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.

Synastry – Blind Eyes Bleed
Year of the Sun Records

(4/5)

Ok guys and gals in the Metal world, here we go again for our boys in Canada and at Year of the Sun Records! A new addition to the Death metal scene, Synastry, has made its mark on the current scene with their excellent debut album, Blind Eyes Bleed! The first thing that needs to be mentioned is their affective use of a, sort of, Industrial sounding effect that is implemented with the brutality of the progressive Death metal sound. Really, I think it sounds awesome! The Industrial effects are not overbearing, so Synastry isn’t and Industrial metal band, but they have included a decent amount of it to make their sound really unique. Unique is what I’m looking for! Musically, this four piece couldn’t have put much more into the album to make it any better of a debut. As far as vocals go, Jimmy Anastasopoulos blends perfectly with the music, and these four guys have really created a killer album. Another unique thing about the band is the fact that there are four guys with only ONE guitarist. Wow! This guy deserves flowers and handties for crying out loud!

It is rare to see this nowadays and I have found a place for these guys in my respect for bands like this because of how difficult it is to get a great sound with just one guitarist in the age of new Metal. As far as favorite tracks on the album, the one I really have to suggest is “Beast of Myself” (Track 5). the overall album is a great one, but “Beast of Myself” sticks out to me because it has a great heaviness and brutality to it, but at the same time, this is one where Synastry implemented the Industrial aspect very well. Once again, this entire album is good and this is a great start for this band. So, for all you Progressive Death metal fans, or fans of straight Death metal, grab a copy of Blind Eyes Bleed as soon as possible! Metal on!