“Aggressive, brutal, and chaotic,” is how Strychnia describe their sound, and it’s an apt description of the intensity and heaviness that spews out of the fast rising death metal band. “We really try to make everything we write the best that it can possibly be,” says Kevin, vocalist for the group. “That may sound standard for any band that takes pride in their music. But we literally ensure that everything we create is extremely heavy. If we even think that something is lacking in the slightest bit, we will get rid of it, or enhance it. This is what makes our music really strong. We want people to feel the energy of our music. We want to make you move. Listening to our music will force you to maximize the volume and slam to it!”
Kevin is joined in the band by Rory on guitar, Mike on bass, and Frank on drums. The group has established itself as a force in the heavy rock world, having graced stages in many of the top venues in the Tri-State Area including the Starland Ballroom, The Trocadero, Hangar 84, Dingbatz, and the Crocodile Rock Café.
The band has recently released a new EP, Reanimated Monstrosity, which is already turning heads. The title-track contains vocals from special guest John Gallagher of Dying Fetus, who are helping Strychnia out by sharing the song on their social media pages.
The release marks a dramatic step forward for the band from their debut album, The Anatomy Of An Execution, which was recorded in 2010. “The songs on the EP are just so much heavier,” Kevin relates. “They are so much better, and they really represent our style. Our album, The Anatomy Of Execution, is very interesting. Two of the songs on that album were literally written before the band was even fully formed. We were young and at the time we weren’t nearly as serious or professional as we are now. We are extremely proud of all of those songs on the album and although they are very good, we feel as if some of them don’t represent our style 100 percent. When we first formed the band, we considered ourselves a death/thrash band, and we had a very ‘thrashy’ sound. So, our earlier songs are more thrash-influenced than death metal-influenced.
“The EP, on the other hand, is consistent with our style. We have essentially evolved into a straight-up death metal band. We really feel like this is the best material we have written to date. We are extremely confident that we have taken our sound to a whole new level, and that we can compete with national acts. The songs are structured better, and we put a lot more time into perfecting them. Metaphorically speaking, we all devoted a large amount of time dissecting the songs and really looking at everything under a microscope. We probably spent double, if not triple, the amount of time reviewing everything after we were finished recording, just to make sure everything was perfect and we left nothing on the line. As we like to say, the new EP is ‘All killer, no filler.’”
The members of the group actually have varied musical tastes, which they feel gives their sound a unique flavor compared to other bands of the genre. “We’ve all got a lot of similar influences, but we all have very different ones as well,” Kevin explains. “It’s a strong variety throughout the band, which really helps diversify our material and actually make it original. We all love different genres and styles of music. When it comes to Strychnia’s style, however, we take influences from the best and baddest bands in metal. Some of our biggest influences are Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Behemoth, Deicide, Decapitated, Slayer, Exodus, Pantera, Suicide Silence and Whitechapel.”
The writing of the lyrics is very much a collaborative effort, while the musical parts are left to each individual member, with suggestions welcomed. “We all like to give our two cents and throw opinions at each other, but we let each other make final decisions based upon our positions,” says Kevin. “For example, Rory writes all of the guitars and solos and song structures, but of course we will all make suggestions and give him our ideas. Usually he will take our opinions into consideration and sometimes we will change things around, but in the end he usually has the final say because it’s his instrument. We really all take pride in our instruments and it’s not fun if you have that one person who wants to tell everyone else how to play their instrument.”
Strychnia have been concentrating on writing and recording recently, but they are ready to get back out on the road. Besides local appearances, they are shooting for some mini-tours, and eventually some bigger touring situations. “It’s hard to discuss what will happen, though, because a record label could change things up drastically. If we remain unsigned, we will continue playing local shows, and we will definitely embark on some mini-tours and we will even set up our own U.S. tours, etc. Touring the globe is one of our major goals as a band. It would be a dream come true to travel the world, and we would love to meet all of our amazing fans. We owe it to them! For all the support they have put into Strychnia, the best we can do is come and visit them and give ‘em a killer performance!”
You can get more information about Strychnia, including the new release and upcoming shows, at facebook.com/strychnia, twitter.com/strychnia, strychnia.bandcamp.com and reverbnation.com/strychnia.
