Interview with the L.A.-based Metal Band Stryfe

Stryfe describe themselves as a metal band with a vibrant sound of heavy rock accents, mellifluous chord arrangements, and powerfully captivating vocals. Their progressive sound is melodic and emotional—stylistically influenced by genres from death metal to Armenian classical and folk.

I now had the chance to talk to Sergio Ochoa (Vocals), Kar Khurshudyan (Guitar), Karo Torosyan (Bass), and Derik (Dero) Vardumyan (Drums) about their debut album "Cursed Theatre" and sources of inspiration and their future plans.

Anne: Thanks for taking the time for this interview! It's an honor to get to know you guys! How are you doing today? How is the promo for your debut album "Cursed Theatre" coming along?

Stryfe: Thanks Anne, the feeling is definitely mutual. We're doing great. The promo for our album is coming along nicely. We're often humbled by some of the positive feedback we get, and we're certainly going to continue working hard to make sure our music reaches as many ears as possible.

Anne: By the way: the record is an actual piece of art for me. Your music is so melodic and tense. Full of emotions—from fragile to heavy. It sounds like a symphony of the last few years to me. What inspired you to write those ten fabulous songs?

"We're inspired by the people around us"

Sergio: Thank you. It means a lot to us that you're enjoying the record. Inspiration comes to us from our daily lives, things that happen to us or people around us, things that happen in the world, etc.

Anne: Your music reminds me of bands like Tool, Chevelle, System Of A Down, and Karnivool. Does their music inspire you?

Kar: Absolutely. Some of those bands are very near and dear to our hearts. They inspire us in a passive way, really. We never sit down and decide to write a riff or section that sounds like Tool or System or anything like that. I feel that all the music we listen to inspires and influences us in very subconscious ways, and our inspiration doesn't stop with the rock genre.

Anne: One of the highlights of your album is the song "Velvet Revolution". I read that it is meant to be like a political hymn inspired by the Velvet Revolution that took place in 2018 in Armenia that culminated in the rise of Nikol Pashninyan as Prime Minister. Do you have a personal connection to that topic? Do you want to talk about it?

Karo: Yes, I'm happy to talk about anything. We have a personal connection to the topic because three out of four band members are originally from Armenia. We have family and friends there, and generally, what happens in Armenia matters a great deal to us. The interesting thing, though, is that Sergio actually wrote the lyrics to that song. So, while those events were unfolding, an idea came to us to write about it.

I personally spent a lot of time explaining to Sergio what was going on, what the history behind these events is, and generally explained the last few centuries of history behind Armenia, etc. He did a superb job of putting all of that in a very condensed format. Sometimes I still get chills when I hear certain lines from that song.

"Velvet Revolution" is about the revolution in Armenia

One thing we want to make clear is that our intention was not to glorify one leader over another or glorify any particular political party. We find it inspiring when people take matters into their own hands and stand up for themselves, their rights, and their dignity. The song is for the world and all people, not just Armenia and Armenians.

Anne: System Of A Down also sang about the Velvet Revolution. Are you connected with them?

Dero We're connected with System in the sense that we're definitely fans of their music. All the members of System of a Down are of Armenian heritage. And—as mentioned before—three out of four of us also have Armenian heritage—by the way, we do consider Sergio to be an honorary Armenian, so there's that too.

Anne: How would you describe the L.A. music scene nowadays? Would you say it changed over the years of the pandemic?

"Things are picking up little by little"

Sergio: Things definitely slowed down a lot during the pandemic, but we see things picking up little by little. There's only so long people can go without live music, so we're feeling very optimistic. We had a great show at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on August 12th as our album release show and had a bit of fun at a biker festival in San Manuel Stadium on October 8th.

Anne: Your songs are about growth, the individual striving towards a better version of oneself, and the sometimes winding and rocky road on the way there. Is it this striving and the constant fight for improvement that makes us humans so vulnerable and furious at once?

Kar: That's a great assessment. It certainly can be. Like you said, it's a winding and rocky road, so all kinds of things can happen during that process. You can have moments of sudden vulnerability, moments of rage, etc. I think that our songs can often reflect that kind of journey as they progress. Our main message is for people to go through that journey and come out the other side stronger, and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Anne: You made "Cursed Theatre" with Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios. How was it to work with him?

Kar: Jens actually did the mastering on the album. We recorded the album ourselves and did a great deal of the mixing ourselves, with help from our good friend Serge Elkony. Working with Jens on the mastering was terrific. He's a true professional—he made the process very easy.

Anne: Your sound is very skillful and well-balanced. I am sure there have been other projects before you started Stryfe—when was it—in 2019?

"We're proud of what we've accomplished so far"

Karo: Yes, we've all had many other projects we've worked on prior to Stryfe, but Stryfe as a band has been operating far before 2019. We've had issues with a lot of lineup changes which can, of course, hinder the process. We're very happy to say that we feel like we've found the right group of people to really carry this project forward and are very proud of what we've accomplished thus far.

Anne: Your album is out there running on heavy rotation on record players all over the globe. What's next? A big tour? Another record? What are your plans?

Dero All of the above, really. We're working on pushing this record in terms of promotion and marketing. Playing live obviously plays a significant factor there. At the same time, we've already begun writing some new songs—they're coming along nicely. Once we feel we're ready, we'll start recording and putting new material out there.

Anne: You seem to be very much into melodies. Is it your way of describing all those dark and lovely up and downs in life?

Kar: Well, yes, but that's also just how we write music. We don't typically have those kinds of things in mind during the writing process. We follow wherever the music takes us, honestly. What's interesting is looking back at a piece after it is completed and making the kinds of observations you just made. So—in short, yes, probably.

"There's too much war in the world"

Anne: If you could change one thing in the world. One wish. No matter what. What would it be?

Karo: I think you'd have to be a sociopath not to say that an end to all war would be that one wish. There's just too much of it throughout history and this very day.

Anne: Thank you very much for this interview! It was a huge pleasure! All the best with your plans!

Stryfe: Thank you, Anne. We appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.

Stryfe – "Velvet Revolution"