The Wake

Chicago’s blackened thrash metal band Usurper contend with the likes of Manowar and 3 Inches of Blood for the title of most metal band in the universe. They have been inducing headbanging in the underground since 1992 and have released five albums, most recently Cryptobeast on Earache Records. Recently I spoke to guitarist Rick Scythe.

The Wake: Where do you rate Cryptobeast amongst Usurpers five albums?

Rick:Right up there at the top.

The Wake: What distinguishes Cryptobeast from other Usurper albums?

Rick: A few things… first of all the line-up. We have 3 of the four original members from our debut album and a new killer vocalist as well as a second guitarist since 2000. The second thing is the songs. These songs are built for the stage, it is total over-the-top extreme Heavy Metal. Many songs have big sing-a-long choruses in the vein of classic Heavy Metal, yet the attack and aggression is still very underground. Third is the production. We once again enlisted Grammy Award winning producer Neil Kernon to twiddle the knobs. Neil’s ear and his work ethic are something that brings out the best in Usurper.

The Wake: What were some of your biggest influences while recording this particular record?

Rick: Honestly, just knowing what has worked best live from our past albums. Usurper has been around since 1993 and toured 14 different countries since 1997. In this time frame we’ve had songs that sounded killer on disc, yet live didn’t always have what it takes. As the years went on we always tried to improve this aspect of the band and bridge the gap between what works good live and what sounds good on disc. On this album I wanted to push things to the limit and create 10 songs that could be played on any stage, in any country and still have people be able to sing the chorus’ and headbang together no matter how familiar they were with the band.

The Wake: Why should the metalhead unfamiliar with Usurper stop by one of your shows or pick up one of your albums?

Rick: Usurper is 100% Metal to the bone! Most of what people label “metal” these days is NOT Metal. Usurper is only for those who enjoy fist banging, head banging, thrashing and living the true metal lifestyle… Usurper is a set of werewolf fangs in the jugular of all nu-metal, emo-core, poser metalcore and all other forms of false music commonly labeled as modern metal!

The Wake: How positive has your experience with Earache been?

Rick: As positive as Magic Johnson’s AIDS test!

The Wake: Is Usurper a band for, and only for, metalheads?

Rick: Fuck yeah! We like to close the open mind. Sometimes others who aren’t typical metal fans are into Usurper, and that’s fine, but to me Heavy Metal is more than just a religion, it is the only way to live!

The Wake: Is it frustrating, or a point of pride (or both), that Usurper’s fan base is a small but devout group of metalheads?

Rick: Usurper has built a career that has lasted over a decade by staying true to the metal life-code and true to the ethics of underground metal. We have been lucky because even though we don’t have a massive popular fan base, we have a strong following of die-hard Metal Warriors that support this band from all corners of the globe. Everyone else can KISS MY ASS!

The Wake: How do you rate Neil Kernon against the other producers you have worked with?

Rick: Neil Kernon KICKS ASS! We’ve worked with other good producers over the year, but Neil is a true mastermind.

The Wake: How has Cryptobeast been received so far?

Rick: We can’t believe the press actually. Every major metal magazine has had positive words, which is great, but the true sense of pride is due to our underground Metal Warriors who have overwhelmingly proclaimed this to be the best Usurper album ever. This was a hard task considering we had 4 full lengths with a different vocalist. As everyone knows, a vocalist is a main focal point of a band, and replacing an original member is hard as well, but we honestly felt everything about Dan Tyrantor blew away our previous vocalist . . . it is just nice to see that the die-hards agree with this as well.

The Wake: What prompted the rerecording of “Warriors of Iron and Rust?”

Rick: We’ve done a series of shows and weekend tours with this Cryptobeast line-up before we recorded the album, just to see what the chemistry was like, and a staple of our live set has always been “Warriors of Iron and Rust.” We noticed how much better this sounded than the version from our 2000 album, Necronemesis, so we decided to re-record it during the Cryptobeast sessions just for a bonus track. But when Neil heard it he said, “this has to be on the album,” we agreed, so we included it.

The Wake: I’ve heard many fans state Usurper to be the “most metal band in the universe.” Do you agree?

Rick: It would be a bit arrogant for me to say this, don’t you think? All I’ll say is this: we take Heavy Metal very seriously! It is nice to see that other people have called us things such as, “The New Kings of Metal,” “The Most Metal Band in the Universe,” and “None More Metal!”

The Wake: What do you think of the state of metal today, especially in the Midwest?

Rick: I love the fact that many new bands are emerging that have the true spirit of metal. From bands that are more classic Metal inspired such as Ravensthorn; to the Thrashier style such as Nocturnal Fear; to the real black metal style, such as Teratism [Brant’s note: Check out teratism666.com, this band is from Minnesota and they absolutely kill live!] Any form of Real Metal gets the giant foam rubber “thumbs up!” from me. it is great that the Midwest has many strong bands, and a positive Metal scene!

The Wake: Anything else Rick?

Rick: Check out www.usurper.us (unless you are a poser), and be sure to catch us on May 6th, co-headlining at the Minneapolis Mayhem Festival (www.minneapolismayhem.com).