The rise of Sylosis from sweaty little clubs in the Reading metal scene to one of the most promising bands in the whole of the UK and now to be a leading light of the metal scene full stop has really been something special to witness, they have freshness about their sound and are always innovating and evolving. They are back and following on from 2024’s EP The Path they have a new album The New Flesh.
Beneath The Surface is just everything want you want it to be, its full of the sort of confidence and swagger that only a band at the very top of their game can have, it has a monstrous groove that is infectious, it thrashes and explodes at every interval and the switches of tempo are neck-breakingly furious every time and it just makes for an unbelievable start to this album.
Erased is next and offers a more tactical approach to sonic violence, the absolute rage and spite that is involved in every stab of the guitars and the drums is vitriolic and cathartic and then the way the melodic section bounce off the pure savageness in an amazing juxtaposition of styles which shows a masterful songwriting ability and just wait until you hear the end section of this track, if you fail to bang your head clean off your shoulders then you may be clinically dead!
All Glory, No Valour has all the modern thrash hallmarks, with the crisp and shredding guitars playing off each other and a vicious pace with some thunderous drumming, the whole track is just pummelling and has a vital energy running through its veins and the guitar solos are just utter perfection, a completely barnstormingly brilliant track.
On Lacerations there is a slight switch up tempo wise there are slower more menacing sections but also there are plenty of bruising thrashy sections, we also get vocal performance that mixes the harsh and melodic verses which give this a more melodic feel to things, the closest I can get to summing it up is I think that this is what I imagine everyone wishes Trivium actually sounded like?!
Mirror Mirror reminds me of a prime Slipknot, like when they were just banging out hit song after hit song and even if you didn’t like them you couldn’t help but enjoy their sound, this is just that and the bounce in the track, the vocals styling and patterns it’s just a moshpit fuelling beast of a track, its simple, it’s to the point and it’s just a bloody good listen all round.
Spared From The Guillotine gets us back to the signature sound that make Sylosis such a force, the speed and energy is there in spades and the fury emanating from this track is just wonderfully executed and then they sprinkle in some pitch harmonics in for good measure to give it a nostalgic feeling but not dating it at all, it’s all executed in a perfect storm of extreme violence which keep you hooked all the way through.
Then we get the utterly triumphant Adorn My Throne which comes in with another slower pace but when it gets going the epicness that is packed in just explodes everywhere, the riffs are sharp, chugging and powerful with another wonderful solo to add to the epic feel and then the music that backs it up is chunky and the wonderfully dark and the vocals cover everything in a layer of menace that makes it another vital listen.
Into the final third of the album and title track The New Flesh gives us a little melodic death metal flourish before more energetic and powerful thrash takes over, it obviously has a more modern day take to the genre and mixes more savage grooves into the song that just keep coming an giving you a new surprise at every turn and with it begin the title track you can feel the extra importance of the track as it perfectly sums up their sound in just over 4 minutes!!
Once they have finished defining themselves, they then throw a spanner into the works on Everywhere At Once in a very Pantera-eqse Cemetery Gates-y type of way, it’s all gorgeous acoustics and softness and then comes the big epic singalong verses this feels like a complete 360 and while its not at all expected it is very welcome as it shows a completely different side to their sound and shows there isn’t really much they can’t turn their hand too if they wanted.
Once they have finished defining themselves, they then throw a spanner into the works on Everywhere At Once in a very Pantera-eqse Cemetery Gates-y type of way, it’s all gorgeous acoustics and softness and then comes the big epic singalong verses this feels like a complete 360 and while its not at all expected it is very welcome as it shows a completely different side to their sound and shows there isn’t really much they can’t turn their hand too if they wanted.
Circle Of Swords follows and its back to business as usual with a track the stomps and crashes into being, there is no subtlety here and no room for emotion or any of that nonsense, its just a full force, balls to the wall rager, they do give you a little breather midway but it doesn’t last long before the galloping riffs are back, the drums are just breathtakingly good as always and the whole track is just a complete win for heavy music.
You almost don’t want Seeds In The River to be the last track but alas nothing lasts forever and all you want is for this to really go out with a bang and thankfully it does all the recognizable power and precision is on show and so is the full force brutality that has made this album stand out so much, it’s a perfect ending to a an unbelievably brilliant album.
Wow, it is only February and I can safely say that this album is going to take some serious beating this year, yes, I’m already going there!! It seriously defies any expectations you may have had going in and obliterates everything you may have expected, there was literally not 1 single nano-second on this record that I didn’t completely love! Every note hit, every vocal was on point, there was nothing I could find to pick fault with and that’s usually my strong point!
Wow, it is only February and I can safely say that this album is going to take some serious beating this year, yes, I’m already going there!! It seriously defies any expectations you may have had going in and obliterates everything you may have expected, there was literally not 1 single nano-second on this record that I didn’t completely love! Every note hit, every vocal was on point, there was nothing I could find to pick fault with and that’s usually my strong point!
I expected a good record of course, but what I got was almost beyond description despite me writing more than 1000 words to describe it, I could have probably written twice the amount and still not be able to explain just how good it is! Please, if you do one thing this weekend make it your business to listen to The New Flesh and once you have listened to it again, listen again and so on until you understand what a truly special record you are listening to.
If this doesn’t catapult Sylosis into the major leagues of metal and have them playing arenas there is truly no justice in this world. Absolute perfection. 10/10
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