ELECTROCUTIONER: Electrifying Thrashers

The resurgence of old-school thrash has produced no shortage of bands wearing the influences of the genre's golden era on their sleeves, but few capture its spirit with the conviction of ELECTROCUTIONER. Blending the relentless speed of classic New York thrash with haunting synth passages inspired by vintage horror cinema, the Long Island trio has forged an identity that feels both reverent and unmistakably its own. Their latest album, Harbinger, delivers razor-sharp riffs, apocalyptic themes and a raw, dangerous energy that recalls the underground classics without sounding trapped in the past.

This Rocks caught up with guitarist and vocalist Mark Pursino, bassist Rich Nieves, and drummer Tyler Bogliole to discuss the making of Harbinger, the enduring influence of EXORCIST's Nightmare Theatre, preserving the authenticity of old-school thrash, and why ELECTROCUTIONER refuses to compromise its vision for anyone.

This Rocks: Electrocutioner does something incredibly distinct by marrying lightning-fast New York thrash with eerie, John Carpenter-style '80s synth intros and interludes. How did you first hit on the idea of blending dystopian horror soundtracks with raw, old-school speed metal?

Mark Pursino: The inspiration to include synth interludes as a part of our albums came from the album Nightmare Theatre by Exorcist. I always felt the synths and theatrical moments created a dark and mysterious atmosphere. John Carpenter is pretty much loved by all metalheads, so that was an easy discovery. For Harbinger, I was inspired by the New Age synth artists like Aeoliah. I just wanted to take that New Age meditation music and make it feel more unsettling as opposed to peaceful.

This Rocks: Mark, your guitar work and vocal delivery on Harbinger have been compared to the absolute peak era of Sodom, Whiplash and Destruction, but with a unique modern bite. Who are the specific vocalists and riff-masters that laid the blueprint for your musical style?

Mark Pursino: For vocals I don't have a direct inspiration sound-wise I'm aiming for. I'm just shooting to capture the intensity of the vocals in bands like Demolition Hammer and early Slayer. Jimmy's vocals from Desolus also inspire me to push it even further. Riff-wise, my main inspirations are Tony Portaro of Whiplash, the first three Slayer records, Brad Hull of Forced Entry, Ed Pursino of Exorcist/Virgin Steele and Dave Mustaine. The goal is to have every riff be dangerous and memorable.

This Rocks: New York has a legendary, untouchable thrash lineage with titans like Demolition Hammer, Anthrax and Whiplash setting the standard. Coming out of Long Island and Queens, how much does that local, blue-collar legacy weigh on the band's identity and live intensity?

Mark Pursino: We are proud to be from New York and don't want to put out some weak-ass thrash that will make people look down upon our scene. Being from Long Island, there's no thrash or speed scene here at all, and when a big thrash band comes to play Long Island, a promoter will ask us to sell $600-1,000 in tickets through the pay-to-play parasite system. This practice has really stunted the growth of the Long Island scene for years and has given us a pretty big chip on our shoulder. We've basically been adopted by the Brooklyn and Queens scene because it's the only place we can consistently play shows. We always aim to deliver a violent and chaotic show that leaves an impact. No matter who we play with, our goal is to whip the alcohol-fueled maniacs into a state of unhinged insanity. When we play out of state, we don't want anyone thinking New York has gone soft!

This Rocks: The lyrical themes on Harbinger dive heavily into biblical prophecies, cult mindsets and absolute Armageddon with tracks like "Heaven's Gate" and "Seven Seals of Koresh." What draws the band to these darker, apocalyptic concepts rather than standard thrash tropes?

Mark Pursino: I'm just really interested in those topics. I don't watch the news and I'm not interested in current events or politics. Politics comes and goes—it's a new circus every day. It's just vapor. Religious ideas and prophecies create a thread that lasts thousands of years, and believers take it seriously... serious enough to do some extreme things. This appeals to me. We're not really a band that believes in addressing causes or social issues or wars. The religious prophecies are much more beautiful... and terrifying, haha!

This Rocks: You signed with CDN Records for the release of Harbinger. How has partnering with the label changed the game for the band's reach compared to the purely underground, basement-crafted DIY days of False Idols?

Mark Pursino: CDN has been extremely supportive. They've helped us elevate things and have taken a lot of stress off our backs when it comes to getting our music out there on physical formats. We're still doing things on an extremely small budget, maybe 10 to 20 times less than bigger thrash bands, and it's all self-funded. We're hoping CDN gets more eyeballs on us, and we get more eyeballs on their other artists.

This Rocks: Rich, your bass tone has a fantastic, gnawing, Lemmy-grade grit that completely fills out the mix. What gear and production choices do you rely on to make sure a three-piece lineup sounds like an absolute wall of sonic devastation?

Rich Nieves: Being a three-piece makes for a trial-by-fire attitude when it comes to writing. Imperfections are illuminated, and space in a mix can be apparent in both good and bad contexts. I try to pick my moments to switch focus between locking in with the drums and guitar separately to keep the energy big, bold and in your face. In that way I serve as both a bass player and a second guitar, which isn't new, but I like seeing that more bass players are taking this approach. There has been a huge jump in quality and size in tech that these new companies bring to the table. I'd say every component of your rig plays a role in molding your sound. I recently bought the Darkglass Anagram, and it's been a big help in creating a unique sound that's portable. I also highly recommend all bass players use multiscale basses. It's night and day how much easier, faster and cleaner you can play with the instrument not fighting against you while maintaining proper tension across all the strings. This becomes even more apparent the lower your tuning.

This Rocks: Tyler, your drumming on tracks like "Final Prophet" and "Doomsday Device" is a nonstop clinic in frantic double-time kicks and whip-crack snare shifts. How do you maintain the sheer physical endurance required to anchor these tempos night after night without losing precision?

Tyler Bogliole: I just wrote these drum parts that sound cool to me, even though they're way harder than I'm able to play. Trying to maintain that every show is pretty tough, but with adrenaline kicking in it definitely helps.

This Rocks: Joe Cincotta produced, mixed and mastered the latest record at Full Force Recording Studios. What was the studio environment like, and how did Joe help capture that elusive, raw analog grit without letting the production sound dated?

Mark Pursino: We loved working with Joe. He understood exactly what we were going for. We had a blast every time we were there, and it felt like a party a lot of the time while also being creative. We did a lot of cool production work making synth effects and tweaking the sound of guitars and vocals that he was able to capture effortlessly. We continuously stress that it has to sound raw and old school throughout the process.

This Rocks: Mark, you've mentioned an absolute obsession with the obscure, mysterious metal masterpiece Nightmare Theatre by Exorcist. How does the hidden, cult-like mystery of that era of underground metal influence the atmosphere you try to build with Electrocutioner?

Mark Pursino: That record just feels dark and mysterious as soon as the first bell tolls. It also has a dangerous undercurrent while maintaining memorable songwriting. That's basically our playbook right there. We have the poster of the album hanging on the wall behind the drum kit where we jam.

This Rocks: A lot of modern thrash bands fall into the trap of over-engineering their records until they sound sterile and digital. What is your collective philosophy on preserving a dangerous, live-in-the-room feel when tracking your material?

Mark Pursino: Philosophy is simple: If you cook a steak too long, you lose all the blood!

This Rocks: "Heaven's Gate" takes a bit of a detour into a massive, head-heavy crossover groove that feels tailor-made for a chaotic mosh pit. When you are writing, how do you balance the urge for pure, blinding speed with the necessity of a heavy, foot-stomping groove?

Mark Pursino: When you write an album, you can't just write 10 songs and call it a day. We like to think about how the songs relate to each other and how they affect the feel of the album. For Harbinger, we just felt we needed a catchier mid-tempo headbanger in there. It was also the first song we ever wrote with Tyler on drums. For our new album, we wanted to make it more extreme and aggressive, so we don't have a song like that on the new record. It's all about how the pieces fit together in the puzzle.

This Rocks: James Oliver from Sadistic Force provided spoken-word elements on the track "Azazel." How did that collaboration come together, and how important are those cinematic, narrative moments to the pacing of a full album experience?

Mark Pursino: James and I have been buds for a while now from chatting about metal over social media for a few years. We started collaborating when he asked me to do a synth track to open their second album, Midnight Assassin. Because of that, I thought it would be cool to return the favor and have him do the guest vocal track on "Azazel." I also did some more synth work and a guest guitar solo on their last EP, Morbid Odyssey. I think we are both like-minded individuals and bands. It's easy to get lost in both of our genres, so I think we both stand out while sounding pure and writing catchy tunes. As far as being cinematic, we always want to establish some sort of dark atmosphere in addition to the songs. We're not the type of band that will have 10 songs straight through. We like dynamics, ups and downs, to make everything hit a bit harder.

This Rocks: The New Wave of Old School Thrash Metal scene is incredibly passionate but highly critical. How do you successfully navigate the expectations of purists who want pure 1986 worship while still pushing forward with your own artistic evolution?

Mark Pursino: We just do what we want to do and don't care what people want to hear. We're in charge, and we won't fail to deliver some serious ripping thrash. I think we put forward a brand of thrash that is clearly rooted in the old school while not sounding like a carbon copy of any particular band, and we reject trends. We're not into the modern style of thrash that's down-tuned and throws in breakdowns all the time, and we certainly aren't going to look like some Sunset Strip band up on stage, either. A lot of the time when you read reviews, half of the writers have nothing beyond a surface-level understanding of thrash, so their feedback isn't worth anything. When we see a thorough review that's obviously coming from someone with insight and knowledge about thrash, we do take it seriously and reflect on it. At the end of the day, however, we just do what we want to do and don't give a shit if people like it or not. Our thrash is for serious maniacs who want real shit and not cosplay thrash.

This Rocks: If you had to select one definitive track from your entire catalog that serves as the calling card for the speed, venom and cinematic dread of Electrocutioner, which song is it and why?

Mark Pursino: "Lightning Sacrifice" or "Doomsday Device" for sure! Just lightning-fast and violent death! That being said, I'm really enjoying a new song from our upcoming album that we've begun playing live called "Rituals in the Blood Realm." Pure insanity!

Thank you for the opportunity for the interview! Reject watered-down thrash and punish the weak! Tell your local promoters and festival organizers you want us there!