Conclusion of an Age

Sylosis are the kind of modern band that, on paper, get a thrashaholic who has an appetite for the old-school fairly excited. With comparisons to Death, Cynic and Metallica, it's no wonder they're so hotly acclaimed. Naturally, there were some people who hurriedly checked the new blood out by Youtubing 20 seconds of one song the day before Sonisphere 2011 and the Big 4, the day they'd probably been waiting for for months. And the after the Big 4 had taken their necks, voices and probably their vodka for good measure (and not played 'Tornado of Souls'), Sylosis were probably the greatest band going after a night of things that are hazy to remember and 3 hours sleep when the sun came up. And they were duly impressive.

But that was then and this is now. The band does have a lot of things going for them. Actually, only one thing. They are talented on their respective instruments. I say instruments because the singer, Jamie Graham, literally attempts every vocal style going at the moment. There are bands out there who have mastered that style (Opeth comes to mind) and there are bands with two vocalists (Enslaved, I now love you) who are immensely enjoyable. But not Sylosis. The infrequent death growls are good, but the majority of the vocals are metalcore vocals (I had to check out some really shit bands to classify those vocals). I don't actually mind that style, because metalcore is ruined because of the poor musicians and obnoxious vocalists. Hang on... But no. It is the ill thought-out, ill-placed whiny, yes whiny, clean vocals that pop up for no reason, annoy me, and then disappear. But like the Terminator and Jehovah's Witnesses, they are always back.

The bass does exist on the album. I am unable to relay what it purpose it serves, all I know is there is a bassist in the band and in the music. I can kinda feel it, but fuck knows what it's doing. Probably following the guitars.

The aggressive thrash riffs are exciting, up-tempo and get me moving, but unmemorable and indistinguishable from one to the next. If I am forced to compare them, I would call it a more technical Metallica, because they are gallops in the vein of 'Battery'. I am aware that thrash does have recycled riffs and rehashed guitar ideas, but they are played with charisma. These are not. However, the melodies lift the album up, because they saturate every song. The melodies are unstoppable and are the catalyst of comparisons to all those bands you love. They're not particularly memorable either, but they add variation to the music... until you've heard them in every song and you wish for some new ideas. Acoustic guitar also serve as intros and outros on several songs, and all of them seem to have taken the idea of 'Battery' and killed it. There are also some metalcore chugs which slow the music right down, and depending on your stance to the genre may cause to despise the band. The album also features a lot of shreddy solos from Josh Middleton, who knows what he's doing but needs to focus on some catchy solo work. They are fast, but not comparable to virtuoso work or Dave Mustaine (who always gets his own space).

The drums range from rapid double-bass, to following the gallop-y guitars. There is also some slower drum work to complement the occasional chord strikes. The drum is also allowed a few fills of its own, which aren't anything special, but they break the music up for variation.

I dislike pseudo-deep lyrics that attempt to have an intellectual meaning but are hollow and boring. The title track has a nifty vocal hook, but that's about it.

Now, I have bashed the band quite a bit. Is it because my cherished memories of seeing them on my birthday at Sonisphere do not reflect the listening experience I had when I bought this album? Yes, that's exactly it. Sylosis are labelled as progressive, but I call it incoherent (or bad progressive). Every song literally slams every element of guitar work that I mentioned together, added some meaningless lyrics and tah-dah. Thrash riff, noodly melody, solo and an acoustic outro. They'd be better off skimming the fat and focusing on bringing certain aspects to life more rather than mushing it all together. Being my first less than positive review, you may wonder why this album is not less than 50%. It's simple. The band can play together. They are able to pull it off live and they know what the fuck they're doing instrumentally. And it's a debut album. It may be the hype that ruins or maybe the undeveloped songwriting.

On reflection, it's both. Better luck next time, lads.