SOURCE – Sindrome was formed in 1986. How did you meet each other? At those days, was it difficult to find proper musicians with the skill and the right vision for the music you wanted to play?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – Shaun Glass (Bass) and I grew up together. He was in Terminal Death and I was in Devastation. We knew Chris (Guitar) from his time in Deathstrike and Master in the Chicago area. After Devastation played with Master at their very first Chicago show, all three of us quit our bands and formed Sindrome. Shaun knew Tony (Drums) from the local scene and we had him come down and rehearse with us. With regard to the original line up, it happened organically and we worked well together.
SOURCE – The first Sindrome demo, Into the Halls of Extermination, was released in 1987. Tell us, where did you record it? How many copies did you print and how did you distribute it?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – We recorded Into the Halls of Extermination at a Tanglewood Recording Studios in the Chicago area. Back then it was very expensive to record in a 24-track studio so we all pitched in money to get it done. Into the Halls of Extermination sold close to 10,000 copies and that was done purely through the underground with a lot of shipping envelopes as well as relationships with stores that specialized in metal that ordered directly from us. It was ever officially released on a label until now.
SOURCE – In 1991 you released your second demo-tape, Vault of Inner Conscience. The music became more technical, with some thrash metal rhythms. How could you comment on the play-style changes?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – Chris Mittelbrun and I worked together writing the material on Into the Halls of Extermination. He would take input from Shaun Glass and work close with me around my vocal style in building the songs. Chris left Sindrome around 1989 and it took us a considerable amount of time to replace him with Rob Welsh and Mick Vega who were the guitar players on Vault of Inner Conscience. Rob stepped up and took Chris’s position writing and arranging the songs on Vault with me. Rob’s writing style was very different from Chis which is obvious when you listen to the two releases.
SOURCE – So, why did the band split-up? And when did it happen? What is the current status of Sindrome? And do you have any plans regarding its future?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – The untold story of Sindrome was us constantly plagued with line-up changes. It was very difficult to replace Chris Mittelbrun after Into the Halls of Extermination. Once we finally released Vault of Inner Conscience 4 years later, we ended up equally parting ways with Rob Welsh. We tried to replace Rob with Ken Savich who moved to Chicago to join us, but it never worked out as Ken didn’t write any new material with us during his time in the band. It’s hard enough to replace one key song writer let alone two. Once that happened there was no way we could recover. There’s no plans for a reunion for Sindrome.
SOURCE – What should the fans expect of this new release Resurrection – The Complete Collection and how would you describe it to the fans that have not listened to it yet?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – The recording world has come a long way since the 80’s/90’s. We took all the songs from the original 2″ master tapes and remastered all the songs with today’s technology. When we were going through the process comparing the newly remastered songs compared to the originals it was night and day. We found a lost track called “Brought to the End” that we forgot we recorded during the “Into the Halls of Extermination” session and we were completely surprised to find it. It’s a really great added bonus to put that song out to the world. We also have included the live show we did at the Iron Rail in Chicago opening on the Scream Bloody Gore tour from 1988. At that show, there are two unreleased songs that were never recorded called “Surround the Prisoner” and “Psychic Warfare”. Along with the unreleased tracks, Century Media did a great job with the packaging including old photos, flyers, as well as a very in-depth interview I did for the release to fill in the gaps of history around Sindrome and answer some of the long standing questions that have been out there.
SOURCE – What can you say about the cover? What can we actually see on it? Who was the artist and how did you work on the concept of it?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – The cover built upon the concept that we had on Vault of Inner Conscience. We worked with Gustavo Sazes who is just incredible. I went over our previous covers and artwork with him and he integrated the past with a really current looking design. We also have a new t-shirt coming out in the next few weeks.
SOURCE – This album Resurrection – The Complete Collection contains several songs from your previous demos, but did you re-record them? Do they sound any different from the original ones?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – We didn’t re-record anything for this release. We took the original recorded music and had it remastered.
SOURCE – The music industry has changed beyond recognition since you arrived with Sindrome. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing bands today and do you have any advice for bands that are starting out?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – It’s very different. The biggest challenge is bands and labels can’t promote music like they used to. That machine from the 60s-2000’s is virtually dead. The great news is you can reach millions of fans in seconds/minutes. The bad news is the gatekeepers such as record companies, radio stations, retail stores and the old guard establishment are virtually removed now that the world is direct from artist to fans. With that removal, fans are now faced with a hundred bands coming at them every week and nobody has the time or patience to listen to everything. So the problem becomes how do you stand out from an ocean of bands where everyone is numb to too many artists. I’m not saying I have the answers, just describing what I see.
SOURCE – Do you have any show or promotional event planned in support of the album Resurrection – The Complete Collection?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – The only way we know how which is trying to reconnect with all our old friends and fans and get the word out that Sindrome is finally being released. It only took 30 years… but seriously… what’s 30 years between friends anyway?
SOURCE – Thank you a lot for this interview. Would you like to say anything to our readers?
Troy Dixler (Vocals) – Thanks to the Source for giving us the opportunity to help spread the news. Please visit our Facebook page @Sindrome and please invite your friends to our page, share our announcements on your walls, groups, web forums with your friends because that is truly the only way we are going to get it known.
Links:
Sindrome – Facebook
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