After self-releasing their (ahem) self-titled album in 2012, Montreal death metal legends Cryptopsy are ready to go the whole nine in the 1-5 with an upcoming series of EPs under the collective banner The Book of Suffering, and they need your help to live the dream. Hey, we're doing our part to put them on the road, the least you could do is help put the crowd in "crowdsource" for their Indiegogo campaign. They're almost a quarter of the way toward their goal, but then they're also a third of the way through the fundraising timeframe too, so let's snap to it with a little urgency. You can find all the details and make your contribution at their Indiegogo site, but we wanted to sit down with drummer/founding member Flo Mournier and pick his brain on what drove this approach as well as what we might expect musically from his oft-unpredictable ensemble.
MI: Many bands are eschewing traditional labels and going the crowdfunding route to finance new records, but what made you decide to forego a full length and release a series of related EPs instead? Was Phil Anselmo's decision to release Down IV in installments any influence on this direction?
Flo: No real outside influence on the decision to make EPs… more so a quality thing. We figured that it would be better to concentrate on writing four quality songs then a full album. The other reason is that we’d like to release something every year rather then every three or four. I think the EP thing is good for us. As far as record labels and all that, nothing is ever written in stone so who knows.
MI: How many of these interconnected EPs do you foresee releasing before moving on to the next project? Has the full slate of songs already been written, with only the recording itself left to be financed, or is The Book of Suffering as a whole still an evolving work?
Flo: We believe that this will be a trilogy. Somewhere in-between the three EPs (2016) we will re-release None So Vile for its 20th anniversary. We plan on being busy because to be honest we really like composing, touring, playing and hanging with our good fans! That’s why it’s important that we all work together on The Book of Suffering.
MI: Where are you at currently in the Indiegogo campaign, and what perks can contributors expect?
Flo: The campaign is doing well at the moment and we promise to keep giving little video teasers so that fans can hear and see what they are helping us out with. There are different perks that we are offering like Skype lessons, recordings, mixing and of course the music in many forms like downloads, CDs, vinyl, etc… also merch.
MI: What lessons did you learn self-releasing 2012's Cryptopsy that you've been able to successfully apply to this IndieGogo campaign?
Flo:Good question! And yes, in fact it was a great learning experience. The last album did well for us. This time around, though, we need our fans' help in order to make this music more available and easy to find worldwide! We want to have the power to create a more visually pleasing live show. To make the music sound better through tracking, mixing and mastering with a bigger budget. The last album was really independent! This one is more of collaboration with fans and other predominant folks in the industry.
MI: Crowdfunding goals aside, what is your ultimate vision for The Book of Suffering? Can fans expect a concept album? Will Jason Suecof [elected producer for this project] be utilized throughout for each EP?
Flo: Yes, it’s based on some concepts that will be revealed as new ones come out. And at the end of the trilogy there will be a release of the full Book of Suffering. Jason is a super engineer and has become a great friend in the process, so he will most likely be following us all the way in this endeavor.
MI: What direction musically can fans expect? A continuation of the self-titled album, or do you have another reinvention of sorts in mind?
Flo: The new material offers something that I can best describe as follows: new brutality mixed with catchiness and song oriented composition, it’s fresh but totally Cryptopsy!!!
MI: Your current tour is a brief one running through June 1. Any road plans following that?
Flo: Yes, since we haven’t been to the US in quite a long time we wanted to give it a go with a little bit of a shorter run. If all goes well we will be back here for a full tour!! This is why we say that “we can’t do this without our fans”… it’s of the utmost importance that fans come to these shows and support all the bands on the package, make a good impression with the promoters in order for them to give back with awesome shows!
After the US we have a festival tour in Europe and much more to come at the end of the year. We also want to start composing for [The Book of Suffering] Tome 2, so keep your support coming, guys and girls \m/
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We also managed to squeeze in a few questions with the aforementioned producer/engineer for this project, Jason Suecof, in order to get a complementary perspective. Jason has produced everyone from Deicide (In the Minds of Evil) to Death Angel (The Dream Calls for Blood, Relentless Retribution) as well as such varying festival faves as Motionless in White and Job for a Cowboy, so with that diversity under his belt it only seemed natural to pick his brain on what approach he intends to bring to this project.
MI: When the band approached you to produce this new EP did they indicate a desire to continue the sound of the 2012 Cryptopsy LP, or did they engage you with a different vision in mind?
Jason: I had actually contacted Chris a while back when I heard that album just to tell him I thought it sounded killer, as I think he is a terrific mixer/ producer. I continued talking to him and we became friends, [so] when it came time for the EP he simply asked me if I wanted to mix it, and being a long time Cryptopsy fan I really just did what I wanted to hear as a Cryptopsy fan. It was a very enjoyable process!
MI: Do you anticipate overseeing the remaining "tomes" of The Book of Suffering as well, or is this to be determined as future circumstances – budget, availability, etc – dictate?
Jason: I absolutely wanna be involved in anything coming up in the future, as I have now made love to everyone in the band and they are all carrying my baby… if they think they are going somewhere else we might see our first major Canadian/American war! I would say yes though!
Thanks to both Flo and Jason for taking time out of a busy schedule to chat with us. Check out a video promo for the EP campaign below.
