I’ve never heard of SYK, yet they’re releasing their fourth album.
Composed today of Stefano Ferrian (guitar/vocals), Marcello Cravini (guitar/keyboards), Alan La Roca (bass) and Federico Leone (drums), the Italian band active since 2013 is signed to Season of Mist for the release of eartHFlesh.
I Am the Beast opens its doors with female vocals coupled with an ominous atmosphere, but it’s really the devastating power of Black/Death made of blasts and other howls that crushes us. The jerky, Prog-influenced riffs are quick to manhandle us under a suffocating sound, which continues right through to Where I Am Going There Is No Light, where we find the oppressive atmosphere between eruptions of violence, but also rare moments of floating. The band continues to sweep us along with an unhealthy naturalness thanks to its thick rhythm before giving way to I’ll Haunt You In Your Dreams, where dissonant melodies multiply to invade our vital space, followed by mysterious choirs. Yet a majestic touch emanates from this terrifyingly screaming composition, just as it does on Earthflesh, the following track, where impressive vocal parts chill our blood while riffs conscientiously trample us. The Sermon allows for a brief moment of respite before the musicians unveil a much livelier rhythmic pattern, but which becomes relatively strange during the solo, creating a contrast with the melancholic guitar but the band returns to its organized savagery on The Cross. The heady rhythm doesn’t hesitate to burst into flames on a regular basis, also giving rise to abrasive leads or energetic patterns, then For To Themselves I Left Them strays into quietude for a few seconds before returning to its usual haunting saturation, with a few misty vocals. A final wave of saturation hits us, followed by The Passing which mixes heavy and airy tones and vocal appearances for eight minutes, finally letting the female voice guide us to silence.
SYK is an interesting discovery, blending oppression and heaviness with a mysterious, suffocating touch and jerky quasi-permanent rhythms. There’s no way eartHFlesh won’t attract the attention of the scene.
85/100
