Constricted

Constricted began as a concept in mid-2003. Mark Menghi (bass) felt the urge to take his music to a different level while playing in his previous band, Gutter Poet. His desire drove him towards heavier, more dynamic music to grow as a musician. Subsequently, he left Gutter Poet and decided to start fresh.
The early stages of Constricted went into assembly with the addition of Mike Artale (vocals). Mike was Mark’s first phone call. He knew that Mike could sing like no other and wanted him as front man for his new endeavor. A week later, Mark and Mike were at a local bar drinking and scouting guitar players at “Open Mic Night.” Mark’s attention was grabbed by a bald guy jumping up and down causing hell in the crowd. The crazy man in the crowd was Mark’s old friend, former singer/guitarist for Kindread, Frank Guillot (guitar). While they reminisced about the wild nights playing shows together, Frank mentioned he was searching for a new band. Frank is a phenomenal guitar player, so Mark and Mike made him an offer to join the then no-name band without an audition. Frank accepted without a second thought and Constricted became complete. Ironically, with the exception of Mark and Charlie Lopez (former drummer), Constricted had never even played a note together.

After six months of rehearsing and gigging locally, Constricted was scheduled to open for The Misfits. That same week Charlie and Constricted parted ways. Not in a panic, Frank introduced his brother-in-law, Jim Soviero (drums) as a fill-in drummer. He learned all of Constricted’s material in the limited time available. After a successful sold-out show with The Misfits, Constricted officially made Jim the permanent drummer.

For two years Constricted (Mark, Mike, Jim, and Frank) played shows with many great New York and national metal bands. Anthrax, Kings X, Fozzy featuring Chris Jericho, Pigmy Love Circus featuring Danny Carey from Tool, Nuclear Assault, Silvertide, Testament, Joe Lynn Turner from Rainbow, Life of Agony, Brand New Sin, The Gathering, The Misfits, and Helloween are only a few of the bands that Constricted shared the stage. In that time Constricted recorded a 3-song demo to rave reviews.

"Constricted doesn’t know it because they’re too young to remember but they’ve hit on a combination of styles that oddly enough works. The first element is not so hard to figure: Metallica –Who isn’t inspired by them at some level even if you’re not into them. The other flavor is a bit harder to explain. The guitar player goes off on nice little intros that bring to mind Sam Andrew and James Gurley of Big Brother and the Holding Company. For you youngsters who don’t know whom I’m talking about, Big Brother was extremely cool and not just because Janis Joplin was the singer. I’m looking forward to watching Constricted develop ‘cause in a world of a gazillion bands that are trying to sound like either Tool or Pantera, it’s nice to see someone going behind door number three. Rock on." Peter Fletcher L.A. Weekly

L.A. Weekly (Los Angeles, CA based paper), Goodtimes Magazine, Inside Connection and many other New York papers/magazines/web zines were adamant fans of Constricted’s diversity in the metal genre.

September 2005, brought a new dimension to Constricted. They added another ingredient to their recipe by introducing a new guitar player. After serious consideration, they called the only person they knew could fulfill the position. Touring with MindlesSanity, Joe Cavallaro (guitar) is a veteran of the New York metal scene. Joe learned all the material before his debut with Constricted at the sold-out Testament reunion concert at the Crazy Donkey club in Farmingdale, NY. Prophetically, Mindles Sanity, Kindread, and Gutter Poet had played together the previous five years. Mark, Joe, and Frank had remained friends throughout that time, but never expected to rock the crowd together.

Constricted recorded their debut full-length album entitled “Wide Awake & Breathing,” in the Spring of 2006. It is due to be released in the Spring of 2007. “Wide Awake & Breathing” was recorded at Audio Magick Recording Studios in West Babylon, NY by George Marshall. Produced by Constricted, mixed at Method of Groove Stuios in Brooklyn, NY by Joey Z (guitarist for Life of Agony) and Mastered by Rob Caggiano (guitarist for Anthrax) & Paul Orofino at Millbrook Sound Studios in Upstate, NY..