Discover the Sound of Music

Founded in 1997, Stryker Records is a record company that has quickly risen to become one of the most respected and innovative labels in the music industry. Our focus on discovering and nurturing talented artists has led to numerous chart topping singles.

From chart-topping pop stars to groundbreaking indie rockers, Stryker Records represents some of the most exciting and talented musicians in the world. Our artists are known for their creativity, passion, and dedication to their craft, and we're proud to support them every step of the way.

Scars and Melodies is a story about a rise that feels unstoppable, a fall that feels inevitable, and a reckoning no one is ready for. The title itself comes from a song by Jamie Fontaine and the Level, setting the tone before the story even begins. It's a reflection of everything the book ultimately becomes.

Told through Chris Dobry’s perspective, the book pulls you into the inner world of the band as they begin to build momentum; small rooms turning into packed venues, late nights turning into a lifestyle, and raw emotion turning into something people can’t ignore. There’s a sense early on that something real is happening, something bigger than any of them expected. The music becomes more than sound, it becomes identity, escape, and purpose all at once.

That’s the rise.

But the same things that push them forward start to unravel them. The pressure to keep going, to keep creating, to keep feeling something intense enough to turn into music and it begins to take a toll. Substance use becomes routine. Relationships grow strained and toxic. The line between who they are and what they perform starts to disappear. Life on the road blurs together; hotel rooms, bars, backstage corners, and it all starts to feel less like movement and more like being stuck in a loop.

That’s the fall.

And it doesn’t happen all at once. It’s gradual. Quiet in some moments, explosive in others. You see it in the way people change, in what they stop saying, in what they start ignoring. The success is still there on the surface, but underneath, everything is wearing thin.

Then comes the reckoning.

When the noise fades and the distractions fall away, there’s no avoiding what’s left. The damage isn’t abstract anymore, it’s personal. It shows up in broken trust, in the weight of choices that can’t be undone, in the realization that turning pain into something beautiful doesn’t make it disappear. For the first time, there’s clarity and it doesn’t come easy.

The title Scars and Melodies becomes the truth of it all. The melodies are what carried them, what gave everything meaning in the moment. But the scars are what remain after, etched in, permanent, impossible to ignore.

It’s not a story about making it.
It’s a story about what it costs.