Usurp Synapse is an American screamo band from Lafayette, Indiana, formed in 1998. The band is known for their fast and frantic grindcore influenced drumming and guitar work, and raw screams.

History

Usurp Synapse formed in 1998 in Lafayette, Indiana. Their line up changed somewhat frequently during their initial run. Antonio Leiriao, their second vocalist, originally lived in New York and what would have been the band's first full-length album, which was under the working title of ATM Diatribe. That same year Mike Dixon (who previously worked in the band Rep Seki) joined Usurp Synapse as the keyboardist.

Later that same year it was announced that all plans, except for ATM Diatribe, had to be cancelled. ATM Diatribe was initially supposed to be released on compact disc and vinyl through Happy Couples Never Last, however that too was cancelled when the band broke up in the spring of 2001. The tracks from the ATM Diatribe sessions, along with the rest of the band's recorded discography, was eventually released on Disinformation Fix, a discography compilation released through Alone Records.

In 2008, the group released A Vile Contamina through their Myspace page for free. The EP included material recorded during their reformative period.

Former members of the band would later join other projects such as Fax Arcana and The Drago Miette, both of whom are now disbanded. Antonio Leirao would move on to the indie rock band Thin Fevers and is now a funk DJ. Chance now works as a session drummer in New York and was one of the many drummers who played in The Boredoms 2008 88 Boadrums event.

In 2019, there were talks of another reunion, and a new EP titled Adult Adoption was released, being a solo release by the band's guitarist Don Kirkland. It was released under the name of The Usurp Synapse, as that was the name used by the band for their unofficial extra releases. This event didn't mark a new reunion of the band.

In 2023, the band reunited officially, under a new incarnation made up of Antonio, Don, John, and Travis. They re-released their EP A Vile Contamina but with newly recorded vocals, and released an entirely new single titled Guitargoyles Just Wanna Have Fun which led to the release of the EP Polite Grotesqueries made up of brand new material. The band went on a tour alongside modern screamo and mathcore bands Frail Body and Meth, and then a tour with Gillian Carter and Thrull in 2024. The band also added new guitarist Brian Wyrick, from the band Mara'akate.

In 2025, they went on a tour with the band Missouri Executive Order 44, which led to the release of a split EP between the two bands.

Band members

; Current members

  • Antonio Leiriao – vocals (1999–2001, 2023–present)
  • John Scott – vocals, keyboards (1998–2001, 2004, 2023–present); bass (2023–present)
  • Don Kirkland – guitars (1998–2001, 2004, 2023–present); trombone (2000)
  • Brian Wyrick – guitars (2025–present)
  • Travis Chance – drums, percussion (1998–2000, 2004, 2023–present); keyboards (2000)

; Former members

  • Mike Dixon – guitars, bass (2000); keyboards (2001)
  • Dean Duval – guitars (1998–1999)
  • Brandon Harris – guitars (1999–2001)
  • Dustin Redington – bass (1998–1999)
  • Tony Dryer – bass (1999–2001, 2004)
  • Jeremy King – drums, percussion (2000)
  • Heather Rae – keyboards (2000)
  • Jerry Atwood – keyboards (2000)
  • Stephanie Shankel – keyboards, trombone, trumpet (2000)
  • Christopher Williams – vocals (2000)
  • David Britts – vocals (2000)

Timeline

Discography

Split releases

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! style="width: 5%" | Year

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|1999

|Index For Potential Suicide/Usurp Synapse

  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Witching Hour Records
  • Format: 7"

|1100 black copies, 200 orange copies. 100 copies had special tour edition covers, 20 came with xerox'd covers Split with Index For Potential Suicide.

|-

|1999

|Index Of Isolation

  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Happy Couples Never Last Records
  • Format: 7"

|1000 black colored copies. Split with Emotion Zero.

|-

|2000

|Rep Seki/Usurp Synapse

  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Magester Ludi Records
  • Format: 5" picture disc

|1000 picture disc copies, split with Rep Seki

|-

|2000

|The Chilling Tale Of Usurp Synapse, As Told By Neil Perry

  • Released: May 1, 2000
  • Label: Level Plane Records
  • Format: 7"

|1100 black copies, 100 copies had alternative artwork under the name Comes Around, Goes Around. Split with Neil Perry.

|-

|2000

|Just Do It!

  • Released: July 3, 2000
  • Label: Electric Human Project
  • Format: 7"

|1000 black copies, 100 white, 5 test pressings. All white copies came with a razor blade with "have fun!" written on it, some copies also included a bandage stuck onto the front cover. Split with Hassan I Sabbah.

|-

|2000

|An Aspirin, An X-Ray

  • Released: August 2000
  • Label: Clean Plate Records/Level Plane Records
  • Format: 7"

|1300 white copies, 200 black copies, 20 test pressings. 15 copies had alternative cover art. Some copies included a tour pin. Split with Jeromes Dream

|}

Extended plays

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|1999

|In Examination Of

  • Released: March 4, 1999 [6"] <br /> May 1, 2000 [7"]
  • Label: Level Plane Records/Witching Hour Records
  • Format: 6", 7"

|First released in 1999 as a 6" consisting of 666 black copies. 25 copies were sold at live shows with alternative artwork. Reissued in 2000 as a 7" consisting of 200 translucent red copies which was only available through mail-order. The first 99 copies of the 6" version came with "blood pills" (pills with fake blood in them)

|-

|1999

|This Endless Breath

  • Released: September 1999
  • Label: Happy Couples Never Last Records
  • Format: CD

|1000 copies were wrapped in paper, 50 copies were tour editions that came with black covers, 50 copies came with cobra covers. All copies came with stickers.

|-

|2000

|The Main Ingredient

  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: 7"

|Known as "the penis 7 inch" due to its packaging: The front side of the cover included a flap designed as a penis, and the back side included a hole shaped as a vagina. The 7" only included the title track on both sides, however the second side has "Tour Release of 200" etched on it, making it impossible to play. Limited to 200 pink copies.

|-

|2008

|A Vile Contamina

  • Released: August 2008
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: DL

|Intended to be released sometime in 2004, but shelved soon after completion. It was eventually released for free download on the band's Myspace page in 2008.

|}

Compilation albums

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|2003

|Disinformation Fix

  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Alone Records
  • Format: 2xCD

|Discography compilation that included every single song Usurp Synapse recorded up to that point, including songs from the sessions for the scrapped ATM Diatribe album.

|}

Compilation Appearances

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|2000

|Summertime

  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Kordava Milk Bar Records
  • Format: CD

|"More Than Meets The Eye"

|-

|2000

|HCNL Sampler V1.07.00

  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Happy Couples Never Last Records
  • Format: CD-R

|"Oh, You Are Sick"

|-

|2000

|Songs Of The Dead 2: Idle Hands

  • Released: September 2000
  • Label: And Heres Where My Troubles Began Records
  • Format: CD

|"Brundle Fly"

|-

|2000

|Antipodes

  • Released: October 2000
  • Label: Level Plane Records
  • Format: 7"

|"Good Luck With Your Book"

|-

|2001

|Relics Of Ordinary Life

  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Happy Couples Never Last Records
  • Format: CD

|"..."

|}

References

  • Level Plane information regarding Usurp Synapse (Archived)
  • Old Usurp Synapse Index (Archived)
  • Official Myspace page (Archive)