If you ask about one of the most respected Thrash Metal/Crossover bands from the 1980s, we’d immediately point to Cryptic Slaughter. Their name still echoes today — not only for being the fastest Crossover band in history but also for their influence on the Grindcore genre. Any band playing Grindcore will most certainly show signs of having been influenced by Cryptic Slaughter. When they first demonstrated their ferocious blend of Thrash Metal, Hardcore, and Punk, the members were all under 18. Although the band dissolved in 1990, their mark in metal history is far from forgotten. Here's an interview with Cryptic Slaughter by Morbidzine...
MORBIDZINE: Hello. First of all, thank you so much for accepting this interview and spending your time with us. How are you? What’s the current status of the band?
SCOTTY: I'm doing great. And the band has been broken up since 1988.
MORBIDZINE: You released an EP called Band in S.M. in 2003 which featured cover songs. How was the reaction in the U.S.?
SCOTTY: I know the fans really enjoyed it, don't really know what the critics thought of it. We never cared what they thought of us anyway.
MORBIDZINE: Cryptic Slaughter has always been a legendary name in the underground scene and has influenced many bands. If we’re not mistaken, you had financial and managerial problems. Why did the band disband in 1990? What were the main reasons?
SCOTTY: It wasn't for those reasons. We were all young at that time. I know Bill wanted to go to college, Les wanted to move to Portland, and we all just felt CS had run its course.
MORBIDZINE: You reached a significant position in the Thrash/Crossover genre and even helped inspire the development of Death Metal and Grindcore. How do you evaluate the band’s profile from then until now?
SCOTTY: We're all very happy with what we accomplished with CS and we're all very stolked on how our fan base is still growing every day!
MORBIDZINE: Let’s go back to the formation days. How was the band formed? Which bands inspired your music the most?
SCOTTY: Les, Bill and I (Scotty) met through a mutual friend from playing soccer, and I met Rob through a junior high school friend. When we first started out we were inspired by bands like Slayer, Venom, Motorhead, Bad Brains, DK, GBH, Black Flag, but also by newer bands at that time like RKL, Excel and Wehrmacht.
MORBIDZINE: You were very young when the band was founded. What kind of difficulties did you face?
SCOTTY: None really. We always played all-ages shows, so the only problem was asking my mom for rides to the shows. LOL!
MORBIDZINE: Were you influenced by the UK82 movement in the UK?
SCOTTY: I would say Bill and I were a little. He was a Sex Pistols fan and I grew up on The Clash. But the whole band were fans of The Subhumans and Conflict.
MORBIDZINE: Your debut album Convicted earned you a reputation as one of the fastest Hardcore bands — with fast drums, sharp riffs, and aggressive vocals. However, 1987’s Money Talks is often considered your best. Do you agree this album was a turning point?
SCOTTY: I believe that Convicted was a great album, but we were new at recording and some of the songs were songs we had written when we first got together. Money Talks was produced better, the songs and the songwriting were better as well. We were also better players by the time we went to record Money Talks.
MORBIDZINE: If someone asked me for examples of perfect Punk/Metal fusion, I’d mention Money Talks and Stream of Consciousness. But we’ve heard you had a lot of problems during the recording of Stream of Consciousness. What happened?
SCOTTY: Again it was just us being young and dealing with being in a successful band, touring, going to school and just being teenagers. We were always around each other and at the same time we were also finding out who we were as people.
MORBIDZINE: On Speak Your Peace, the band included some Grunge elements. Do you think the Grunge movement influenced you?
SCOTTY: Well you would have to ask Les about that since he was the only original member of CS who played on that record.
MORBIDZINE: Which shows were the most unforgettable or special for the band? Can you give some examples?
SCOTTY: They all were special. We got to play with a lot of great bands, in all different parts of the country and we got to play for some of the craziest fans in the world!
MORBIDZINE: Many longtime and newer fans of Cryptic Slaughter want to see you live again. Is there any chance of a new album or live shows?
SCOTTY: Well I know we get told every day that we should reform and make a new record. But we're all happy with where we left CS and we're all happy with where we're at in our lives. So sorry to say there will be no new CS record or tour.
MORBIDZINE: We know that Katon De Pena was close to the band. How did that friendship begin?
SCOTTY: We met him at a Slayer show in 1985 and became good friends!
MORBIDZINE: What are your thoughts on the Crossover and Thrash Metal genres today? Do you follow new Crossover bands?
SCOTTY: I think it's great that bands like DRI, The Accused and the Crumbsuckers are still doing it. As far as new crossover bands I really like Municipal Waste, those guys are bad ass!
MORBIDZINE: Thanks to this great band for doing this interview with Morbidzine. We appreciate all your work over the years. We hope to see the Cryptic Slaughter legend return someday. Do you have a final message for the fans?
SCOTTY: Thanks to all the die hard CS fans that have been with us since day one and still are to this day! Because of you the new generation knows of us. SO THANK YOU AND YOU RULE!!!