What first started as a joke during a high school math class soon evolved into “a melodic metal band focusing on grotesque and absurd lyrics made to make you laugh out loud when read,” explained Corpse Vapour guitarist Logan Wilson.

“The band name is more of a joke. In a way though, it’s a pretty original name for the genre. Chaotic, fast and funny could be used to describe the name, as well as the music,” Wilson added.

In the year since first forming in Sherwood Park, Alta., Corpse Vapour has released a 10-track demo, We Are Not Pathologists, We Are Mad Doctors and, hot of the presses and amongst the masses as of Oct. 24, their full-length debut album Xeno-Intelligent Design, all while trying to complete their line-up.

How is the band managing with the recent line-up changes?

I found a guy by the name of Andrew Furlong. He played bass on the demo, as well as the new album. The current line-up is now me on guitars and Josh Grescher on vocals. We do not have a drummer presently and play live with an iPod, so if you, the people, know anyone that’s good, be so kind and tell them to give us a shout!

When the band first got together and started writing, was zombies always the main theme?

The theme of zombies was intentional right off the bat. There is nothing more grotesque and more awesome and fun than thinking about the many ways you can mutilate a zombie. “Zombie Face Stomp” off our demo, for example, was inspired by the curb stomp finisher move on American History X. Zombies are more of a comical theme in itself, you can’t really take it seriously, which is a perfect fit for us.

There is some pretty interesting artwork on your site; who does your artwork, and where do the ideas come from?

The artwork that is currently on our site was done by Remy at Headsplit Design. Very cool guy. He did exactly what I had envisioned and has fairly decent prices. The ideas stem from a lot of the nightmares I had, and still occasionally have. I remember being extremely scared of aliens from when I was about 10 or 11. I always dreamed of being abducted and being horribly mutilated by big-headed grays. Of course, trying to explain this to your mother at that age was not exactly fun, so I kept a captain’s log of all the weird shit that went on in my head. I could write about 50 albums with all different themes before having to think of something new.

The demo We Are Not Pathologists, We Are Mad Doctors was released last year… how does that release differ from your latest album?

That demo was only written in a week. Everything about it was very simple: the riffs were simple, lyrics were simple, solos were simple, and it was recorded on a four-track tape recorder. The cool thing about that release was that I did drums, guitars, and vocals. It was all recorded in five days. Most of the songs were very unorganized and ended way too shortly. On the new album, the songs are a bit longer and more flushed out and organized.

How has Corpse Vapour’s sound evolved since that demo?

Everything from the technicality to the downright brutality of the songs have changed. I’m using a different vocal style this time around, Josh honed in on his vocal style – and got it just right, in my opinion. I used a new tuning for the guitars as well. I went to using a higher tuning for the technical songs, and a lower more clichéd down-tuning for the heavier songs. Even the whole riffing style is different. So in a sense it’s got a little more organized sound. Something you could show to your grandmother and have her yell, “What the f**k is this shit!” within 30 seconds, instead of maybe five, like on the demo.

How about your approach to songwriting?

I usually just sit in the jam space for a good four hours at a time. I just play my guitar, have a beer, and just fool around until something sounds good. Usually, if a good idea arises, I will not leave the jam space until the song is done. Lyrically, Josh will just sit at home and listen to the tracks and lay over some lyrics on paper and show them to me. From there, he will show me his vocal patterns and we will work over where backups go and whether or not they are needed.

How long was Xeno-Intelligent Design in the works before you finally got down to business and recorded it?

It was in the works shortly after we sold out of our demos. I immediately started writing the songs in October (2008) and didn’t finish until February. Of course, I was already recording some of the songs and fine tuning them before I finished all 15 tracks.

Did you record it yourselves?

Yes. Studio costs are expensive! Actually, we just decided it would be better to work at our own pace, and not have a huge bill to pay at the end of it. It worked out better in the end. And it was recorded digitally this time around.

Are you happy with the end result?

Extremely happy. We get asked where it was recorded everyday. It has a very rough feel to it. Its not perfect by any means, but it gets the job done and I think people dig it.

What can listeners expect from the album?

They can expect to be ripped and torn apart by a flesh-eating zombie who is mind controlled by aliens!

What do you hope listeners get out of it?

I hope they realize that not all music should be taken seriously. Sometimes you just gotta grab life by the zombie and give it a good face stomp.

What’s next for Corpse Vapour?

We are recording a new three-song EP that will completely blow your mind away – and it’s all being done in a studio this time around, Surge Recording House, and we are recording real drums (courtesy of drummer James Miller). We’re hopefully having some guest appearances on there as well.