Released by: Nuclear Blast Records
Release date: February 7th, 2020
Genre: Thrash Metal, Death Metal
Line up:
Josh Middleton – lead guitar, lead vocals
Conor Marshall – bass guitar
Alex Bailey – rhythm guitar
Ali Richardson – drums
Tracklist:
1. Empty Prophets
2. I Severe
3. Cycle Of Suffering
4. Shield
5. Calcified
6. Invidia
7. Idle Hands
8. Apex Of Disdain
9. Arms Like A Noose
10. Devils In Their Eyes
11. Disintegrate
12. Abandon
Josh Middleton’s comeback in Sylosis marks the return of the English metal act in studio discography with their fifth effort “Cycle Of Suffering”. Formed in Reading at the turn of the new millennium, Sylosis has always been a band that has stood away from the mainstream. The British team has created their path since the very beginning of their career by giving birth to their sound combining the thrash metal genre with extreme modern metal sounds and progressive elements.
Four years after the hiatus of Sylosis, their mastermind Josh Middleton relaunches the band with a rejuvenated and less restricted spirit. The result of this renewal is obvious in the fresh twelve tracks of the impressive new album. The English quartet is known for the long-ish compositions enriched with heavy riffs and flairs of melodies, but this time the songs tend to be shorter.
The opening track “Empty Prophets” is a full representation of what the group is known for: a three-minute ferocious assault that blows the listener away from the start. This leads to the thrash anthem “ I Severe”, with highly brutal vocals, imponent guitar riffs, and solos, but with an intense progressive flavor at its final part. This tune shows off the great precision in the band’s composition process, mostly by the smooth passage from the heavy rhythmic sections to the more melodic ones. It’s time for the title track and the Sylosis’s engine runs at full speed with the devastating drumming of Ali Richardson at the first role. There are also some remarkable mid-tempo sections with an intermittent huge guitar solo. “Shields” follows the same path of the title track and it leads to “Calcified”, a piece of methodical and accurate guitar work, maybe with a darker sound, mostly at the slower parts. The remarkable screaming solo and the harsh vocals can’t be ignored by the listener, although “Invidia” gives a different turn to the album, with a modern technical thrash sound and the more aggressive singing parts. “Idle Hands” includes some quickened guitar work but also some amazing, slower and darkened melodies.
“Apex Of Disdain” gives a major brutal tone to the record, but the following “Arms Like A Noose” is a track where the listener has the occasion to appreciate the consistency of the sound of the band: even if some complicated music parts regarding all instruments are included, Sylosis manages to make the song sound simple. This is due to the major technical abilities of the band: “Devils In Their Eyes” includes some insane drumming sections in complete balance with the heavy riffs, while “Disintegrate” is another confirmation of the exceptional guitar work on this album.
For what the final part is concerned, Sylosis show a completely different profile: slow and melodic parts enriched by clean vocals and amazing guitar solos are perfectly combined with darker sounds and harsh singing sections giving birth to “Abandon”.
“Cycle Of Suffering” is an impressive collection of different music styles and emotions which takes Sylosis to the next level. The complexity of sound and the surgical precision in this new studio effort give the occasion for a triumphant return of the British band to the music scene after four years of inactivity. Even if no originality or innovation could be identified in their songs, this four-piece band has created a compact, solid and interesting album, which could be suitable for fans of old school and modern metal listeners. Finally, the message that could be identified among the lyrics of the songs is that even people tend to escape from the adversities of life to more pleasant situations, sometimes suffering is inevitable. “Cycle Of Suffering” could be defined as the most mature and complete studio effort of Sylosis to date.
Ratings: 8/10
Written by: Katerina Paisoglou
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
About Author
