Cryptopsy

Cryptopsy are a death metal band from Montréal, Canada, active from 1992. They are associated with brutal death metal, death metal, deathcore and technical death metal. The group is known for complex arrangements, extreme speed, dark atmosphere and highly technical playing.

History

The band begins in 1988, when drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan “Lord Worm” Greening form the group under the name Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. They later change their name to Necrosis and issue several demos, including Mastication and Heterodontism, Realms of Pathogenia and Necrosis. After Atkin leaves and Flo Mounier joins on drums, the band takes the name Cryptopsy.

Early lineup changes include bassist John Todds being replaced by Kevin Weagle and guitarist Dave Galea being replaced by Jon Levasseur. The debut album, Blasphemy Made Flesh, is first released independently and later licensed to Invasion Records in Germany and Displeased Records in the Netherlands. Their second album, None So Vile, becomes a key release in the death metal underground and remains one of their best-known records.

Albums and stylistic changes

After None So Vile, Lord Worm leaves and Mike DiSalvo takes over vocals for Whisper Supremacy, which adds jazz and fusion elements. The next album, ...And Then You’ll Beg, features guitarist Alex Auburn and continues the band’s experimentation. None So Live documents a concert in Montréal with singer Martin LaCroix.

Lord Worm returns for Once Was Not, with Alex Auburn and Christian Donaldson on guitars. The Unspoken King introduces vocalist Matt McGachy and keyboardist Maggy Durand and includes melodic riffs and clean vocals, drawing a mixed response for moving away from the band’s earlier technical death metal style. The self-titled Cryptopsy album follows in 2012 and returns to a more technical sound.

Later releases and activity

Between 2015 and 2018, Cryptopsy release the EPs The Book of Suffering – Tome I and Tome II, funded through an Indiegogo campaign. They sign with Nuclear Blast Records in 2023 and release As Gomorrah Burns through the label. An Insatiable Violence follows in 2025 through Season of Mist.

The band also performs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2023, becoming the first Western metal band to play in the country. They tour Europe in early 2026 and headline the 2026 Decibel Tour in North America, marking the 30th anniversary of None So Vile.

Line-up and musical reputation

Cryptopsy’s line-up across its career includes Steve Thibault, Lord Worm, Flo Mounier, Jon Levasseur, Eric Langlois, Miguel Roy, Mike DiSalvo, Alex Auburn, Martin Lacroix, Daniel Mongrain, Christian Donaldson, Matt McGachy, Martin Ferguson and Olivier Pinard. Their music is widely identified with technical death metal and brutal death metal, with Flo Mounier’s drumming, Jon Levasseur’s guitar work and Lord Worm’s vocals often singled out as defining elements.