Sylosis – A Sign of things to come
7/10
Sylosis from Reading UK (for those of you who might not know that). Listed on Wikipedia as a heavy metal band. Well yes and no. They are closer to bands like Lamb of god, Killswitch engage, Devildriver and Trivium (early on they even supported DragonForce in the UK). If your music collection consists of neck breaking furiously paced metal – then look no further.
I have trouble listening to too much of the bands that goes under the “core” umbrella, but Sylosis makes the cut. It’s different in some way that I cannot really put my finger on. The fact that it isn’t going at 200 mph through every song and is not filled with the typical body of work that is core metal. I believe the band have more in common with technical death metal than anything else. Sylosis is a band that doesn’t give a damn about any hyped musical directions, that is for sure.
The band were confirmed for Dalhalla Brinner this August but cancelled their appearance sadly. This is their sixth offering. The album is off to a flying start with “Deadwood” – if Deadwood is what I think it is this is the total opposite. Most alive and kicking. A song perfectly suited to kick off their shows on the upcoming tour along with “Pariah” (listen to the choir they put in on the chorus) Followed by the title track, that shows the bands heavier side.
There is not much breathing space on the album, it´s put in place perfectly suitable, but more often is at high speed but still not going totally out of order from the Sylosis formula. “Poison for the lost” is a track that should be suitable for any hardcore band to pick up and do its own version of.
For me “Descent” is a standout track along with “Poison for the lost”.
“Absent” is a track where Josh sounds exactly like Robb Flynn in my ears in a few parts of the song. It wouldn’t have embarrassed itself on any MH album
After two, almost mid-tempo songs, they are back at it again with “Eye for an Eye”. Not to forget “Judas”, the song after. Pure Sylosis controlled rage.
They must have been listening a lot to Machine Head and because I find a 3rd MH mood song in “Thorns” but I don’t mind (the speaking parts of the song is again similar to Robbs). I think it’s a great band to relate to. “A godless throne” was a perfect finale for the album. Now! Where are those Swedish tour dates?
Artist: Sylosis
Title: A sign of things to come
Rating: 7/10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release date: 8/9-2023
Stand out tracks. “Descent”, “Absent”, “A Godless Throne”
