Let’s face the facts: Massachusetts has one of the best hardcore scenes in the world. Worcester is right at the center of it, and Suffer on Acid is a band that is no stranger to this city. The grindcore/hardcore trio made up of Boston guys calls Worcester a second home, and the guys are always making the drive on the Mass Pike to play shows here. With multiple releases under its belt and zero signs of slowing down, Suffer on Acid is one of those bands to keep an eye on in 2015.

The band’s founding member, Mark Ventriglia, was born in Worcester and grew up in Westborough. Spending his high school years going to shows every other weekend at the QVCC, Ventriglia said, “That was our mainstay as far as shows go.”

After starting his own band and playing the QVCC, Ventriglia found himself hitting the road to go on tour the day after high school ended. He followed up the tour by starting a new project, the Leeway-inspired band Streetsweeper, and began playing shows relentlessly. Two years later, he added a second band to his resume with Suffer on Acid, a rare three-piece hardcore band with a dueling vocal attack and absolutely ferocious drums.

“Caleb is a really good drummer. He kind of is the star of the show,” Ventriglia said. The sound is unapologetically heavy and blends powerviolence with grindcore in a coherent way that will make you want to punch the walls until your knuckles bleed. After a few lineup changes, the band settled on Caleb Gowett on drums and Greg Frielander on bass.

Ventriglia said he believes that having only three members is an advantage and by no means limits the band. “It’s much easier to do a three-piece than a four- or five-piece band,” he said, adding that the dynamic is easier when you only need to get three people free enough to play a show or set up a recording date. “It’s a lot easier to get momentum and to get traction with just a three-piece band.” Ventriglia also credits this dynamic for being the reason that the members are able to write so many songs in such a short amount of time. “Less people in the band, more productivity… everyone is doing their part to influence each other, and it just works with the three of us. That’s why we’ve been able to pump out so much music.”

With the release of an EP and an eight-song demo already under its belt, the band just released a cassette EP, Ride the Light. It’s clear that the band’s sound has evolved over the years. When the band first started, things stayed simple. “Let’s take some terrorizing riffs and some D-beats and make a fast hardcore band,” Ventriglia explained the band’s early sound. “It’s kind of a grindcore band with a hardcore backbone.”

As the band members continued to write songs, things have become a little more experimental and they take a few more chances. “We’re trying to tread on multiple genres and still make it tasteful and unique,” Ventriglia said. Suffer on Acid’s next release will be a split with Sawchuck, which will come out on Prospect Records. All of it leading to the band’s eventual full-length, which will come out in 2015 and is still in the writing process.

“It’s going to be very chaotic and very in-your-face but be very different at the same time,” Ventriglia said.

For more information, visit sufferonacid.bandcamp.com. Check out Gowett and Ventriglia’s other band, Streetsweeper, at streetsweeper.bandcamp.com.

By Alex Kantarelis