Sylosis sounds like a medical condition and indeed is, but what we’re interested in here is the band of this name. In existence for 23 years now, this seasoned and well-travelled band from Reading is now on its fifth album release.
As I listened to this album, I balanced in my head the welcome metal energy with the fact that I’ve heard this darkly flamboyant metalcore sound so many times. The yardstick would be In Flames, Trivium and at times Soilwork, I guess. There’s no doubt that this is crowd-pleasing and would rouse that same crowd into a frenzy. Accordingly “Deadwood” hits the spot. Furious melodic metal, the fire and the guitar work are there. A sign of things to come? Well, that’s the title of the next song as well as the album. It starts slower and treads a deeper, more sinister groove before letting go a bit. A quieter vocal delivery alternates with anger, as the song pounds on imperiously. The chunking destruction is taken into “Pariahs”. I enjoyed the breakdown in the middle. A heavy wall of sound erupts, followed by a guitar solo. It’s vibrant and exciting. “Poison for the Lost” is more thrashy. It’s beginning is more akin to Soilwork. Sparks fly. Melody and colour abound.
A dark march takes over in the form of “Descent”. Thumping and forward-driving, the song is enhanced by its hardcore chorus with a hint of clean vocal, an eerie background sound and a guitar solo. Sylosis can proudly present this as evidence of their undoubted ability to create and construct a dynamic song. From “Descent” we go to “Absent”. The start is quiet and menacing. There’s even a dark symphonic feel. So it continues for two and a half minutes when there is an emotive explosion in a modern metal way. After this one-off song of introspection, it probably needed an energy surge, which Sylosis duly provide with the fire of “Eye for an Eye”. Stylistically it’s angry metal with a Killswitch / Bring Me the Horizon like clean chorus. Again I detected similarities with Soilwork in the structure of the song, but as Sylosis have been going for so long they can rightfully claim that others sound like them. “Judas” is like a collection of all the metalcore ingredients that we’ve heard so far, which is no criticism as once more it has the drive and push of a following wind. I suppose that when a band has been together for a certain amount of time, tightness is guaranteed even during the development of the song, and it certainly is here. Dark electronic symphony announces “Thorns” but only briefly as a crashing swathe of metal sits with emotive hardcore. Finally Sylosis present us with “Godless Throne” and leave us with another strong and multi-faceted song to savour.
Comparisons may be made with other bands of the genre, but on its own merits “A Sign of Things to Come” fuels excitement through its pulsating passages and well-directed energy. This is modern metal in all its glory, ready for live performance and a very enjoyable album to listen to.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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