Sylosis is stronger than ever.
Despite a 3-year break, the band formed by Josh Middleton (guitar/vocals, ex-Architects) in England in 2000, and now completed by Alex Bailey (guitar), Ali Richardson (drums, Bleed from Within) and Conor Marshall (bass, Conjurer), has announced the release of its sixth album (and second since its return), A Sign Of Things To Come, on Nuclear Blast.
The band kicks things off with Deadwood, a relatively energetic first track which places sharp riffs in a jerky aggressive approach that borrows as much from lively Thrash as from catchy Melodic Death. Saturated vocals predominate on this track, but there are also a few clear parts on the quieter passages, before giving way to A Sign Of Things To Come, the eponymous track with its heavy rhythm. The heavy atmosphere, accentuated by vocal changes, perfectly fits the ominous tones developed by the band, who return to their raw roots on Pariahs and its vindictive Metalcore influences, which will undoubtedly be an inexhaustible source of crowd movement. The band follows with Poison For The Lost and its Old School roots, over which the raw screams crash, only allowing us a moment’s respite with the arrival of a quieter chorus. Violence remains at the heart of the composition, which eventually fades out to let Descent explode with groovy riffs and more accessible vocal parts, leading into Absent, which operates in a much darker, almost soothing register. A wrenching howl breaks through clean vocals and ignites saturation, but the track remains haunting, unlike Eye For An Eye, which immediately returns to the livelier roots of its devastating rhythm. The choruses become slightly softer, while saturated vocals are unleashed, and Judas stays with this harsh aggressive approach with jerky riffs and complemented by abrupt leads, which becomes heavier at times. The band adopts Heavy Metal accent on Thorns, a track with a highly contrasting rhythm that shifts without warning from softness to power, before letting A Godless Throne surprise us with an unexpected acceleration, closing the album between fury and airy tones.
Sylosis perfectly exploits all its aggressive influences, sometimes shading them with heavier tones to give each track its own approach and make A Sign Of Things To Come a rhythmic but always effective album.
85/100