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Few bands have been flying the flag for UK metal as much as Sylosis in recent times, and last year’s Edge Of The Earth established them as leaders of the pack. Following their triumphant set opening the main stage at last year’s Sonisphere, the Reading-based quartet are wasting no time in returning with their third studio album, Monolith – acting with the dogged perseverance of a band determined to push things forward.

The good news is that they have not deviated from the explosive thrash substance we’ve grown to expect from them. Monolith is loaded with machine-gun riffing, thunderous grooves and stunning musicianship. The ominous chords of Out From Below slowly build into an onslaught of watertight precision and technical mastery supercharged with a cold, nightmarish fury.

But this isn’t just nostalgic thrash worship – the dark, purposeful enchantments around Behind The Sun and The River are as much Opeth as they are Testament – and it is this amalgamation of influences that separates this band from so many peers. Monolith is a masterclass in dynamic majesty – delightfully organic and inventive, and yet another modern thrash classic from Britain’s rising stars.

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).