Sylosis - A Sign of Things To Come

Angry Metal Guy

The existence of Sylosis roughly tracks my own experience with non-mainstream metal, running from 2008’s Conclusion of an Age to 2020’s Cycle of Suffering. The band lost me somewhere in the middle as I was diving into the more extreme sub-genres of metal’s sewer, despite my favorable comments on 2015’s Dormant Heart, no doubt induced by a bout of regional favoritism given that they hail from the same bit of the UK as yours truly. Cycle of Suffering represented a roaring return, comfortably my favorite of their albums and comfortably my second favorite album from 2020. Sylosis are one of Britain’s most exciting and energetic bands but how can A Sign of Things to Come hope to match their prior incredible success?

I’ve seen Sylosis described as thrash, as melodeath, and as metalcore. None are wholly wrong but none are wholly right. Drawing as much from Unearth as they are Slayer or At the Gates, the band defies clear categorization but crosses over strongly with metalcore’s modern designs, including roaring vocals, restricted mastering, and clinical production. I don’t typically dig the modern production aesthetic of bands sharing a stage with Sylosis, but Sylosis are simply much better than their peers. It’s hard to overstate just how good the riffs are on Things to Come. It’s the first thing you’ll love about the record and although repetition unveils much more to enjoy, it’s a quality that perseveres; Sylosis could simply release their guitar tracks in isolation and the resulting album would be better than most others. But I would be remiss to not highlight certain vocal-led passages too. “Poison for the Lost” has a fist-pumping, shout-along chorus, while “Thorns” and “A Godless Throne” gild their choruses with clean singing. Most Sylosis albums have a couple of songs with catchy vocal melodies and their strength always makes me wish there were more.

Despite these catchy moments, Things to Come is not a banger; it’s not melodic enough for that. Nor a bop; it’s not jaunty. No. Instead, it’s a rager. It seethes with boiling intensity, propelling through 10 tracks that seem to pass in mere seconds. Every moment besides a couple of deliberately slower passages is vital and conveys the band’s rage at the world’s affairs. It may not be so esoteric nor musically inhospitable as old school death metal or black metal – Sylosis are, after all, more popular than most modern bands from those genres, especially among a younger audience – but their heft feels easily as heavy. Things to Come is even more of a sledgehammer than Cycle of Suffering. In fact, its unrelenting heaviness obscures some of the more obvious hooks from its predecessor, resulting in songs that aren’t quite as memorable on average. Alongside the record’s riffs, its sheer rage separates it from everything else.

But something happens as the album progresses and repeats. Its overpowering force and hefty grooves give way to surprising details that belie deft songwriting. The lead on “Poison for the Lost” is obscenely headbangable but also technically smart, splitting my enjoyment between something primal and something cerebral. The frantic, stuttering guitar solos on this one and “Eye for an Eye” jolt the underlying music unexpectedly. And the clearings created when the heaviness strips back expose Josh Middleton’s emotive singing. Sylosis understand how to punctuate their songs, introducing clarity, theatricality, and a brutal beatdown as necessary. The songs all run between 3:55 and 5:12 but you would think they were longer with the amount of exciting material packed in. It’s easy for music like this to stagnate through sheer riffs and breakdowns, but Things to Come sounds vital throughout. Even when the group take their foot off the pedal, they do it to keep the album fresh. Grander arrangements and emotive power on the back half balance the front half’s burly simplicity, even if the obscenely awesome riffs of the former make it slightly more enjoyable.

Those that turn up their nose at Sylosis’s modern proclivities turn up their nose at what thrash metal should sound like in 2023.¹ Things to Come is heavy as hell, surprisingly inventive, and fucking furious. It’s a beast; a sledgehammer; a scream in the face of its listener demanding their attention. There’s something incredibly visceral and tangible about Things to Come. Few albums truly drag me away from my thoughts or my work but this one refuses to let you think about anything else. This is the album to unite the thrash metal cargo shorts with the metalcore ear stretcher.



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: sylosis.com | facebook.com/Sylosis | sylosis.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: September 8th, 2023

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