Rock In Review

Synastry
Jimmy Anastasopoulos - Vocals

1. In listening to your debut album Blind Eyes Bleed, it is easy to tell that Synastry is different from pretty much any other Death metal band out there. Who are some of your musical influences?

Synastry as a band have many musical influences. We listen to new bands and songs all the time and as such absorb as much as we can of the good and try to not retain any of the suck. If I have to narrow down to specific bands, I’d say Fear Factory played a big role in us forming this band, not just through the musical style, but also cause they are a shining example of staying true without being stupid about it. Other musical influences would be Mnemic, Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Meshuggah.

There’s way more, but I cant think of any right now. But I will say this, we have been influenced from these bands because they stood out to us in a sea of other bands who either imitate or emulate them. And like them, we want to create our own sound so we can always be referred to as SYNASTRY, and not a ’such n such clone’.

2. The use of Industrial effects helps make Synastry a unique band. Where did the idea to incorporate those effects come from?

As I mentioned in the influences, we like bands that use effects and synths in their songs, but it goes beyond that. All of us in Synastry have listened to (and from time to time still do) Electronica and Techno. We don’t want to have a keyboardist or a sampler on stage as a fifth member, but we love it in recording and we use the samples live. We always wanted to have our music incorporate a fresh and industrialized sound.

3. Lyrically, what were motivations and your attitude/feelings that went into Blind Eyes Bleed?

All of the lyrics were written by me, Jimmy Anastasopoulos (vocals), and I had to write lyrics in a time of constant and heavy changes in my life. Whether it be a friend leaving or a group dispersing, the lyrics on Blind Eyes Bleed were all about loss with a hint of darkened hope. Mostly the lyrics reflect how I was feeling about my life going into overdrive and I used the situations as metaphors to reflect social situations that we may not even realize we put ourselves in. Hence the album name Blind Eyes Bleed.

4. How did the collaborations with Johan Liiva and Alisa Whit Gluz come about?

Simply put, I asked both of them. I had met Johan online and began speaking with him, and he was interested. I have known Alissa for many years now, so I just called her and asked her if she’d do it. I’m really glad both of them agreed to it.

5. What are your overall feelings for the final product of the album?

We are all happy about how it came out in post production, and are glad that we are finally able to share it with the world.

6. What are some of your favorite tracks from the album? Why?

I love em all, but I think my favorite is “Beast Of Myself” because it’s a fun song to listen to and play live. The crowd gets pumped! Also, I enjoy “To Catch A Glimpse”. It’s nice and mellow while still being heavy. And of course the song for all the beautiful ladies, “My Burning Desire”, with the cool intro sample.

7. With Blind Eyes Bleed as your intense debut album, what brutality can we expect for the future of Synastry?

More brutality, more samples, and more aggressive vocals!! We already have 14 songs written for the 2nd album. But more on that another time.

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