Intrinsic

Intrinsic in April 2015. (L-R) Ryan Hurley, Alex Bellanca, and Michael "Nitro" Bellanca.

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Intrinsic is a Subvert-Rock band formed in Greece in July 2006 by brothers Alex and Michael "Mykel Nitro" Bellanca. The group was originally known as Xanthium from 2006-2008. They released one LP and two EP's as Xanthium, five studio albums, one LP, six EP's, and two compilation albums as Intrinsic. They would take a break from live shows for one year from June 2010 until June 2011. The band has been on a hiatus since June 2016 to focus on individual projects.

EARLY YEARS (2006-2010)

Intrinsic began their career as Xanthium in July 2006 after Alex and Nitro's previous band Stratus fell apart. The group started out with Alex on guitar, Kevin Hannon on bass, and Nitro on drums and vocals. Vince Rodeo joined on bass along with Jeremia Shannon on lead vocals that October. The band released an EP of three demos titled "Curl Your Toes" on November 25, 2006. With Kevin on second guitar, Xanthium played their first venue show at the Penny Arcade on January 25, 2007 with Nailed Shut (later Given Strength) and White Washed Comas (If I Die Tonight). This was all three groups debut show and they packed the venue with over a 170 person crowd.

Intrinsic, then known as Xanthium, released an 8 Track LP titled "Glass Monkey" on May 20, 2007 at a house show for Jeremia and Nitro's 16th/17th Birthday(s). This was the first album released through XTM Records (now known as New Riot Records), Intrinsic's private record label. The following week, Jeremia and Vince were released from the band, which lead to Kevin Hannon's return to bass. That July, the band played a Battle of the Bands where they met Travelator who would greatly influence Intrinsic musically from that point onward.

Over the next year, the group played multiple shows and wrote many songs, most of which would never be released. Intrinsic released their second EP in February 2008 titled "The Forgotten", their final release as Xanthium. In July 2008, they officially changed their name to Intrinsic and announced that Kevin would be leaving the band in September. The following month, they recorded their first EP as Intrinsic titled "Just A Kick Ass Demo" at Blackdog Recordings (which was released that Halloween) in the same room where Metallica recorded their "Kill Em All" record. Kevin Hannon's final show with Intrinsic would be on September 20th at The Montage Music Hall opening for Shelflyfe. Later that week in August, they announced that Kevin's replacement would be Justin Russell.

(Clockwise, L-R) Skyler Smith, Al "X" Bellanca, Phil Tharp, and Michael "Nitro" Bellanca in February 2012.

Intrinsic played their debut show under their new name on October 31, 2008 at the California Brew Haus. The trio began writing new material at this time as well, and continued to play shows around the Western, New York area. On July 22, 2009, they released their debut studio album "Ultraviolence" at the Brew Haus. They would go on their first mini-tour in support of the album in September, beginning at the Haunt in Ithica, New York, and culminating at the Penny Arcade; coincidentally, this was the final show ever hosted by the venue. The band would play their last show for 15 months on April 10, 2010 at the Penny Arcade. Focusing their time on their personal lives and writing new material, they took an unplanned hiatus from live performances.

THIRD & FOURTH STUDIO ALBUMS (2011-2013)

In February 2011, Intrinsic recorded what would become their second studio album titled "The Shoebox" and released it that April. Immediately after recording the album, Justin would leave the band, he was replaced by future Goron co-founder and bassist Skyler Smith. The band entered Watchmen Studios that July and recorded four demos with Doug White, the studio's owner and only engineer. The band teamed up with Rob Filardo in an attempt to reboot Garage Pop Records and became the label's anchor and primary focus. Intrinsic released their third EP "Just Another Kick-Ass Demo" on October 31, 2011, which consisted of the aforementioned songs previously recorded at Watchmen Studios.

Intrinsic added Phil Tharp (Circus Grenade, Comedown, Zero Level) to the group as their drummer in January 2012. On May 20, Skyler Smith was released from the band; it was made official through Intrinsic's Facebook page later that evening. The band said "[Skyler] is heading in a different direction than the rest of us. We have always supported [Skyler] in everything [Skyler] has done and we will continue to do so." Due to financial reasons, Intrinsic parted ways with Garage Pop Records the following month as well.

In July 2012, Intrinsic entered Arrhythmia Recording Studios in Rochester, New York to record their third studio album with Micah Etzel. The entire 12 track album was recorded in ten hours. Alex recorded all guitar and bass tracks and some backing vocals. Nitro recorded all drums, lead vocals and most backing vocals. Later that month, Kevin Spicer (Nailed Shut) became Intrinsic's bassist. The band officially released "Escape From Instinct" on November 27, 2012 through XTM Records. The album was considered to be a disappointment due to multiple set-backs in the release and the low budget the band had to fund the album after their departure from Garage Pop Records. Following this, Intrinsic released their fourth EP "Yet Another Kick-Ass Demo" on January 25, 2013.

Kevin Spicer left Intrinsic in February 2013 as they re-entered Arrhythmia Studios to record their fourth album "Artificial Intelligence" with Micah Etzel in February 2013. The duo released their second LP (first one as Intrinsic) "Songs From The Post-Apocalyptic Generation" on May 21, 2013. Intrinsic wrapped up the recording sessions for the new album in August of that year. Spaz Spaziani (Lupis) became the band's bassist in September. The Artificial Intelligence album was released through XTM Records on October 12, 2013 and was very well received. Following it's release, the band went out on a couple mini tours to support the past couple releases.

FIFTH ALBUM & FINAL SHOWS (2014-2016)

In February 2014, Ryan Hurley (Bygone Few, Grease Creepers, 1916) joined as the bands second guitarist. Intrinsic spent the majority of the 2014 year playing shows in and around the Rochester area. They recorded drums with Micah Etzel that July at Arrhythmia Studios. As they continued playing shows, the group recorded their fifth studio album. The group released their fifth studio album "Spaghetti Queen" on July 15, 2015. Former Comedown bassist Shane Newhouse was credited on the album in place of Spaz, which was an attempt to make it seem like everyone wasn't in each others respective bands.

On October 30, 2015, Intrinsic opened for Eddie Nebula & The Plague's reunion show. The gig was a huge success. In the months leading up to the show, Intrinsic claimed to have been "writing some new material" with hopes of turning the "new jams" into "full length songs" and hope to put out a new album in early 2017.

In March of 2016, Intrinsic announced they would be taking an indefinite hiatus after nearly 10 years together. They announced a Farewell Show and performed on June 25, 2016, Intrinsic's 10 Year Anniversary. While promoting the show on 98.9 The Buzz, the Bellanca brothers explained their hiatus: "We're taking a break because things have been well for the past couple years for our band and we want to go out on a good note. This show is not meant to be good bye for good, it's more of a celebration. Celebrating the life-span of our little band we put together when we were teenagers. We don't want to force anything and stifle our creativity. We want to remain true to ourselves and preserve the integrity of our band. We'll most likely get back together in a few years, but in case we do not, we're billing it as our final show. However, as we alluded moments ago, we don't plan on this being permanent. So, as they say, it's not a 'good bye', it's a 'see ya later' kind of thing".

On June 25, 2016, Intrinsic played their final show, as promoted, at the California Brew Haus. 20 minutes before their set, Patrick "The Bunny" Bundy (Intrinsic's mascot of 4 years) arrived and pretended to attack the band from behind. Although this was a planned-staged assault, a bouncer who worked next door at the Mirage was on his break and was unaware of the plan. Believing it to be a real fight, the outside bouncer, along with a local bystander, broke the two up. The plan was for Alex, Ryan, and Phil to pull Patrick off of Nitro to reveal that singer's throat had been slit and that he only had one hour left to live. At the end of their performance, the bunny jumped onstage and pretended to kill everyone on the stage. The members of Intrinsic laid on the stage for over 10 minutes, pretending they were actually dead.

HIATUS (2016-PRESENT)

In November, Nitro announced that the band will release a live-album and a "best of" compilation album. On February 20, 2017, the band confirmed the "best of" album and dropped it's title: "The Inglorious Sounds of Intrinsic", which was released on January 25, 2018. A live album, however, has yet to be released.

Studio Album(s)

Ultra Violence
July 22, 2009

The Shoebox
February 25, 2011

Escape From Instinct
November 27, 2012

Artificial Intelligence
October 12, 2013

Spaghetti Queen
July 10, 2015

EP(s)

Curl Your Toes (as Xanthium)
November 25, 2006

The Forgotten (as Xanthium)
February 14, 2008

Just A Kick-Ass Demo
October 31, 2008

Just A Second Kick-Ass Demo
January 25, 2010

Just Another Kick-Ass Demo
October 31, 2011

Yet Another Kick-Ass Demo
January 25, 2013

Not Another Kick-Ass Demo
January 25, 2015

Just One More Kick-Ass Demo
October 31, 2016

Just The Return of A Kick-Ass Demo (EP)
Upcoming: 2024

LP(s)

Glass Monkey (as Xanthium)
May 20, 2007

Songs From The Post-Apocalyptic Generation
May 21, 2013

Compilation(s)

The Inglorious Sounds of Intrinsic
January 25, 2018

Just A Kick-Ass Compilation
October 31, 2020

Current

Mykel Nitro (2006-Present) Vocals (Drums from 2006-2011, 2013)
Al X. Bellanca (2006-Present) Guitar and Vocals
Spaz Spaziani (2013-Present) Bass
Ryan Hurley (2014-Present) Guitar

Past

Kevin Hannon (2006-2007) Guitar (Bass throughout 2008)
Vincent Rodeo (2006-2007) Bass
Jeremia Shannon (2006-2007) Vocals
Justin Russell (2008-2011) Bass
Skyler Smith (2011-2012) Bass
Phil Tharp (2011-2012, 2013-2016) Drums
Kevin Spicer (2012-2013) Bass

Bygone Few
Comedown
Lupis
Mykel Nitro
Nailed Shut
SkinTrap

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