Stygian
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Stygian

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"CD Reviews"

Stygian is a four-piece metal outfit from the Philadelphia area who have mixed their young love of Metallica with their own original influences to craft a sound that bends on hardrock and classic metal. The band has just played their Trocodero record release show in front of more than 500 eager fans who were all waiting to pick up a copy of Stygian's newest self-released record, "Struggle."

The band mixes brutal riffage with chunky guitar solos, plenty of double bass drum blast beats (there are literally two bass drums) and throaty vocals. The sound is pretty straightforward hardrock with nods to metal and classic rock. The band, if they stick together, will most likely find their niche playing hardrock shows for many people - 4/5 stars. - Pulse Weekly


"Review of "Struggle""

Struggle
Stygian

Released – 2007 (Self Released)

Track List

1. Wasted on the Day
2. Disbelief
3. Sinking Further
4. Pay Your Way
5. Rise Alone
6. The Game
7. Dearly Departed
8. After Here
9. Pieces From Another Life…

‘Struggle’ is the self released fist to the face debut album from Philadelphia’s Stygian, another great band I came to know through MySpace. Formed in 1999, these guys started out playing Metallica tunes until they decided to have a crack at writing original material. The result? Hard hitting, ball tearing metal with substance and attitude.

‘Wasted on the Day’ kicks things off in loud, explosive manner. From the moment you hear the word “Go!” the double kick drum pounds and heavy driven guitar riffs rip you a new hole! There’s even some Zakk Wylde type guitar squeals that I love to hear. This is a solid, hard metal track and one of the best on the disc.

‘Disbelief’ has some of the most ‘James Hetfield’ sounding tracks in vocals and a slower tempo groove that has you head banging in time with the riffs like Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’. ‘Sinking Feeling’ has an opening guitar riff that reminds me a lot of the opening from ‘Nothing Else Matters’. While it has the same vibe, once it really kicks in you know it’s a different song and an early showing that Stygian can do slow stuff with balls too.

‘Rise Alone’ has a similar feel and is easily my favourite song. It starts off slow, building you up, then crushes you with the rhythm and lead without losing melody. The solo is a highlight too, just some frantic fret work. I’ll go as far as to say it’s up there with any hard rock/metal power ballad (for lack of a better term) that I’ve heard.

‘The Game’ is where Stygian really come alive. It has some fantastic drumming by Steve Bacchia as player Mike Stewart holds it all together while Ed Sobon and Frank Leary show off how good their guitar playing really is. This one is a wall of sound coming at you and the lyrics are laden with hooks as much as the music itself.

‘Pieces From Another Life...’ is a monster instrumental full of time changes and memorable riffs coming in at 8mins 53secs. A cool way to finish off the album and a stand out track.

Stygian are able to switch between the fast, hard hitting songs and the slower stuff really well in a similar way as ‘Shot to Hell’ by Black Label Society. It gives ‘Struggle’ a good balance with some nice change up’s. It’s easy to hear their influences showing through and in a nutshell this is like Metallica meets Pantera with a little Black Label Society thrown in. Vocalist Frank Leary really can sound uncannily like James Hetfield on certain notes like “iiiiiiiiuh” and “yeeaah” if you get my drift. With that said, Stygian have a lot of originality but as with most bands they incorporate some of the best bits taken from here and there.

I’ve been listening to a lot of sleazy rock n roll lately so it was good to break away from that and get my teeth back into something harder and heavier. ‘Struggle’ is a great debut and could do very well in all the major metal communities around the world. But as it’s self released how does it get that far? I suggest you click the link below and buy it direct from the Stygian website to show your support.

Visit: www.stygianrock.com – www.myspace.com/stygianrock

Dirty Rock review by ‘Jonni Starr’ - Jonnie Starr of Dirtyrock.net


Discography

Stygian released their debut album "Struggle" in November of 06 and it has been received very well by the fans. Through itunes and myspace, Stygian has been able to sell their album everywhere, having now sold copies in places like the UK, Austrailia, Denmark, Canada, Poland, and Mexico.

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Bio

Stygian was started because we are all meant to be muscians. We play with passion no matter what. We started in 1999 as a Metallica cover band. All we did was practice and learn songs from Metallica who was our biggest influence and favorite band. We believe this was crucial to all of us developing our skills and overall tightness as a band. After a few years we began expanding and writing our own music. Demo after demo we grew and developed our sound, getting our name out there with every new song. We got to the sound we have today when lead guitarist Ed Sobon Joined the band in 2004. Our influences now range from Metallica and Alice in Chains to bands like Pantera and Devildriver. This blend brought about our debut album "Struggle" which we self-released in Nov. 2006. Through relentless networking via the internet, we have built a loyal and strong fan base all over the world. We have been able to use this to sell our album not only in the U.S. but in places like the U.K., Australia, Denmark, Mexico, and Poland. We have regular downloads on I-Tunes and the fans have really spoken highly of our album. Our live show has become tighter and tighter and we have headlined big venues as well as opened for nationals like Soil and Symphony X. We have played shows out of state and are equiped to tour. We are currently writing and tracking the next album in our studio.