Getting to Know… Crypitus | Interview 🎤

For Interview #41 in the Getting to Know… series, The Musical Hype gets the scoop from all four members of Vermont metal band, Crypitus. 

It’s a rarity when one is able to attain an interview where the entirety of the band participates.  That’s exactly what went down for The Musical Hype with the interviewees on hand, Vermont heavy metal collective, Crypitus – what a name, right? Crypitus is comprised of four members: Doug Friend (guitar/vocals), Joe Minard II (bass), Peter Snee (rhythm guitar), and Zach Patch (percussion).  Under the umbrella of metal, Crypitus blends genres, giving them a unique sound.  Pete characterizes the band as “a mixture of thrash and prog metal with some jazzy groove(s) thrown in.”  That’s certainly distinct to say the least.  Without further ado, here is Getting to Know… Crypitus, Interview #41.

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (BF): Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with Cryp, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Pete: We put a lot of energy into our live shows to make it fun for us and the audience. I love nothing in the world more than playing on stage and I try to let that through. We have a unique sound that’s a mixture of thrash and prog metal with some jazzy groove(s) thrown in.

Joe: We have a blend of genres that gives us a distinct sound and a high energy performance that is great live show.

Zach: It’s our energy and unique sound. We really put a lot of effort into making our performance memorable in both a musical way and with our stage presence and antics. Come check it out sometime, you’ll see.

Doug: We are a high energy, fast paced band that combines progressive drum stylings with thrashing guitars that makes for an original sound! Along with that, we make for an attractive live show, we encourage thrashing around, and our aim is always a good time.

BF: Awesomeness – ROCK ON! Let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your Crypitus form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

Pete: Doug and I were roommates and started playing some songs together. I found Zach on Facebook looking for people to jam with and we clicked.

Joe: I joined after a friend introduced me when they were in need of a bassist.

Zach: Doug and Pete had already been playing together for a bit. At the time, I was desperately searching the internet for musicians to jam with and Pete was the first guy to respond. I didn’t really have any goals or visions at the time. I just really wanted to play music with someone instead of playing with myself.

Doug: The band formed after Pete and I decided to start working on putting a band together, we took some of the framework for a project that I worked on with an old friend of mine who I unfortunately had a falling out with. We found Zach after searching the internet and the first practice clicked rather well. I didn’t have any specific goals for Crypitus, but I was sick of not doing anything with music and that has taken us to places I never could have imagined playing.

BF: Let’s dig deeper into goals. Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Pete: I’ve been wanting to be a big band since we started. I want to play shows all over the world.

Joe: Having a good time making music with friends is the main goal and world domination eventually.

Zach: I mean, I’d really like to take over the world someday, but my goals are still the same. I want to make cool music with my good friends and share it with the rest of the world.

Doug: My goals have shifted since the beginning for sure! One big thing I had as a goal was releasing music and we have already released our album.  Another [goal] was playing in every state in New England, now I want to play every state in the country. But if your goals are stagnant, my advice is to give up now.

BF: No stagnant goals – right on. Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

Pete: Brent Hinds from Mastodon and Frank Zappa are probably my biggest influences. Aaron Marshall from Intervals is great too.

Joe: Metallica, Primus, and System of a Down are some of my influences. Mostly because I learn how to play music from their songs.

Zach: Blake Richardson from Between the Buried and Me is my biggest influence. The way he plays just gives me a musical lift in my pants. Terry Bozzio, Mike Portnoy, and Danny Carey are other big influences on my playing as well.

Doug: My biggest influences are probably Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Chuck Schuildner of Death. Both of these artists have always stood out to be in how quintessential they made their sound; you could hear just one note of the song and know who it belongs to.

BF: “The way he plays just gives me a musical lift in my pants” – quite a way to put it, haha! That’s pretty fun, but let’s move on to more fun stuff. What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance? Feel free to be creative.

Pete: One of the first shows on last year’s tour I broke a strut on my car and had to drive two hours home then another six to Philadelphia. I don’t think I’ve driven so fast in my life.

Zach: Well, this one time, at one of our first shows, I counted off for our first song of the night and my drums started to float away.

Doug: One time, we played a show with the band Psychostick, and I dressed up as a taco for the occasion, so during their song “Do You Want A Taco?”, I crowd surfed towards the front where their bassist, ‘Moose,’ proceeded to summon me, bite my arm, and toss me back into the crowd; good times.

BF: Wow… I’m a bit speechless with the taco story haha. Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

Pete: “Breakdown” is starting to become my favorite live song. It’s one of the first ones we learned together and we’re so tight with it every time.

Joe: “Breakdown” is one of my favorites. It’s fun, easy to play, and sounds cool.

Zach: There are a few I call favorites, but I’d have to say “United Divide” is my favorite. It’s really hard to play and it’s a technical song. It just tickles my musical fancy.

Doug: “Symphony #1” being recorded is so important to me, I’ve been playing this song since I wrote it in 2011 and having it be incorporated into our album makes me so happy.

BF: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Zach: I’m an outdoors man. I feed myself and my lady with the food I grow or procure while fishing and hunting. We eat a lot of roadkill too. I really enjoy a long walk on the lake or a relaxing boat trip through the woods. Other than that, I’m pretty lame.

Doug: I spelled my name incorrectly for 15 years unbeknownst to me and I suffered a nerve injury in 2014 that left half of my tongue completely numb for 6 months, the feelings back, I’m just not completely normal haha.

BF: Closing this thing out, what Crypitus currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.

Pete: We just put out our first full length album. We’re also playing with Exmortus, which is exciting. We always have new songs and shows in the works so keep your eyes and ears out.

Zach: Doug would love to tell you about the awesome album we just released – Ill World (That’s What You Get) and where you can buy and stream it. We also have a killer show in Waterford, NY with the mighty Exmortus on December 2nd that we are all more than excited for.

Doug: We have our album available for purchase from our website, our bandcamp, and streaming on Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and more! The album is a culmination of the past three years of Crypitus, and we hope it helps define our sound. The tickets for Exmortus in Waterford are also available on our bandcamp. And the very last exciting tidbit is we will be playing in support of In Flames in Worcester MA at the Palladium on 12.6.19! Trying to end the year with a bang so come on out and have some fun with us!

Follow Crypitus: Website • Facebook • YouTube • bandcamp • Soundcloud

Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Crypitus