatiable Violence allows for that cyclical nature to be ever-so-present on the record” – Metal Injection (Artist of the Month)

“An Insatiable Violence continues to reaffirm the fact that the modern day incarnation of Cryptopsy are still a band very much at the top of their game…and look likely to stay there” – No Clean Singing

“…in terms of sheer ferocity, there is nothing remotely close in 2025 that is touching this as of me writing this review. An Insatiable Violence is the most perfect name for this album – beyond devastating!” – Teeth of the Divine

“They are indeed back and dare I say better than they’ve been in years” – Nine Circles

“…this is still a brutal-sounding Cryptopsy album, but perhaps one of the most accessible albums from them in a long time” – A&P Reacts

“An Insatiable Violence is a superb record, an emphatic statement from an icon of the genre that they remain elite within the death metal space” – The Razor’s Edge

“These new songs are extremely satisfying. There is no filler here, no pointless interludes or extraneous fat, just a lean killing machine that is thirsting for blood” – Wonderbox Metal

“This album just slaps you silly with everything you already like about Cryptopsy” – Thralls of Metal 

“One of the best death metal albums of the year so far” – Metal Trenches

“This is a concept album about the ways that social media can possess you. Each song is memorable yet insane, capturing this evil in unimaginable ways. Every member also puts everything into this album, resulting in some mind-blowing solos, funky bass lines, and inhuman drumming” – Infernal TV

“Cryptopsy’s machine is firing on all cylinders here, and damned if it isn’t a lovely feeling to be tortured by something so harnessed and brutally ugly” – Black Angel Promotions

In the wake of spreading bloodshed all over Europe with Decapitated, Cryptopsy are now fiending to feast on the new cuts from An Insatiable Violence with their ravenous fans across the U.S.

This fall, the band are joining brutal technical death metal pharaohs Nile on a 25-date tour of the East Coast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Joining them on this run are The Last Ten Seconds of Life and Cognitive. 

“We are so excited to bring An Insatiable Violence to the United States. It’s a pleasure to tour amongst friends and this lineup is incredibly stacked!”, Cryptopsy says. “Our new album was written for a live setting. The songs are more brutal and grooving so that people can really latch on and bang their heads”. 

Cryptopsy’s setlist for this tour will pull from the band’s latest albums while mixing in revered classics. 

The Underworld Awaits Tour USA 2025 
September 12 – Raleigh, NC @ Chapel of Bones [TICKETS]
September 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts [TICKETS]
September 14 – Leesburg, VA @ Tally Ho [TICKETS]
September 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch [TICKETS]
September 17 – Hampton, NH @ Wally’s [TICKETS]
September 18 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Hall [TICKETS]
September 19 – Lititz, PA @ Mickey’s Black Box [TICKETS]
September 20 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz [TICKETS]
September 21 – Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall [TICKETS]
September 22 – Cleveland, OH @ Mercury [TICKETS]
September 24 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary [TICKETS]
September 25 – Hobart, IN @ Hobart Art Theatre [TICKETS]
September 26 – Madison, WI @ The Annex [TICKETS]
September 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Studio B Skyway [TICKETS]
September 28 – Belvidere, IL @ Apollo Theater [TICKETS]
September 29 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Bigs Bar [TICKETS]
October 1 – Billings, MT @ Pub Station [TICKETS]
October 3 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon [TICKETS]
October 4 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory [TICKETS]
October 5 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory [TICKETS]
October 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge [TICKETS]
October 7 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater [TICKETS]
October 9 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s* [TICKETS]
October 10 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s* [TICKETS]
October 11 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Annex* [TICKETS]
*Nile, Cryptopsy and Cognitive only

Metalheads who are chomping at the bit for An Insatiable Violence can further their appetite by revisiting Cryptopsy’s hallowed catalogue. Since signing with Season of Mist in 2024, the band have reissued their 1993 demo Ungentle Exhumation, revered debut Blasphemy Made Flesh, the widely-worshiped None So Vile, their triumphant self-titled and The Book of Suffering Tome I + II, which is now available for the first time on one combined LP.    

Order
https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/CryptopsyReissues

More than 30 years into their storied career, Montreal death metal innovators Cryptopsy return with their ninth studio album, An Insatiable Violence, set for release on June 20, 2025 on Season of Mist.

Revered in extreme metal circles for such groundbreaking classics as 1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and the 1996 magnum opus None So Vile, Cryptopsy find yet another gear on An Insatiable Violence, which further solidifies the band’s place in the upper echelon of death metal. Coming out of the pandemic, the band dedicated themselves to staying on top of their game more than ever before, with the intention of consistently putting out a new record every two years. That started with 2023’s acclaimed As Gomorrah Burns, and continues 21 months later with An Insatiable Violence.

“We had to write the majority of An Insatiable Violence while on the Death to All tour, which was something we’d never done before”, vocalist Matt McGachy says. “Flo [Mounier, drums] and Chris [Donaldson, guitar] really put their hats on. It was a feat”.  

“Ever since COVID our focus is clearer, a lot of work gets done faster, and we push each other to get it done.”, Mounier says.  

In addition to featuring some of the fastest passages Cryptopsy has ever recorded – keen listeners will even hear the odd gravity blast from Mounier, a rarity from the virtuoso drummer – the controlled chaos of their signature sound is offset by well-timed passages that ease off the gas pedal enough to allow listeners to come up for some air. That dynamic rage on An Insatiable Violence in turn makes the more aggressive moments hit even harder, which is immediately noticeable on the harrowing “Until There’s Nothing Left” and the chugging closing track “Malicious Needs”. Olivier Pinard anchors “Fools Last Acclaim” with stunning authority (keeping pace with Mounier is an unenviable task) while Donaldson offsets gnarly, atonal riffs with melodic passages throughout the record. “It’s a continuation of As Gomorrah Burns,” McGachy says, “We really wanted to make a groovy record, and we think we’ve done it.”

It seems as though nothing is scarier than real life right now, and An Insatiable Violence is a commentary on today’s society as though filtered through the transgressive, countercultural perspectives of J.G. Ballard and David Cronenberg.  

“It all came to me in a dream in August 2023,” elaborates McGachy. “I woke up, I took my phone, and I wrote down the title of the record. It’s about a person that wakes up every day and fixes a machine. Tinkers with it, tries to make it better all day long, sweating in the sun, and then at night, they strap themself into this machine and the machine tortures them, and they love it. Then they wake up the next day and fix it again to make it more efficient, to keep harnessing it, and then just keep doing it over and over again.  

While fantastically twisted, An Insatiable Violence mirrors our toxic relationship with social media.  “We’re continuously trying to feed this algorithm of the machine while it’s totally tearing us apart socially and psychologically”, McGachy continues. “’The Nimis Adoration’ is about mukbang, these Korean people that eat too much food on the Internet. Piles and piles of food. A poor girl died on a live cam”.  

At the center of the album is the mind-boggling percussion skill of Mounier, arguably the most imposing Canadian drummer not named Peart, who dominates such standout tracks as “Dead Eyes Replete”, “Fools Last Acclaim”, and “Embrace the Nihility”. “I look at Flo as an Olympic athlete,” says McGachy. “I want to push this guy to go a lot faster than Cryptopsy’s previous releases. We have so much more to give, and I wanted just drain it all out of him while he’s still at the top of his game, because he is. He’s crushing.”

“I mix up a lot of a physical activity, like resistance training into the drumming,” Mounier says. “I recently developed new techniques that make it easier to go even faster, so I tried to push that on this album. My focus is now more on dynamics and the touch of the snare, a certain snap of the snare, a rim shot on the snare, the toms, a light touch or a hard touch. Live, I can really let go, you know, give the sound guy a hard time,” he adds with a laugh.

For McGachy, who has always boasted a powerful, guttural death growl, the rigors of touring have enabled him to evolve as a vocalist, and he turns in a revelatory performance on An Insatiable Violence. In addition to ear-scraping screams that rival George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, McGachy unleashes the deepest, filthiest death growls of his career. “Gomorrah was the first album that I recorded with my full false chord scream, which is something that I’d only just touched on The Book of Suffering: Tome II in little sections,” he says. “We did at least 140 shows since Gomorrah. I exclusively did my false chords during all the songs that we performed on None So Vile and Blasphemy Made Flesh. And then, when we did go into the studio for An Insatiable Violence, Chris would be like, ‘Deeper, you must go deeper!’”

Another fearsome vocalist from Cryptopsy’s lore pops back into the booth on An Insatiable Violence. “When we were recording the vocals for ‘Embrace the Nihility’, Chris had the idea of ending the song with the same vocal pattern as the end of ‘…and Then It Passes’”, McGachy remembers. “We figured if we were going to rip ourselves off, then we may as well get the real thing. We were honored that Mike DiSalvo accepted. We are all huge fans of Cryptopsy’s DiSalvo era. His vocals on this album are an ultra Easter egg for our fans”.       

In addition to the effusive praise As Gomorrah Burns received from within the metal scene, the 2023 album achieved a first for Cryptopsy: earning them their first ever JUNO Award in 2024 for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year. “We had little-to-no expectations of winning” says McGachy. ”We didn’t even go to the ceremonies because we were on tour in Europe with Atheist. On the day we found out that we won, we had a crazy 18-hour drive from Derby to Germany, plus a ferry ride. But we still partied for 48 hours. Flo bought an expensive bottle of champagne”.  

Cryptopsy recognize that not every death metal band sticks around long enough to win a Canadian Grammy 30 years into their career. The cover art for An Insatiable Violence was created by the late, great vocalist Martin Lacroix.  “The album artwork has got to be one of the most important things to us!”, the band says. “Martin Lacroix was one of our vocalists, one of our great friends and one of the nicest people that anyone could have the privilege to meet. We really wish he was here with us to share this moment. His perfect smile would say it all! Rest in peace brother”.

With Cryptopsy’s latest career renaissance showing no signs of slowing down, the recent accolades are only the beginning. An Insatiable Violence reaches a new peak in a career loaded with them.

Lineup 
Flo Mounier – Drums
Matt McGachy – Vocals
Christian Donaldson – Guitar
Oli Pinard – Bass

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