CRYPTOPSY Wins JUNO Award In 'Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year' Category For 'As Gomorrah Burns'

CRYPTOPSY was honored in the "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" category at this year's Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards).

The 2024 Juno Awards kicked off on Saturday evening (March 23) at the Opening Night Awards in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where 42 trophies were handed out.

To be considered for a nomination at the 2024 Juno Awards, national music release dates had to fall between the eligibility period of September 1, 2022 and November 2, 2023.

This year's "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" nominees were as follows:

* CRYPTOPSY - "As Gomorrah Burns"
* DANKO JONES - "Electric Sounds"
* KATAKLYSM - "Goliath"
* KEN MODE - "Void"
* VOIVOD - "Morgöth Tales"

Earlier today, CRYPTOPSY, which has been on the road in Europe with ATHEIST since late February, shared the following statement via social media: "What a killer way to end a tour! We stepped off stage last night in Derby ?? to discover that we WON the The JUNO Awards for 'Best Metal Album of the Year'!!! We are beyond excited and thank everyone involved for making this a reality. Massive cheers to DANKO JONES x KATAKLYSM x KEN MODE x VOIVOD for keeping Canada weird with us."

In 2023, VOIVOD won the "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" award for "Synchro Anarchy".

CRYPTOPSY's first full-length album in over a decade, "As Gomorrah Burns" arrived last September via Nuclear Blast Records. Vocalist Matt McGachy stated about the LP: "It's an album that we have been crafting for the past five years. A meticulous endeavor that we are proud of. It's the perfect medley of old-school CRYPTOPSY with a few modern twists. We've leaned heavily into the grooves and let some of the riffs breathe just a little more than we have on the past few releases. I'm really stoked about the new era of CRYPTOPSY."

"As Gomorrah Burns" is CRYPTOPSY's first album for Nuclear Blast. The initial sessions for the LP took place in a cabin in the forests of Quebec. McGachy called the horror-like backdrop "surreal," but, as with everything CRYPTOPSY, the songwriting process was expectedly arduous. CRYPTOPSY's Christian Donaldson was the primary motivator behind "As Gomorrah Burns". The guitarist and producer served as taskmaster and advocate, grinding out of his bandmates in McGachy, drummer Flo Mounier and bassist Olivier "Oli" Pinard eight slabs of unadulterated barbarity.

Conceptually, "As Gomorrah Burns" pits the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah against the modern-day Internet. McGachy's idea was to show how it's both the birthplace of invention and a cesspool of exploitation. The stories are based on real-life incidences — online stalkers, cults, misinformation, isolation, and intimidation — but ornamented deviously to enhance their potency. CRYPTOPSY commissioned Italian artist Paolo Girardi (POWER TRIP, TEMPLE OF VOID) to complement the old-world lyrical themes. If

As with "The Unspoken King" (2008) and the self-titled (2012),CRYPTOPSY enlisted Donaldson to helm the production, mixing, and mastering of "As Gomorrah Burns". Dom Grimard, of ION DISSONANCE fame, also came into the production fold. McGachy says the time in the studio took much longer than anticipated, but with Donaldson directing and everyone finally in the same room again post-pandemic, CRYPTOPSY were able to capture newfound vigor (and velocity) on "As Gomorrah Burns". Tracks such as "Godless Deceiver", "Ill Ender" and "Praise The Filth" demonstrate Donaldson's death metal mastery.

Photo credit: Mihaela Petrescu