Interview time with Dominic Theriault of Cryptik Howling

If you live in Canada and are a fan of Black Metal then there is a pretty good chance you have heard the name Cryptik Howling, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, well now it's time to become a fan!

Formed in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec back in 2002, Cryptik Howling has been killing it throughout the local scene ever since with their blend of extreme black metal. The band has performed hundreds of shows with acts such as the Black Dahlia Murder,  Rotting Christ,  Toxic Holocaust, and they have two albums under their belt with a third due out on April 10th.

Check out the interview below with Dominic Theriault, vocalist for Cryptik Howling and find out how you can pre-order the new album.


Before you dive in, listen to 'World Shepherd' a brand new track off of the upcoming album 'Synthetic Ascension Design'


1. Let's start with the basics, who are you and where are you from?
- My name is Dominic Mongrain Theriault. I’m from a village of 2000 residents called Macamic 700 km north from Montreal.

2. What is your role in Cryptik Howling, and what kind of music is it that you play?
- I’m lead singer and I write the lyrics. I am also developing most of the concepts, that is, with the help of Samuel Pruneau’s video & graphic design talents. I think music is something very personal, I’d prefer if people would make their own judgment on how to label Cryptik Howling. But since you ask, as for me, we play northern melodic Black Death Metal.

3. What is the story behind the name?
- At first the name came from a friend of ours & we thought it sounded pretty bad ass so we simply took it. However, as we got into real development of the concepts a deeper essence came & perfectly reflected the global message. The name Cryptik Howling comes from what I would call the inner voice. It is the two-faced ego that drives every man to build & to annihilate himself. It is the voice of God or whatever you call him for the enlightened & the psychopath. It is the path of power and self destruction, the angel on a shoulder, the devil on the other.

4. Can you briefly explain what Black Metal is? What are some signs that place a band in the Black Metal field?
- In its essence black metal is a movement and a sound. A movement that succeeded to establish new boundaries in such ways that extreme musicians not only looked like devilish anti-religious criminals, they were & they had to be to be accepted in that movement. And it worked. But then some people just wanted to express their musical talents & feelings with the sound those pioneers had put up and made it evolve. You can play ambient, symphonic, dark, depressive, cold, even folk music, should you play it ultra fast or ultra slow. Then, put some distortion on the guitars and some harshness and grimness into the vocals and call it black metal.

5. Upon first listen I hear a lot of similarities with Dimmu Borgir. Who or what are some influences for Cryptik Howling?
- Dimmu Borgir is in fact an influence for us, as many other bands in the first waves of Scandinavian black metal. The whole spectrum of old school and new metal is an influence too, even if it may only slightly transpire through our music. We are working on a sound as powerful as possible and on a unique depiction of our world.

Black Metal in a nutshell. 

6. Corpse paint, satanic offerings, bleak and dismal subject matter, these are just some of the associations with Black Metal, a genre which receives the most controversy. Do you believe they are simple gimmicks for attention or a lifestyle? Does your band take it to these extreme measures?
-Everything you wear is a mask. Should it be paint corpse, leather jackets, Jeans & T-shirt or costume de soiree, it is all an identity people are giving to themselves. The truth is ugly and so are we. I think some people may go so deep into their costumes they forget who they are/were and thus become the character. In this manner of thoughts, it is true that some people are what they look like.

7. Most Black Metal is associated with Norway and other parts of Europe but lately Canada has had a number of BM bands, what do you think these northern places have that create an affection to this style?
-I can’t speak for others, but here in these northern lands, and that’s what inspires the most out of me, we are far from the big cities, we have vast forests, we live the deepest cold, and solitude & silence can be easily be found.

8. Hailing from Toronto, I know of many Canadian bands that are trying to find a foothold in the industry. Do you feel that it has become more difficult to achieve the heights in which these bands (yours included) aspire?
-It is difficult, yes. But in the path of self construction, what is not? I see the other bands as brothers in arms, not as enemies or competitors. The enemy is the structure, the system which holds us all to the underground. The more our voices are loud, the more voices out there are speaking, the highest we’ll reach.

9. On the topic of the local scene, what are some other bands you feel deserve more attention?
-It is probably just my musical tastes but Eclipse Eternal, Wolven Ancestry, Pagan Ritual & Monarque are bands I’d like to see getting out there.

10.Does the band have anything planned for 2013? What do you hope to achieve by the end of it?

-Currently we are working to put up a couple gigs, maybe a tour if possible, but that is the hardest shit to work on. As soon as the album is out we’ll be on new songs too!

I don't want to waste too much of your time. I hope you enjoyed the questions and I appreciate the chance to ask them! Any final words to fans new and old alike?
-Listen to yourself and let no one stand between you and who you are. True strength is inside, not in what they write, not in what they tell.

Interested in more Cryptik Howling?

Facebook:

facebook.com/CryptikHowling

Bandcamp:

cryptikhowling.bandcamp.com/

Reverbnation:

reverbnation.com/cryptikhowling