STRYCTNYNE
Unfinished Business
Independent
Between their October interview and their 2016 full length, Long Island, New York’s Stryctnyne proves age has no bearing on quality metal, nor does the amount of recognition a band gets have bearing on their potential. Stryctnyne has been active locally since the 80s, releasing demos and causing a club circuit stir with the likes of Kronin, Winter, Iron Rainbow, C.O.M.A. and Voodoo Storm among others who had potential to receive national attention outside the scene. The interview with guitarist G. Cyco has more inside story on the band’s history and what they have been up to these days. Following a CD reissue of their demos in 2013 the band is pushing the D.I.Y. release of Unfinished Business which was recorded, mixed and produced by the band and a handful of people and released on CD and digital format last June. You can find them on most social media sites and they’ve been doing interviews to promote the new album. If I summed this up briefly I would say Unfinished Business is a solid mixture of 80s power metal, hard rock, post-thrash, stoner rock, early grunge and 2000s new wave of U.S. metal. While some might think these genres are incompatible, Stryctnyne manages to make this combination work and there’s a rough, porous edge they thankfully make no effort to polish or sanitize. The affectations here are of seedy bars, equipment carried to shows in vans and street level intimacy, not limos, TV cameras, paparazzi and upscale clubs. Fans of power metal will appreciate Blasphemer, Kill Or Be Killed, Hammer Down, Satan’s Ride, Turn The Power On, Witches Hunt, The Power And The Glory and Keepers Of The Secret, as they are the heaviest of the bunch with their share of hooks. Manowar came up more than once in G. Cyco’s interview. There were reasons Manowar personified metal more than any other heavy or power metal band when they started out; the selections I picked out from the recorded set manifest the same temperament the music industry needed back then that propelled Manowar to cult status for years to come. It’s always welcome to see a band bring that vibe into the present day, with a singular goal in mind and no pretensions. The revolution is far from over. -Dave Wolff
Track list:
1. Blasphemer
2. Last Rite
3. Kill or Be Killed
4. Line Them Up
5. Hammer Down
6. Reality
7. Satan's Ride
8. Thunder Godz
9. Turn the Power On
10. Witches Hunt
11. The Power and the Glory
12. Keepers of the Secret
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