January 19th, 2015
UK Progressive Death Metal Band, Sylosis, have risen to great success in recent years with their unique and dark vibes in blisteringly heavy music. Since 2007 the band has pounded out interesting and intense albums like Conclusion of an Age, Edge of the Earth, and the popular Monolith. They have also released two EPs and an independently released seven track live album. The band has a certain artistry and ever changing sound that appeals to the complicated Metal listeners. They combine Prog and Death Metal with grinding Thrash riffs and vocals, creating a much heavier and layered version of Trivium. It is an acquired taste, but well deserving of special recognition. I hadn’t heard Sylosis until the brand new album “Dormant Heart” dropped this year. Immediately upon listening to Mercy, I decided this album deserved a review.
“Dormant Heart” is a mix of hardcore, Progressive, and Industrial sound, making for an unpatterned listing experience with many layers. Upon listening, you can hear the mastery and work that was put into the composition of this album. The layers of guitars and the pounding of the drums is much less drowning and repetitive than I expected. It is a lot more refined, making it interesting and great music to listen to during road trips. The vocals range from deep grunting to powerful mid ranged screams, adding a much needed diversity to separate this from typical “Thrash Metal”. Don’t be fooled, you can still hear those influences in tracks like To Build a Bomb, Overthrown, and Victims and Pawns. The interesting Progressive sounds come from the guitars and occasional ambient fills, creating a whole new vibe with each track. Mercy and the title track really stand out on “Dormant Heart”, because they’re really different from what the other bands in Sylosis’ wheelhouse put out. The best track of the album however is the last. Quiescent is such a dark and proggy song, it made me wonder why the album didn’t contain more brilliance like it. If the whole album illustrated this much emotion and passion, it’d get much higher ratings. The creativity is well represented and much appreciated in Death Metal.
As a fan of Death Metal, I strive to hear an album that is unique and something completely different from the other recent albums in the genre. Death Metal can be convoluted and you’re typical band is a dime a dozen, but Sylosis strive to be a different band with different sound. Yes the vocals are your typical growls and screams, in and out of proper annunciation, but it is broken up by dynamic riffs and interesting time signatures. I notice these attributes the most on “Dormant Heart” than other Sylosis albums. The growth in this album is quite large, but I am left with desiring more after such a prominent track, which could be done on purpose to pull the listener in. Whatever the target was for “Dormant Heart” Sylosis did a commendable job at succeeded.
Album rating 6/10
Metal Valkyrie 