“How many times do we need to teach you this lesson, old man?” Sylosis once again find themselves asking. Since 2008 debut Conclusion Of An Age, the Berkshire brutes have been among the most exhilarating and technically gifted acts in British metal. Then, on last year’s A Sign Of Things To Come, they added monumental hooks to their arsenal, making them even more deserving of breakout stardom.
Yet, broad acclaim has always eluded this lot. Maybe it was their early refusal to hop on the metalcore bandwagon, or maybe it was lynchpin Josh Middleton joining Architects from 2017 to 2023 and making this project “priority two”. Either way, The Path, surprise-released last week, is another declaration that Sylosis are UK metal’s uncrowned kings.
Though these five songs are leftovers from the Sign… sessions, they smack with a heaviness not heard from this band in ages. The title track commences the EP with a stomping drum beat, swiftly joined by Middleton’s full-throated roars. It’s a gateway to a labyrinth of thrash riffs and hulking grooves, the impact only strengthened by guest vocalist Debbie Gough (Heriot) and her gremlin snarls.
By contrast, Soured Ground and Disavowed inject more variety into their all-adrenaline framework. The former sees Middleton flaunt his increasingly common melodic vocals, using them to heroic effect during the chorus’s cries of, “Soon I will carry my idol around my neck!” The hooks on Disavowed, on the other hand, offer the EP’s only spots of breathing room. Their catchiness feels more ominous as it gets sandwiched between onslaughts of hammerhead percussion and rhythm guitar.
Rounded out by the Lamb Of God-esque shoutalong As Above So Below and thrash metal pit-starter No Saviours, The Path is a concise, powerful showcase of Sylosis’ talents. The question remains: how are this band not mainstream-bothering sensations? And the longer we go without an answer, the more insulting it gets.
The Path is out now via Nuclear Blast. Sylosis tour Europe with Fit For An Autopsy, Darkest Hour and Heriot from November to December – see dates below.
Sylosis / Fit For An Autopsy 2024 European tour (with Darkest Hour and Heriot):
Nov 22: London Electric Brixton, UK
Nov 23: Leeds Stylus, UK
Nov 24: Glasgow QMU, UK
Nov 26: Manchester O2 Ritz, UK
Nov 27: Birmingham O2 Institute, UK
Nov 28: Bristol SWX, UK
Nov 30: Nijmegen Doornroosje, Netherlands
Dec 01: Antwerp Kafka Zapp, Belgium
Dec 02: Hamburg Gruenspan, Germany
Dec 03: Gothenburg Pustervik, Sweden
Dec 04: Oslo John Dee, Norway
Dec 05: Stockholm Fryshuset Klubben, Sweden
Dec 07: Helsinki Ääniwalli, Finland
Dec 09: Copenhagen Amager, Denmark
Dec 10: Berlin Hole44, Germany
Dec 11: Warsaw Proxima, Poland
Dec 12: Prague Meetfactory, Czech Republic
Dec 13: Dresden Reithalle, Germany
Dec 14: Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
Dec 15: Vienna Simmcity, Austria
Dec 17: Milan Live Club, Italy
Dec 18: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Dec 19: Munich Backstage, Germany
Dec 20: Karlsruhe Substage, Germany
Dec 21: Cologne Essigfabrik, Germany
