Heavy metal band The Drylung Whiskey Binge returns to its Syracuse roots

By: Joshua Kruk

Posted: 9/22/08

With song titles like "Demon Springs" and "Run with the Wolves," it is easy to assume that the members of The Drylung Whiskey Binge take themselves and their music very seriously.

While that may be the case, they are not above consuming shots of whiskey with fellow bar patrons after one of their shows.

The band played Syracuse's The Lost Horizon Sept. 13, opening for Stemm and King Snyder. The band will be appearing at The Half Penny Pub in Syracuse on Sept. 27.

The band performed its own sound check and drank with friends before taking the stage.

The crowd was made up of roughly 100 people on that Saturday night, but The Drylung Whiskey Binge played with an intensity that could have captivated 1,000.

Between songs, vocalist Joe Mahar chatted with the crowd and even a few audience members shouted of some of the band's lyrics. This was a comfortable atmosphere; it had the feel of a friendly basement jam session.

Mahar has an edge in his voice comparable to the late Layne Staley of Alice In Chains fame. The band's music has an organic metal feel much like local heroes Brand New Sin, and it shows a hunger to succeed.

The Drylung Whiskey Binge hails from Syracuse, forming out of the rubble of other local projects such as Sinpusher, Hellbender and LedYard.

Members of the band have shared the stage with national acts and local success story, Brand New Sin.

"We played with the band Mastodon before they were anybody," said guitarist Chris Jacopelle.

Mastodon has since gone on to be nominated for a Grammy Award and have its album "Blood Mountain" appear at No. 9 on Rolling Stone's best albums of the year list in 2006.

The members of The Drylung Whiskey Binge grew up attending shows at the Lost Horizon and hoped to use it as a springboard to their own success.

The club recently reopened in April and is looking to promote local talent. Joe Altier, co-manager of the Lost Horizon, said "the local music scene took a beating" when the club changed ownership and format in 2002.

Altier toured the world as the singer of Brand New Sin but returned to help build a repertoire with local bands.

"There must be a cohesiveness in the local scene," he said.

jekruk@syr.edu