Sylosis

Edge Of The Earth

Written by: AP on 21/07/2011 18:27:20

Having extricated their former lead singer, Jamie Graham, and put the musical architect of their fantastic debut "Conclusion of an Age", lead guitarist and primary composer Josh Middleton, in his place, Reading based shredders Sylosis have wasted no time in bringing a successor to the table. In a sense the disappearance of Graham was more necessary than unfortunate, as the lackluster clean vocals with which he earned the band references to metalcore have been eradicated on "Edge of the Earth", thus affording the band the recognition they deserve.

Though "Edge of the Earth" takes the genre to the next level, it is, in essence, a perfection of the art of modern thrash. Its melodic edge recalls influences from melodic death metal, particularly on the likes of "Empyreal", but the galloping rhythms and abundant shredding leave none of the band's true inspirations ambiguous. Anthrax, Exodus, Testament and Metallica have naturally left their mark on the sound of Sylosis, but instead of shamelessly idolizing them like so many others, the soundscape of "Edge of the Earth" is far more illustrious and varied than one might expect. Unafraid to unleash countless dueling guitar leads, solos and clean interludes, one might say that Trivium, too, has played a key role in shaping the band's sound thus far, though the result here is far more convincing from the thrash metal perspective.

The songs range from short and entertaining tricks like the furious "Awakening", or fully instrumental offerings like "When the Sky Ends", to long, progressive jewels like "From the Edge of the Earth" and "Apparition". Ironically the stupefying length of the majority of tracks (in most cases, in excess of five minutes) is also the only real issue with the album, as the 78-minute running length feels too long to fully sustain its impact. As such, spinning the album in one session has the inevitable effect of wearing off its magnificence, and in vein, for had the band stripped two or three songs from it and offered them either as bonus tracks on a future deluxe edition, or as part of a subsequent EP, none of the album's weight would have been lost.

Nonetheless, considering the fact that nearly every song packs equal punch and features a wealth of stunning instrumentation, what Sylosis have achieved here is no less spectacular. With "Edge of the Earth", Sylosis have accomplished what few bands can, namely incorporating all of their influences without ever sounding like any of them. The combination of solid production, dazzling musical ability and elaborate song-writing allows Sylosis to carve out their own niche. In the future, it is my hope that Sylosis would attempt to distill the grandeur into slightly fewer songs so as to avoid testing the listener's endurance.

8

Download: Sands of Time, Empyreal, Apparitions, From the Edge of the Earth
For the fans of: Darkest Hour, Trivium, Rise to Remain
Listen: Facebook

Release date 14.03.2011
Nuclear Blast

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