| Claudio Strunz | |
| Alias: | Pato |
| Birth Date: | 11 November 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Argentina |
| Genre: | Thrash metal |
| Instrument: | Drummer |
| Years Active: | 1991–present |
| Associated Acts: | Hermética, Malón, Simbiosis |
Claudio Strunz (born November 11, 1966) is an Argentine thrash metal drummer. He has worked in Heinkel, Hermética, Malón and Simbiosis.
Claudio Strunz, born in La Tablada, began his career in Heinkel, a band that would be renamed Jeriko. The band's rehearsal room was located in the Belgrano neighbourhood, which was very distant, so he created a new one at his home. El Reloj hired this rehearsal room as well. He created later a new one in Mataderos, which was hired by the thrash metal band Hermética.[1] He played with that band during tests when the drummer Tony Scotto was absent. As a result, when Scotto left the band Strunz was selected as the new drummer. He joined the band in 1991, just in time for the recording of the LP Ácido Argentino, and stayed with the band since then. Hermética received a golden record for the sales of Ácido Argentino, and a second one for the 1994 CD Víctimas del Vaciamiento.[2]
Hermética broke up in 1994, in controversial circumstances. Bassist Ricardo Iorio created a new band, Almafuerte, with new musicians. Strunz, guitarist Antonio Romano and singer Claudio O'Connor, the remaining members of the band, created the band Malón with a new bassist, Carlos Kuadrado. The new band had a thrash metal style similar to Hermética. They recorded two studio CDs and one live CD. Strunz made a guest appearance in the song "Ardiendo en el cielo" of "Tierra Violada", the first CD of Jeriko. He was the producer of the CD, as well as with their second CD, "Tensiones".[3]
Malón broke up in 1998, after the departure of O'Connor. Strunz created the grunge band Simbiosis, which had little success. With his previous experience, he created "Asbury Park", a complex of rehearsal rooms. He tried to reunite Malón with Romano and Kuadrado; O'Connor refused to join them. The band broke up again, and Strunz claimed the copyright over the name of the band, forbidding it to continue without him. The band reunited again in 2011, this time with all the original members.[4]