While already enshrined amongst the magazine’s unholy Hall of Fame, in the 30+ years since their ungentle exhumation from the Canadian underground, Cryptopsy had never graced the cover of Decibel. But now, the band’s new album An Insatiable Violence has turned the worm in their favor.
Today, Decibel announced Cryptopsy as the cover artist for their 250th issue. The cover photo, which was taken by Shimon Karmel, honors their legacy as the most vile band in death metal. All four members spoke with long-time Decibel contributor Justin M. Norton about the eerily prescient concept behind An Insatiable Violence and how their new album continues Cryptopsy’s resurgence.
“We are honored to be on the cover of Decibel magazine’s 250th issue”, Cryptopsy says. “Decibel is by far one of the most important metal magazines. The fact that we get to grace its cover is a monumental achievement. Of course, we had to do something special and dig up some worms for this now iconic photo shoot!”
“I can’t believe it’s taken us 250 issues and 21 years to finally put Cryptopsy on Decibel‘s cover”, says the magazine’s editor-in-chief Albert Mudrian. “The Canadian legends have been long-deserving, but the fact that their appearance coincides with their best album in over two decades is a reward for everyone who loves death metal”.
“This cover feature is based on more than 15 interviews and tells the entire arc of Cryptopsy’s history, from their rise in the ’90s to their challenges this century to their excellent new album An Insatiable Violence“, Norton says. “As an original Cryptopsy fan dating back to the ’90s, it was a full-circle experience and a great challenge to chronicle their history and comeback”.
“I was thrilled and honored to get the call from Decibel to go to Montreal to shoot the might Cryptopsy for their cover story”, says Karmel. “Cryptopsy was one of the first death metal bands I ever saw live (all the way back in 2002) so they’ve always been special to me. Flo and the guys had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted to do for the cover shot so I essentially just lit and composed it. The guys showed up with a couple boxes of live worms and we just took it from there. It was a super fun shoot and I’m totally stoked with how it turned out!”
Decibel Issue No. 250 can be ordered through the magazine’s website.
An Insatiable Violence comes out June 20 on Season of Mist.
- Pre-order: https://orcd.co/cryptopsyaninsatiableviolence
- Pre-save on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/68bFcUq3E7rilegbUCwexu
Can’t wait to bite into Cryptopsy’s new album? RSVP for next week’s Bandcamp Listening Party and hear all eight brutally technical tracks before it comes out.
An Insatiable Violence Bandcamp Listening Party
Thursday, June 17 @ 1:30 pm ET – RSVP
Tracklist
1. The Nimis Adoration (4:10)
2. Until There’s Nothing Left (3:59) [WATCH]
3. Dead Eyes Replete (3:57) [WATCH]
4. Fools Last Acclaim (3:26)
5. The Art of Emptiness (4:16)
6. Our Great Deception (4:21)
7. Embrace the Nihility (3:50)
8. Malicious Needs (5:52) [WATCH]
Total runtime 32:04
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
A person spends all day building a machine, only for it to torture them through the night. As if that wasn’t twisted enough, they like it. In fact, they like being tortured so much that, come morning, they wake up rejuvenated, eager to tweak the machine until it runs perfectly in their mind.
This is the nocturnal vision that inspired Cryptopsy’s ninth full-length nightmare. An Insatiable Violence mirrors our toxic relationship with social media, but while eerily prescient, the album is influenced by the many mutations that have defined the band’s Hall of Fame discography. The album’s lead single bumps and grinds with gruesome bass slaps – and yet, at its core “Until There’s Nothing Left” stakes its claim as their biggest earworm.
Cryptopsy recognize that not every brutal technical death metal band sticks around long enough to win a Canadian Grammy 30 years into their career. The cover for An Insatiable Violence was created by the band’s late, great vocalist Martin Lacroix, who would growl with unholy delight over the freshly fetid depths of Matt McGachy’s false chord scream.
But despite having claimed the crown as the most vile band in death metal on only their second stab in the studio, Cryptopsy are still pushing the limits of extremity on An Insatiable Violence. Even Flo Mounier – who literally wrote the book on extreme metal drumming – has honed new techniques to keep their blasphemy fresh. For its finishing move, album closer “Malicious Needs” slithers to a crawl before ascending like a bat into a blackened cloud of smoke.
Bow to the new vileness from extreme metal royalty.
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
Lineup
Flo Mounier – Drums
Matt McGachy – Vocals
Christian Donaldson – Guitar
Oli Pinard – Bass
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studio
Christian Donaldson’s Studio
Production, Sound & Mixing Engineer
Christian Donaldson
Guest Musicians
Mike DiSalvo performs vocals on “Embrace the Nihility”
Cover Art
Martin Lacroix
Follow Cryptopsy
Bandcamp: https://cryptopsyofficial.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cryptopsyofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryptopsyofficial/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/29PgYwTelpNl6370XLqFtN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CryptopsyDeathMetal
BandsInTown: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/2941-cryptopsy
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 