Stratuz exclusive interview

To my readers, please give a warm welcome to Stratuz

1- Hello and welcome to Metal Music Midwest, first off, thanks for taking the time to do the interview, could you give our readers a brief description of the group?

Where is the band from?

Hello, very grateful for the space you give us in your blog. Stratuz is a band that goes from Death Metal to Doom with symphonic and atmospheric elements, we would say it's more of a conceptual band that allows itself to write according to the theme of its songs, without limiting itself to a specific genre. This freedom allows to enrich the compositions even more, however, there is a line that unites all the compositions. We are from Caracas, Venezuela.

2- "In Nomine…" is the band's first full album, how long did it take to write?

In Nomine... is a compilation of songs written between 1986 and 1993 and published at the beginning of 1994, this album was released as a Split-CD due to the space available in the format, which we took advantage of to include another local band and we could promote both bands, at that time, we were probably the second or third Venezuelan band releasing material in CD format, something new at that time.

3- What musical influence inspires the bands compositions?

Each one of the members of Stratuz has personal tastes a bit distant from each other, we agree with bands like Black Sabbath but I can assure you that we don't have one or several references of groups that influenced us in the compositions of the songs of the band, what is clear is the silent influence of each musician with his tastes, which gives nuances and personality at the moment of writing the songs.

4- The group started in 1984, can you tells us how did you all meet?

It was in our early teens (we are now teenagers but with experience), that several kids from the neighborhood decided to form a rock band, some were clear about the instrument they would play and others not so much, the truth is that they got a hippie tutor of the time, who guided them and gave them their first music lessons and so they began to take their first steps.

I joined in 1986, coincidentally I also had a project founded in the same year 1984, my surprise is that we were doing something relatively similar, however, I needed elements that they already had very much on the way and they needed the voice, so we did an approach rehearsal and from that moment we knew that this would be a musical pact, then a few months later, I ended up living meters away from the rest of the members and we dedicated all the free time we had to rehearse and torment our neighbors for hours, as well as covering a wall with all the summons to the police, for the complaints of noise pollution.

5- The new album title is “Osculum Pacis”, can you give us details about the content and more in depth meaning to this title?

The title is ironically taken from the Catholic church to talk about its abuses of power and the manipulation of some through faith, however, it also talks about the awakening of consciousness, about the importance of transforming ourselves internally to rise and be masters of our destiny away from external influences.

6- Each member of this project is part of another band, how do you maintain a good balance working together?

Two of our members (drummer and guitarist) are academic musicians whose profession is to perform their skills through the training of new talents or in the development of their musical projects or those of third parties.

The bass player is involved in another band, but his priority is with all the Stratuz affairs and commitments.

In my case, I don't participate in any third-party projects, I have a project I do in my free time to drain or simply travel through the exploration of sounds.

7- Have you performed any shows in your area? if so, how receptive and supportive are the people to your music?

Our last live performance was before the pandemic for a documentary on the history of extreme music in our country, before that, we had more than 14 years disconnected from the scene for reasons that are not relevant, however, this presentation strongly confirmed our return after so many years in silence and the receptivity of the audience exceeded our expectations in every way.

In addition to this presentation, there were also some streaming shows during the pandemic, which generated significant support, for which we are very grateful.

8- Are there any upcoming shows or tours you can tell us about?

Yes, we are currently preparing to do some shows in Venezuela, at the same time we have already started talks to return to Europe next year, hoping that we will be free of new virus strains and zombies and we can tour without too many inconveniences to take our Osculum Pacis as far as we can.

9- Thanks for your participation, finally, what is the best way to get a hold of the band, in case someone wants to book or promote the band?

You can contact us through the Sliptrick Records label and also through our email address stratuzofficial@gmail.com.

Any final words?

If you have managed to read this interview this far, we are very grateful and invite you to follow us on our social media accounts and pages:

Label: https://sliptrickrecords.com/stratuz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stratuzofficial/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/stratuzofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stratuz_official/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4V6ieXcKGpk7AyHxvgSFs1

Bandcamp: https://stratuzofficial.bandcamp.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stratuzofficial/

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