Album Year: 2011
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
Location: Dayton, NJ
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Hallucinogenic Desecration
3. The Anatomy of Execution
4. Maniacal Repression
5. Ashes of Resurrection
6. Inverted
7. Apocalyptic Visions
8. Vile Creation
9. Hypothermic Sedation
10. Envenomation
Strychnia’s debut album, The Anatomy of Execution, is a straight death/thrash metal album. What this means is that instead of breakdowns, there are guitar solos. The band’s influences all come from either thrash metal (Exodus, Slayer, Overkill) or old school death metal (Obituary, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse). Strychnia has an almost perfect blend of these two genres.
The Anatomy of Execution has you banging your head from start to finish. The album starts off with an eerie intro and from there it kicks into overdrive. The start of “Hallucinogenic Desecration” sounds like something from the early days of thrash metal. It immediately has your feet tapping and your head banging. The guitars on this album are absolutely phenomenal. I could not recall one single riff on the album that was not good. It is hard to even name my favorite riff on the album because the riffs on this album are that good. Although, there are all these good riffs, it is almost a curse as well. The band lacks song structure in that they don’t let a riff develop and grow. It is normal on this album to hear three different riffs and sections of the song in only a minute. This makes some of the songs feel rushed in a way. The guitarists show that not only can they riff good but they solo just as well. Songs like “Maniacal Repression”, “Ashes of Resurrection”, and “Vile Creation” show off some of the outstanding soloing on this album.
While it may be a minor thing, the fact that you can hear the bass guitar on this album is a big plus in my book. It has been a while since I have actually heard the bass guitar on a metal album. The bass is nasty too in what would happen if Steve Harris joined a death metal band. Strychnia show a good mix of their influences throughout the album. Songs like “Inverted” and “Apocalyptic Visions” sound more like old school death metal while songs like “Ashes of Resurrection” and “The Anatomy of Execution” sound more like thrash metal.
While the guitarists play with a death/thrash metal feel, the vocals are strictly death metal. The vocals is what gives this album the old school death metal vibe. They are a little more fine tuned than old school death metal vocalists. The lead singer is also not afraid to do a pig squeal every now and again. The lyrics on this album fits in with most of the early death metal bands in that the lyrics deal with death and gore.
Strychnia is one of the best up and coming thrash/death metal bands. The band pulls off the combination so well that it feels like you are listening to a Florida death metal band from the late 80s, but instead it is a band from New Jersey in 2012. The band are recording a new e.p which is to be released in fall/winter 2012 and are currently looking for a full time drummer and bassist.
Rating: 8.5/10