KATAKLYSM Frontman Comments On CRYPTOPSY's New Album

Way Too Loud! recently conducted an interview with KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

Way Too Loud!: Do you think that the general public today is starting view death metal as more acceptable form of art and expression?

Maurizio Iacono: I think it's totally acceptable now compared to what it was before. We've had people in their 50s come to our shows who are totally into it. That never would've happened 10 years. To me, it's something that's a lot more accepted, and a lot of bands made it that way too, bands like SLIPKNOT brought it to the next level and made extreme music more acceptable, and Pantera did the same in their days. People are a lot more open-minded now with music. In the beginning, when something is new, and it's heavy and crazy, people tend to put it aside and say it's not good music for you, but it was like that with BLACK SABBATH too. I think people are a lot more used to it now. When we first started this, and people would ask us what kind of music we play, we weren't like, "We play death metal!" because they'd say, "What the fuck is that'?" so we'd say we play heavy rock or heavy metal. We never used to say we played death metal, or grindcore or extreme music because nobody would understand it, but now people will say they went to our MySpace page, and people my parent age will say, "You play death metal!" It's like, what the fuck? How do they know? (Laughs) It just spread, and now it's accepted.

Way Too Loud!: I'm friends with DESPISED ICON, ION DISSONANCE and BENEATH THE MASSACRE, so I'm wondering how it feels to be named as an influence to a new generation from the same place as you.

Maurizio: I think they're bringing the torch along, and they're great bands that are developing the sound. What I love about the new bands is that they don't sound like us, and they don't sound like CRYPTOPSY, they sound like themselves. It's a good thing, because a lot of bands tend to play it safe and repeat whatever is going on out there. I think it's really cool that we'll be touring with DESPISED ICON this summer and CRYPTOPSY as well during the Summer Slaughter tour. For awhile it was KATAKLYSM and CRYPTOPSY, like Montreal Vs. Boston hockey rivalry for awhile, but today it's become where we're all friends who are mature. We're all working together for the same goal.

Way Too Loud!: Since we were talking about CRYPTOPSY, what do you think about the new CRYPTOPSY album?

Maurizio: I heard the first song like everybody else did on the Net, and I was really shocked about it, and I didn't think they'd go that far and make a huge difference from what they're known to do, but then I got the record, I think it was last week when I was in Los Angeles, and I heard it at the label, and it's not bad at all! It's a good record, it's just that the two songs that they experimented with leaked first, and I think it hurt the band on the level where there's a lot of people talking shit. But you've got to play live, and that's where battles are won, it's not what people say on the Internet. It tends to be bullshit, because it hurts the band off the bat for their record, but when you listen to the record, it's actually a pretty good record, it's just those two or three songs that throw a curveball to a different direction that people aren't used to. It's very, very difficult to use clean vocals when you're known as an extreme death metal band. When someone sings really clean, it's hard for kids to accept. If I was in their shoes, I would kind of expect the flak, but that doesn't mean that it's shit, it's a good record. They just need to play it live and show people there, and it'll be OK.

Read the entire interview at Way Too Loud!.