[Update 5/21/25]: Earlier this year, it was announced that bluegrass star Billy Strings would appear on a new medley as part of a reissue of Canadian death metal band Cryptopsy‘s debut album, Blasphemy Made Flesh. Now, that reimagined medley—appropriately titled “Blasphemy Made Fresh”—has hit streaming services ahead of the reissue’s arrival on July 18th.
In addition to Billy Strings, “Blasphemy Made Fresh” features celebrated death metal musicians Ben Duerr (Shadow of Intent), Bridget Lynch (Stabbing), Alexander Sason (Undeath), Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa), and Mallika Sundaramurthy (Unfathomable Ruination). Listen to the track below. Scroll down to read more about the Cryptopsy Blasphemy Made Flesh reissue and Billy Strings’ history with metal.
“Blasphemy Made Fresh” – Cryptopsy · Billy Strings · Shadow of Intent · Stabbing · Undeath · Carcosa · Emasculator · Flo Mounier · Jon Levasseur · Steve Thibault · Eric Langlois · Dan Greening
[5/21/25]: Billy Strings is a man of many talents. There’s of course his bluegrass guitar playing that continues to fill arenas year after year. There’s his songwriting prowess that has matured through four original solo albums, sending his latest release Highway Prayers to the top of the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart (the first bluegrass LP to do so in 22 years). He’s also a pretty good fisherman, as Primus’ Les Claypool or Strings’ partner in the Bassmaster Celebrity Pro-Am can attest.
But before Strings became a household name in the jamgrass community and beyond, he got his start playing heavy metal. With local Michigan acts Groove Tongue and To Once Darkened Skies, Strings developed metal chops that would later merge with his bluegrass upbringing to create his wholly unique sound. Fast forward nearly two decades, and Billy Strings’ musical journey came full circle as iconic Canadian death metal band Cryptopsy invited him to play guitar on an upcoming reissue of its 1994 debut album, Blasphemy Made Flesh.
Related: Billy Strings Sits In With Michigan Metalcore Band Flesh And Blood Robot [Photos/Videos]
Out July 18th via Season of Mist, the Blasphemy Made Flesh reissue will include the original album, a previously-unreleased 1995 live Cryptopsy show, and a new medley called “Blasphemy Made Fresh”. That medley will feature celebrated death metal musicians Ben Duerr (Shadow of Intent), Bridget Lynch (Stabbing), Alexander Sason (Undeath), Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa), and Mallika Sundaramurthy (Unfathomable Ruination) alongside Billy Strings. Billy has long professed his love for Cryptopsy, posting videos with the band’s music and even sending the band a cake when they were both playing in Boise, ID on the same night.
Now, if you’re a devoted Billy Strings fan, all of the other names in this article probably mean nothing to you. Additionally, this music will more than likely not be your thing. But, from a historical standpoint, it might interest you to see where Strings comes from musically and the early influences that shaped his unique style. Plus, you’ll get to hear Billy shredding on an electric guitar, which is always a rare and welcome treat.
Pre-orders for the Cryptopsy Blasphemy Made Flesh reissue with Billy Strings are open here. Billy Strings will wrap up a run of West Coast dates on Willie Nelson‘s traveling Outlaw Music Festival tour this weekend before launching his headlining tour with a two-night hometown run in Grand Rapids, MI (5/30–5/31). Find tickets and a full list of tour dates here.