Syrus (band)

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Syrus
General information
origin San Antonio , Texas , United States
Genre (s) Heavy metal , power metal , progressive metal
founding 1983 as Sacred Prey, 1988, 2014
resolution 1987, 1990
Website https://syrusclassicmetal.com/
Current occupation
John Castilleja
Electric guitar
 Albert Berlanga
Tony Ramos
Lawrence Lobitz
former members
Michael Anthony
Electric bass
 Julio Paz
Drums
 Ken Ortiz
singing
 Michael Anthony Vasquez
Electric bass
 Henry Sanchez
Drums
 Jesse "Jay" Gomez
singing
 Ray Alder aka Ray Balderama
Electric bass
 Pete Perez
Electric bass
 KC Sass
singing
 Geoff Dee

Syrus is an American heavy , power and progressive metal band from San Antonio , Texas , which was founded in 1983 under the name Sacred Prey and has been active since then.

history

The band was founded in mid-1983 by guitarists Albert Berlanga and John Castilleja under the name Sacred Prey. At first they only played covers of bands like Iron Maiden , Judas Priest and Black Sabbath . Drummer Ken Ortiz and bassist Julio Paz joined them within the first few months. Michael Vasquez, a friend of Ortiz, joined as singer and completed the line-up. In 1984 the band was renamed Syrus. The band name refers to a character from the movie The Warriors , who is spelled "Cyrus". In the months that followed, the group continued to play pieces by the big metal bands, but now also worked on their first songs. In the further course the cover versions became less and less and the own material increased. Rehearsals and performances were held. Various demo recordings were also made. Furthermore, the line-up of the group changed several times. Ray Alder, who later became a singer for Fates Warning , was also part of the group. Alder, who joined the band when original vocalist Michael Anthony Vasquez left the band, can be heard on an unofficial four-song demo that was recorded at Editpoint Studios in 1987 under the name Ray Balderama. The group's only official demo was released in 1986. The demo contains six songs and was recorded in February that year at Starr Studios under the direction of Gilbert Vallenzuela . In 1987 the drummer Ortiz left the group and was replaced by Jesse Gomez. In the same year the band broke up. In 1988 the group got together again and played a concert in the Cameo Theater on March 13th for the reunification . In the same year Pete Perez got on as the new bass player. Tony Ramos was added as the new drummer, while guitarist Castilleja had left the line-up. In 1990 the band split up. In the 1990s, the members devoted themselves to other bands. In 2008 a self-titled compilation was released .

Livened up by the resurgence of other bands in the 1980s such as Militia , Karion or Wicked Angel, they decided - after having received several inquiries in the years before - to revive Berlanga and Anthony Syrus. They then returned in 2017 with a new line-up and their debut album Tales of War . The album was initially self-released, but was re-released on No Dust Records that same year . All the compositions on the album are already included in the 2008 compilation, but have been reinterpreted. In 2018 the group was represented at the Headbangers Open Air . In their career, the band has performed with Watchtower , Juggernaut , Militia, Fates Warning, Omen and Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone , among others .

style

Rockavlon from grande-rock.com wrote in his review of Tales of War that it included music from very early Queensrÿche , Helstar , Manowar and Fates Warning in the time of John Arch . Holger Andrae from Powermetal.de also reviewed the album and described the music as "hard hacking US Metal ", which occasionally reminded him of old Helstar. The “extremely meaty” electric guitars would also show how heavy metal should sound. Geoff Dee's singing is reminiscent of that of Savatage or Jag Panzer . Overall, he summarized the music as high quality and thoroughbred heavy metal.

Discography

  • 1986: Syrus (demo, self-published)
  • 1987: Demo (demo, self-published)
  • 2008: Syrus (compilation, Steel Legacy Records )
  • 2017: Tales of War (album, self-published)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Yiannis Doukas: Syrus - Syrus (CD). metal-temple.com, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c In the beginning ... syrusclassicmetal.com, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Biography. rockdetector.com, archived from the original on April 14, 2016 ; accessed on August 25, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Stefan Glas: Syrus . The late pay. In: Rock Hard . No. 362 , July 2017, p. 74 .
  5. ↑ a b c Syrus (3). Discogs , accessed August 25, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Frank Hellweg: HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR: running order, with SORCERER. Vampster , accessed August 25, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Rockavlon: Syrus - Tales of War. grande-rock.com, accessed on August 26, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Holger Andrae: Syrus - Tales of War. Texas Metal! Powermetal.de , accessed on August 26, 2018 .