RYCHUS SYN  - Interview with Heavy Metal Pages-Poland
http://www.hmpmag.pl/

HMP: What stimulated you to found the band? Tell us a few words about your inspirations.

RychusSyn: My brotherDrew and I grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Black Sabbath through the 1970's which inspired us to begin playing our respective instruments. It soon became a great passion of ours and we became very dedicated to forming the best Heavy Metal band we could. As time went by it was apparent that we were more than just a bar band playing cover songs. With Drew's killer riffs and writing style, and my musical arrangements and lyrics we bacame a force to be reckoned with. So was born the Heavy Metal Wrecking Crew RYCHUS SYN!

HMP: Were there any recordings released before your EP from 1989?

RychusSyn: Yes and no. There were a few different demos recorded but never released.

HMP: Tell us something about the music recorded then.

RychusSyn: The music recorded then was not quite as heavy as the EP or Rebirth. It was not really marketable and it lacked melody and hooks. It was a little on the raw side and lacked the direction of the later more accomplished years.

HMP: Your EP "License to Kill" was published by Azra/Iron Works Records, but metal-archives.com includes an information that it was titled"Rychus Syn". Please get us the clarification.

RychusSyn: That's beacause the majority of the info that landed on Metal Archives was off the bootleg cd Hard and Heavy Rarities volume 11. The info never came from us and we did not see it until 2006. Being that the original vinyl EP only had a plastic slip cover, the real album title got lost over the years and fans and pirates alike assumed the EP was just self titled.

HMP: Azra/Iron Works Records had many interesting CDs in their catalogue. Many collectors are still in search of the CDs published by them. How do you feel being a composer of collector's item?

RychusSyn: It is a great feeling. Back in the day we didn't get the recognition we felt we deserved so to see our EP as a collector's item is quite a thrill. It kind of erases the disappointment we felt back then.

HMP: BTW, how do you estimate their bosses? Have you unpleasant memories?

RychusSyn: Well, I would rather not comment. You know what they say "If you have nothing good to say don't say anything."

HMP: What style did you represent on your EP?

RychusSyn: I would say thrash and power metal, although we are pretty much a straightforward, in your face, take no prisoners, kick you in the nuts HEAVY METAL band!

HMP: Is there a chance of re-releasing this stuff?

RychusSyn: If I could I would. We investigated the process and to make a long story short, we could possibly lose all the material if we try. It just doesn't seem worth it.

HMP: Tell us about your gigs played then? What about audience?

RychusSyn: We played more gigs than I can remember. Mostly as a headliner in New York and Long Island. The audience was always great to us and we tended to pack them in. We played shows with Rondinelli, Cintron, Guitar Pete's Axe Attack, Attilla, Pantera (Pre Cowboys From Hell) just to name a few.

HMP: Why did A. D. Babcock and Mike Perdue leave the band?

RychusSyn: Creative differences. Drew and I liked the heavier direction and A.D. and Mike didn't. So they left.

HMP: What are they doing now?

RychusSyn: I haven't got a clue. We lost touch over the years but still consider them friends of the Syn Crew.

HMP: A new vocalist Dan Reid and bassist Damone appeared after the year 1990. Why did you suspend your activity?

RychusSyn: Well the appearance of Dan and Damone was after Drew and I decided to shelf the Syn Project. We formed a band called Dr. Kayne with a fifth member named Jeff Costanza on bass. Damone was actually lead guitarist #2 in the Kayne project and is still a rippin' guitarist today. Dr. Kayne lasted about 2 years and that was when the music scene went down the tubes.

HMP: What about reasons to reactivate the band in 2006?

RychusSyn: We didn't do much of anything for close to 12 years when I started to get the itch to RE-ANIMATE Rychus Syn. Dan also started getting the fever to start playing again and we started to plan. I approached Dan and Drew about doing the Syn thing and they jumped at the chance. The chemistry was better than the original line up and Damone even took up bass to join the crew. The notoriety that we discovered about the original EP futher fueled our ambitions and the writing and arrangements were pure magic. That was at the end of 2006 and the rest you know.

HMP: There a few tracks from the EP on „Rebirth". I wonder if the rest tracks were also recorded at the turn of the 80s and 90s?

RychusSyn: All the tracks on REBIRTH were recorded in May to September of 2007. The 5 new tracks were never recorded before 2007 and have since been re-written.

HMP: The sound and compositions from „Rebirth" remind me of the 80s. I wonder if you felt as if you had been in the 80s while recording the stuff? Do current times remind you of the past?

RychusSyn: No, we don't get nostalgic while recording simply because this a different line up than the original. We just play and write the way Rychus Syn was always meant to be. We are definately not a band that follows trends. We are what we are, a true Heavy Metal Band.

HMP: Are you going to act like a regular band or it is a kind of nostalgy?

RychusSyn: No, we are not going to act like one, we ARE a regular band and plan on belting out the albums and shows with a vengeance. We lost a lot of time and we are going to make up for it! I'm sure we'll quench the thirst for metal with our future albums.

HMP: What are you going to do to promote the stuff?

RychusSyn: Everything that is available to us. Magazines, Webzines, Radio etc... We have plans to head out to Europe and do some festivals and shows and of course there is the INTERNET! Let's not forget about that avenue. Thanks to magazines like yours, maybe this time around RYCHUS SYN will be the juggernaut we always thought we could be.

HMP: Have you recorded some new tracks? Will it be kept in the vein of the 80s? Any experiments?

RychusSyn: We have at least 6 new tracks for the next cd already in the can. It will be in the Rychus Syn vein as always. We are very excited about the new material since it is the first written with the new lineup. But I would first like to enjoy the REBIRTH cd since it just came out in late January 2008.

HMP: The last words belong to you...

RychusSyn: Rychus Syn would like to thank you and your Magazine for this opportunity to get some exposure and would like to thank all our fans for their support in bringing us back from the grave for our Rebirth! ALWAYS KEEP IT HEAVY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GREG OF THE HEAVY METAL WRECKING CREW RYCHUS SYN. See you soon!