By: James Grell

“What would you ask Les Evans from Cryptic Slaughter if given the opportunity?” If that question was posed to me back in 1986 when I was in 10th grade and first heard their debut album Convicted, my answer might have been something like “Holy fuck! That’s the fastest, most insane shit I’ve ever heard!” I know that’s not really a question, but I’d just heard the band and I’m certain that’s what was going through my mind at the time. Now it’s 17 years later, I’ve had some time to gather my thoughts, and by some strange twist of fate I’ve stumbled upon that opportunity.

I can’t conceive of words that will do the music of Cryptic Slaughter justice. If you know their records already I suspect you’re nodding in agreement. Those unfamiliar will simply have to rely on a little bit of faith and your imagination. Suffice it to say that when Metal sped up and Punk got heavy, no band blurred the lines any better than they did. To this day, they are the first band to come to mind when I think sheer velocity. Even more impressive is that no matter how long I’ve gone between listens, their songs always sound as if I’d just been listening to them yesterday. In a time when both Metal and Hardcore are more extreme than ever, the combination of flat out speed, infectiously memorable songwriting, and frightening intensity found on Cryptic Slaughter’s first three records has yet to be surpassed.

I suppose it’s now time to ask that question(s).

RESOUND: So, what have you been up to since 1990?

Les Evans: The final show for the Portland Cryptic line-up (now affectionately known as Cryptic version 2.0) was in Paris in late October 1990. And truthfully, we didn't know at the time that that was it. We never officially called it quits. It just kind of fell by the wayside in the face of what was a much bigger deal at the time, which was another band that both Brian and I were in called Sweaty Nipples. Sweaty was far and away the biggest band in Portland and the time and regularly packed in 1200 people at our shows. At one point, we held the attendance record at four different local venues (as well as the alcohol consumption record). People drank so much at our gigs that it was not uncommon for the bars to run out of beer, even after they knew what to expect from our degenerate audience. I played with Sweaty for two years -- until the end of 1991 -- when we parted ways. After that, I worked for a short time on an industrial music project in the Ministry vein, but as it turned out, the guy I was working with liked heroin just a little too much.

I was worn out at that point and decided that the music biz was just not for me. Too many friendships had been put at risk over inflated egos and lack of communication and I just didn't have the stomach for it anymore. But I did stay close to music, which is easy to do when all your friends are musicians. I only picked up the guitar a few times in the span of ten years. I kept myself busy with things like marriage, fatherhood, and working "real" jobs. I just started jamming again over the past year and a half or so and only then did I realize how much I missed playing and writing music.

R: What are some of the "real" jobs you have worked? What do you do currently? Do you know what any of the other guys have been doing since leaving the band?

LE: I worked as a guitar tech for a great band called Love On Ice (think Jane’s Addiction meets old Van Halen) who should have made it big but didn't. I managed a campground in the middle of nowhere in Central Oregon, which was beautiful but the isolation got more than a little creepy. Especially when you've seen Evil Dead on acid as many times as I have. I've also worked in silk-screen production, which every musician in the world has done at some point. It's like an unwritten law. For the past five years I've worked for a bank. And no, I never cut my hair for any of them. I know that Scott works for a lawyer but I'm not sure in what capacity. He also has a punk band called So Abused. Bill is the distribution manager for an L.A music magazine. And Rob has most recently been employed by Rob Zombie as Mr. Blasko. He's jamming now with the singer/guitarist from Helmet.

R: Wow, campground manager sounds like fun. I can see how your imagination could get the better of you. All work and no play makes Les a dull boy! Are you at all surprised over the current interest in the Cryptic Slaughter records? How did the reissues come about?

LE: The campground was really off the beaten path so we didn't have a lot of business. At one point, I hadn't had any human contact (and no phone) for two weeks and I'm sure I started to resemble Nicholson in The Shining.

The renewed interest in the band really took me by surprise at first. It really hit home when I saw someone pay $360.00 for a copy of Money Talks on eBay. But we always had extremely loyal core fans who were so down for the music and apparently still are. And I'm very flattered to hear that we've had an influence on some of today's bands. That's like the ultimate compliment.

Matt and Pellet had been trying to track me down to re-issue those records for a few years now but didn't know how to get a hold of me. They finally got my email from Katon of HIRAX, who I had just gotten back in touch with a couple of years ago. What's interesting is that it was Katon that gave our demo to Brian Slagel, which got us signed to Metal Blade in 1985. So he's partly responsible for both of our record deals. And that's appropriate, because Katon was a catalyst for the underground scene. He was always bringing different people and bands together.

R: I’ll take this opportunity to say “Thanks Katon”! I’m sure you guys are psyched to have your records reissued. What role did the band members play in putting them together and how do you feel about the final results?

LE: We can't really take any credit for putting the re-issues together, beyond the obvious things like supplying the photos, flyers, and bonus material. Relapse deserves the praise. They've bent over backwards to make the records look and sound better than they ever have and we couldn't be more stoked. It makes a huge difference when your label reps are also fans of your music. This was a labor of love for a lot of the people involved. Metal Blade respected the fact that we sold records but I don't think they ever liked us as a band.

R: The re-mastered records are definitely more crushing than ever. Going back in time a bit to when Convicted first came out, did you know the band was doing something different? In terms of style and approach, were there other bands at the time that you felt a kinship with?

LE: I think that we were hoping to do something different although it really wasn't premeditated. It was more of a natural evolution in an attempt to carve out our own sound. There weren't a lot of bands playing ultra fast back then. I believe D.R.I was probably the first to really take the whole speed thing over the top and I'm sure they influenced us. Wehrmacht was also one of the early pioneers of the genre and just about everyone knows how tight we became with those guys. What's funny is, both Cryptic and Wehrmacht had to fend off accusations of artificially "enhancing" our records in the studio because there were some people at the time who refused to believe that a drummer could actually play that fast! These, of course, were people who had never seen us live. Brian from Wehrmacht used to get so intense when they played that he would always puke all over his snare near the end of their set. And this is while he's still playing, so puke would be splattering all over him and any unfortunate roadie who got too close.

R: Listening to your first demo, it seems you guys had a bit more of a Metal sound than on Convicted or Money Talks. Considering that in 1985 the whole crossover scene of Punk/Metal was just beginning, which camp was Cryptic Slaughter embraced by more? Were you purposefully trying to appeal to both Hardcore and Metal fans or just letting the chips fall where they may?

LE: When I was a kid I was metal to the core, and that was our initial intent with Cryptic. In the beginning for us it was all about Slayer, Metallica, Motorhead and Venom. I saw every show SLAYER played in L.A. in late 83' and all of 84'. When we first started jamming together in the summer of 84' we were just starting to get into hardcore bands like GBH, RKL, Minor Threat, Discharge, and Suicidal. At that point, we were embracing any fast, charged music that we could get our hands on. The simplicity and lack of pretension of the punk bands definitely appealed to us and we also liked the fact that by and large, they had much more to say lyrically. By May of 85' when we recorded the demo, I would say we considered ourselves a metal band with a punk edge. We wrote and played music that appealed to us without giving any thought to who it would attract (or repel). And we didn't care who we played to as long as the club wasn't empty! Our first show in the summer of 85' was all metal bands but there were both punks and metal kids in the crowd. A couple of months after that we played a gig with the Descendents, D.R.I, and Excel with the same mixed crowd. The crossover of styles happened naturally for a lot of bands and everyone benefited by appealing to a larger audience. It was a great time for underground music.

R: A great time for sure! While most everyone I know who has heard Convicted and Money Talks consider those absolute classics, few of them feel that way about your 3rd album, Stream of Consciousness. I know there are issues with the production, but I personally feel the songs are every bit as good as the first 2 records. Can you tell me what happened with Stream and what was going on with the band at that time?

LE: You'd be surprised how many Stream fans have come out of the closet recently, so to speak. I've had a lot of communication from people who call that their favorite Cryptic album. And in terms of the material, it's my favorite too. I think those are the best songs that we wrote. But, you're right, a lot of people didn't like it, and not just because the production sucks. It was quite a departure from what our fans had come to expect from us. On Convicted, every song was fast. Money Talks was integrated with more groove-oriented breaks. But on Stream, although the songs are very aggressive, we had slowed down quite a bit. Either you dug it or you didn't, but music has to evolve. The truth is, that we were broken up before that album was even released. I didn't even hear the test pressing before it came out. We officially broke up on the road, but the first signs of cracks in the armor appeared while we were in the studio during the Stream sessions. The break up had nothing at all to do with the music, because that was the one thing that we could all agree on. There was a lot of personal tension between us at the time and, like most bands, we weren't very good at communicating with each other. So all that angst came out during the recording of that record which made it an extremely difficult process.

In 1988, we had been together for four years, which seems like an eternity when you’re 18 or 20 years old. Underground music in general was really exploding at that point and it really felt like what we were doing was over. You had bands like Jane’s Addiction, the Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Ministry, and Voi Vod who were defining the new era.

R: There are demo and live versions of Stream tracks on the Money Talks CD. Do you think that will spark more interest in Stream of Consciousness as a whole? Are there any plans to reissue that one as well?

LE: I think it's interesting to contrast the Stream songs with the material on Money Talks. We threw them on there because the energy on those versions is really good. Plus there's one unreleased song that no one outside of our circle of friends has ever heard. I don't know if it will spark any more interest, but it gives people an opportunity to hear another dimension to those tracks. I would really like to remix Stream before ever re-issuing it. Actually, truth be told, I'd like to re-record it.

R: Speaking of recording, I understand there’s new Cryptic Slaughter material on your web site, www.crypticslaughter.com. What’s going on with the band currently?

LE: The new music on the website represents the current band I'm working with, but we're not calling ourselves Cryptic Slaughter. We haven't decided on a name yet, but we don't really have anywhere else to post the new song at this point. I'm sure the obvious comparisons will be made, but while we're not trying to sound like the old band, we do want to try and re-capture that same energy and spirit. I encourage everyone to check it out. The song is called "Cataract" and is available for download at our website. It was recorded by myself, Brian Lehfeldt on drums, and Chris Merrow on vocals. We're working on material and recording when we can. We live in different states, so everything is done long distance. Brian is best known for playing drums for Wehrmacht and Sweaty Nipples and Chris is a twisted genius who sang for Village Idiot for several years in Portland. His antics have become local legend. Even though Rob, Scott, and Bill aren't involved in the new material, I've gotten very positive feedback from all of them on the new stuff. And having their support is great.

R: So, there isn’t any intention of revitalizing Cryptic Slaughter? I know that some time ago (1990?) there was actually a fourth Cryptic record titled Speak Your Peace that didn’t have the other three guys, just you. How come you chose to stick with the name back then but not now?

LE: Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel that it was a mistake to call the Portland band that recorded Speak Your Peace Cryptic Slaughter. What it came down to was basically a marketing decision. My contract with Metal Blade had me by the balls. They had the option to release any record I wanted to put out and they sure as hell didn't want me starting over with a new band name no one had ever heard of. They had invested too much money in me at that point to begin anew, and I understand that perspective as well. At the time, we made no secret of the fact that it was a brand new line-up and direction. A lot of people don't like Speak Your Peace because it was quite a bit different and that's fine. I still like it and I make no apologies. We found an audience with that record, toured Europe, played a bunch of shows with D.R.I., smoked a mountain of pot, and had a blast. What's funny is that a lot of the music on "Speak" was written by Rob and I before I moved to Portland, which was a continuation of the direction we started in with 'Stream". So, if the original line-up had stayed together, the music still would have been much slower and weirder because that's just where our heads were at then. Listen to every Cryptic record and they all sound different.

As to why we're not calling the present day band Cryptic Slaughter, well, I don't want to make the same mistake twice. All the attention we're getting for the re-issues is great, but the past is history it's time to put the name to rest. The irony is that the music we're making now is more akin to the speedy earlier Cryptic stuff. Originally, I was planning on working again musically with Rob and Bill, but the logistics of the situation (living a thousand miles apart) made it too difficult. Plus, Rob has a new thing going with Page Hamilton from Helmet, and Bill just really isn't interested in playing music anymore. Scott is still playing and last week told me he was trying out for a punk-a-billy band after quitting a band he had been in for a while called So Abused.

R: What was the best thing and what was the worst thing about being in Cryptic Slaughter?

LE: The best thing was all the great friends I made along the way and all the amazing music I got to experience. Above all else I'm a fan, and including the gigs we played I've been to well over a thousand shows. I never would have had that opportunity if not for Cryptic. And my best friends today are the people I became close with through the music. When it comes down to it, your good friends and your music will be there for you for your entire life, no matter what.

The worst thing was the politics of the music biz. It's just an ugly, corrupt, awful business to be involved in. When I was about fifteen years old, I was watching an episode of Night Flight (those old enough to remember will bow to the greatness of that show) where Grace Slick was interviewing Frank Zappa after his set. She asked him if he had any advice to kids who wanted to become musicians and start bands. He looked straight into the camera and without missing a beat said, "Don't do it, quit right now, you'll never be happy and this is the worst business in the world". He always was a no bullshit guy.

R: Wow Les, thanks for taking the time to shed some light on the history of your band and thanks for such great answers. Any final words?

Les Evans: I'm still amazed to this day at the absolute dedication and loyalty of Cryptic Slaughter fans. There was never a middle ground with us. Either you loved it or you hated it, and that polarity helped to create a cult following that still exits, much to my delight. I want to say thank you to all of those people who have supported and encouraged us both then and now. And of course we are very grateful to Relapse and their many talented associates for treating us and the music with a great deal of respect. And thank you, James, for a terrific interview and everything else you've done for us.

This interview originally appeared on Resound Magazine and can also be found here.
 

DEAF SPARROW Zine would like to express its most sincere appreciation to John from Relapse Records/Resound Magazine for allowing us to post this excellent interview and to the author James Grell.

Relapse Records Official Site