I probably should have heard of this Italian band, after all they have been around for a decade but they had not hit my radar until they joined the Season Of Mist roster. It was none other than Phil H Anselmo who championed the group after their debut, signing them to his Housecore Records label for 2nd album I-Optikon. They also gained further appreciation joining Godflesh on tour and playing Roadburn Festival as well. Line-up shuffles and continued trajectory now sees the group described as one of the most “twisted bands in extreme metal.” As far as I am concerned it was time to go in blind and see what SYK are all about.
Well 45-minutes later I almost came out deaf as well. SYK whatever the hell that stands for are certainly extreme and the first number ‘I Am The Beast’ is an apt one once we get to grips with the savagery and bellicose roars from mouthpiece Stefano Ferrian. As this track swirls in with some backing parts from a lady hitting the higher range (more on her later) I got a first impression that this was a little in the vein of SepticFlesh. However, first impressions aside it progressive death elements more than symphonic ones that take over. The musicians here go for some pretty serious bombing runs, whether it be on the wrecking bombast of the drums, full-bodied bass twanging away and shredding guitars. As one gets further into the decimating likes of ‘Where I Am Going There Is No Light’ one can easily envision the chaos and decimating maelstrom the press release promised. There are some lighter textures allowing the guitar some more ambient and arid parts but the next stormy deluge is never far away and the vocals are absolutely vicious. There’s quite a lot of groove and technicality too, some of the bass runs and shrill stabbing guitar parts of ‘I’ll Haunt You In Your Dreams’ remind of a particularly heavy Gojira. I expect some of their fans would dig this whilst trying to remain on their feet if they caught the band live.
It’s pretty relentless and the earth is seismically shaking by the title track which sees the vocalist doggedly pursuing the musicians like a distempered dog refusing to give up its bone. There’s also a snatch of cleaner spoken word parts on this too not that they particularly make the impact any less harrying. Contorting rhythmic gyrations plunder away through ‘The Sermon’ and frenetic shredding groove on ‘The Cross’ as everything seems to frantically dash towards the end. It is here with ‘The Passing’ that those previously mentioned female vocals are at their most prolific. Apparently singer Dalila Kayros used to be more established in the band, especially as they played live but left due to personal reasons. Obviously it was amicable as she is back in part here and really makes an impact and coats the music with otherworldly distinction. The only problem is I can’t help thinking I would personally have preferred her being a more permanent fixture on the rest of the album. That aside there’s no shortage of substance to get your teeth into here.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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