You know, I’m as in the dark as you are about today’s Band of the Day, Crypitus. So let’s waste no more time and get down to the nitty-gritty…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Doug: I’m from a place in Vermont called Satan’s Kingdom. I’m not even kidding, look it up!
Zach: Hi, I’m Zach. I hit things with sticks in time with Crypitus. I’m from Mendon, VT (Vermont) and if it weren’t for Crypitus, I’d never leave the state.
Pete: I’m from a valley between mountains called Rutland, Vermont.
How did you meet?
Doug: Me and Pete actually met from when I was a drum tech for a psychedelic rock band. We ended up moving into the same house and jammed and soon were on the search for a drummer. We found Zach on Facebook although I had met him very, very briefly on a few occasions.
Zach: I was desperately searching the internet for local musicians to jam with and Pete and Doug were the first clowns to respond. The rest is history.
Pete: I lived with Doug for a little bit and we started jamming to some of his music he’d written with his previous drummer. We decided to find a drummer and met Zach on Facebook.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Doug: The three of us have been playing together since May 2016
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Doug: The bands name, Crypitus, comes from the Latin word Crepitus which means the sound of breaking bones!
What are your influences?
Doug: My two main influences are Megadeth and Death, two of the most unique, influential metal bands out there.
Zach: Blake Richardson from Between The Buried And Me is probably my biggest influence. I’m also heavily influenced by Terry Bozzio and Mike Portnoy.
Pete: Nature is a big influence on me. Living in the mountains, I do a lot of hiking. Musically, I like a lot of different kinds of music. Lately I’ve been eating up some Frank Zappa jams.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Doug: Our music is rooted in old school thrash, death and black metal but a new-age spin incorporating elements of jazz, punk and other genres gives us a nice blend. That combined with a high energy stage show makes us stand out.
Zach: I’d describe our tunes as psychedelic thrash metal. I think our uniqueness comes from the energy we put into performance, and clowns eating bacon tacos. That’s pretty unique too, but we always try to make or music sound unlike anything else out there.
Pete: Our music is a psychedelic, thrash metal experience full of ground shattering percussion and sky cracking guitars.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Doug: Dystopia, death, natural disasters and mental dissonance.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Doug: Our live shows are meant to be crowd interactive: mosh pits, crowd surfing… shit, you can dance if you’d rather. But your good time reflects our good time. As far as how many shows we’ve played… 35 is a rough number, but there’s been a few house parties too and honestly the bulk of our numbers have been in 2017 we’ve been averaging at least a show a week since January.
Zach: Lots of in your face energy. Hooligans running in circles around the crowd, playing guitar, and of course, some sick metal that’ll melt your fave off. Clowns, too.
Pete: Our live shows usually include moshing with the crowd, running around the stage, and lots of headbanging. I’ve lost track of how many shows we’ve played.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Doug: One of the wildest reactions we have ever gotten was our first show in Maine in a venue called The Cage. The venue has a no moshing rule but, holy shit, seeing everyone trying to contain their energy was phenomenal!
Zach: Doug likes to jump off the stage. Had folks get thrown out at a show or two for being over rambunctious during our set. This one time my drums starting sailing off the riser I was playing on. That was also an interesting time.
Pete: Doug crowd surfed at the last show, that was pretty wild.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Doug: Primarily I run a Jackson King V through a Line 6 G3 wireless on a 20w Peavy MiniValve King head pushing through a 4*12 Peavy Half Stack; its all the power I need. I have a LTD F-50FR I use as a backup and a Jackson Rhodes V in the wings as well. I use DR Dimebag design and 2.0 gauge Dunlop picks!
Zach: I’m a Pearl man. I use a 7-10 piece (depending on what I bring along) Pearl Expert series kit. I would never upgrade. It used to belong to a close friend. For cymbals, I use what I can get, which are mostly Sabian.
Pete: I play an LTD EC-1000 with EMG 81/60 set run through a Tubeworks IVAC 65 with a Peavey cab.
What are your plans for 2017?
Doug: 2017 means two things for Crypitus, the first being the first Crypitus studio work/independently produced and mastered demo Exhibit 1: Prelude to the Dead World which is a three-song work that we have been working on since November 2016. The second is shows, shows and shows. We have a jam packed summer surging across New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut. August marks the beginning of the “Crypitus in Braille Tour” which includes a two Vermont dates, one New York, one Maine and one Massachusetts show with our metal brothers in An Unction in Braille! And joining us at the end of the tour is Stillborn Condition. It’s a perfect ending.
Pete: This year we got shows on shows. We’re touring throughout the North East US and coming out with a demo soon.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Doug: Hmmmm, I would love to play with Gojira, that’d be fucking fantastic and I’d bring along Weapons at Hand to start the party!!
Zach: I’d die to be supporting Between The Buried And Me. As far as the other, it’d have to be our brothers in An Unction in Braille or Epicenter, both good bands and great friends.
Pete: An Unction In Braille would open up because they always get me moving and it’d be a dream come true to play before Children of Bodom or Mastodon.
Crypitus: facebook | bandcamp | soundcloud | youtube
