Flo Mounier – Cryptopsy

Cryptopsy have been around for almost two decades and continue to make some of the most brutal extreme metal music there is. The Canadian tech-death maestros are all set to return to Australia this September for the first time since 2006 for a tour entitled, ‘The Tour of Suffering’ and deliver a dose of absolutely crushing, relentless heavy music to the crowds that gather. This tour is in support of the bands latest release called ‘The Book of Suffering – Tome 1″, the first part in a 3 EP release. Ahead of their arrival next week, Metal Obsession caught up with founding member and drummer of the band Flo Mounier to talk about all things Cryptopsy.

Flo is pretty stoked about heading back to our metal-loving country! “Everything’s going really well and we’re just getting ready to come Down Under. As far as I can remember the last time we were there – oh my goodness, it was quite the party.  We don’t have a lot of time after shows this time however, and lots of flying to do but we’re hoping we get to see a bit of the country as well. It was a good time in general and of course, Australia is a beautiful country so we had a really great time playing there. We’re very much looking forward to coming back!” It’s been a while since The Canadian metallers graced our shores last, and Flo gave us a little peak into what’s to come. ” As far as the shows go, it’s going to be a mix of old and new as we go in and out songs from the latest albums as well as from a few years ago. We’re going to try and cover as many albums as possible but generally, it’s going to be a lot of fun, a brutal set and very high energy!”

Having never seen the band live before but living vicariously through videos, I asked Flo what he thought made Cryptopsy’s live shows special to which he replied, “We aim to play the songs as well as possible but also as dynamic as possible too. It just turns out that when half the songs you have are at 300 bpm, it does tend to get really intense. So yes, like I said, you can expect a very high energy set and something that will get the crowd going!” After releasing 7 brilliant albums over the years, the band decided to take a detour and do things a little differently.  They released ‘The Book of Suffering – Tome 1″ – the first installment of a three part EP series, much to the surprise and delight of many. “Actually, what brought forth the idea is probably the fact that I think we were ready to put out new material but we wanted to put out something that wasn’t as long as 8 full songs We wanted to create good material fast,  and a series of EP’s which won’t really tie together in terms of concepts. But yes, we wanted to do something as soon as possible and releasing a series of EP’s seemed like a much better option than releasing a full length album which would take a lot of time.”

On asking what ‘The Book of Suffering’ is all about, Flo shared some interesting facts. ” To be completely honest, it’s just about a bunch of  Canadian scumbags. Insane, murderous people that are from or lived in Canada. The second Ep on the other hand, is going to be about weird torture devices and that kind of brutality. Matt is the main song-writer and he comes up with the  lyrical themes. He reads a lot and a lot of what he writes in our music has a lot to do with what hes read in stories that interest him or even repulse him. The concepts or themes in our music will almost always make you feel something, and that’s what we keep in mind when we’re writing.”

Musically, and this is something I’ve noticed with almost every Cryptopsy release, they’ve mastered that element of surprise and unpredictability right from the beginning – you can never tell when they’re going to drop a major aural assault. “As far as writing goes we never really have an idea from the start We base it on our present abilities and we always push ourselves to do something that’s technically interesting and challenging but also has a song structure and that remains a song  you can groove and headbang to. It has all the Cryptopsy elements from the past but makes good use of our present abilities. We’ve always been the kind of musicians that like to shock people a little bit with what they hear – it’s a signature thing to set up traps in our music  and lead people on in one part but then go in a completely different direction.” Those traps are all over ‘The Book of Suffering – Tome 1″ I’ll tell you that! What’s happening with Tome 2 and Tome 3 you may ask? ” Well, we go day by day and take it one step at a time. At the moment we have almost half of  the second EP written. It’s been very busy over the Summer as Matt’s wife had a baby and we took some time off but we’re getting back to touring now. Whenever we have the chance to get together, we jam and compose so hoepfully we’ll release the second EP early next year!”

Listening to a Cryptopsy record instantly makes you feel like you’re witnessing the band perform in your backyard, the music sucking the soul out of you slowly but surely as you willingly give in. ” Definitely! Every track we write, we want to play it live so that aspect is always going to be considered.  We want people to feel what we feel when we play the music and that’s something we think is really important!” But things aren’t always a walk in the park for bands, especially ones that are very, very good. The Canadians death metal outfit has seen a number of line-up changes over the years but they are still going strong today. ” Well for sure, we’ve been with different people in the band and the writing has changed a  little bit, but this current line up has been together for a while so everyone does their part; everyone is on the same page. Whereas in the past there were conflicts some times and when you’re younger, it’s hard to control egos So, there have been ups and downs with a lot of people coming and going. but at the end of the day, it’s a life decision you have to make. Death metal is not a huge money maker but it’s what we love to do.”

Flo had one last message to the Aussie fans ahead of their tour next week! ” Come out, come support us. We’re really excited to be playing again for you guys; we can’t wait to meet you!”

Don’t miss out on this death metal feast – grab your tickets and get your arse to one of the shows on the dates below:

Presented by Direct Touring, ticket’s are on sale now through Oztix.

The Tour of Suffering Tour Dates

Wednesday, August 31: Wellington – Valhalla

Thursday, September 1: Brisbane – Crowbar Tickets: http://directtouring.oztix.com.au/

Friday, September 2: Sydney – Newtown Social Club Tickets: http://directtouring.oztix.com.au/

Saturday, September 3: Melbourne – Northcote Social Club Tickets: http://directtouring.oztix.com.au/

Sunday, September 4: Perth – The Rosemount Hotel Tickets: http://directtouring.oztix.com.au/

With guests: Whoretopsy & I, Valiance

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