Boasting a perfect three great albums from three thus far, Sylosis’s career nonetheless demonstrates improvement on each release, with 2012’s Monolith refining the exuberance of their debut and Edge Of The Earth’s adroit innovation.
While Dormant Heart still displays all the hallmarks of stunning musicality and songwriting nous – with the sharp riffing of the title track and caustic Slayer-worshipping Indoctrinated built for the thrash arena – it also marks a key step forward as the band imbue a real sense of occasion, with each track conjuring its own sense of character, from brooding opener Where The Wolves Come To Die to the mournful acoustic closer Quiescent.
The menacing To Build A Tomb is a multi-headed colossus of intricate passages, chilling riffs and glorious lead breaks; the oppressive Overthrown presents numerous walls of sound to penetrate; and the regal harmonics of Leech cry out in desperation before the melodic peaks and call to arms chorus of Harm offer glimpses of light. Though only seldom dipping into clean singing, Josh Middleton’s vocals still convey all manner of hooks and emotion, particularly on the progressive crescendo of Callous Souls. This is a demanding, raging and triumphant beast of an album to kick off 2015 – few others will achieve such levels of unbridled feeling and sophisticated dexterity.
Via Nuclear Blast
