Album Review: Sylosis - 'Dormant Heart'

14 January 2015 | 10:52 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

It's heavy and pissed off at the world while still giving us beautiful melodies and insane solos.

Touring with bands such as Lamb of God and Trivium, Sylosis have managed to make quite a name within the very genre they absorb their influence from. Along with an extremely well received 2012 release, Sylosis have been reeling in praise with their fusion of death metal and thrash. With yet another line up change, Sylosis are back, heavier and angrier than ever with new album, ‘Dormant Heart.’

‘Where The Wolves Come to Die’ starts the album off with chugging guitars before giving us some crafted guitar riffs and more melodic sounds. It’s a slower start to the record but the guttural vocals ensure all is still given a menacing edge. Thrown into ‘Victims and Pawns,’ a much faster moment, you can feel the anger radiating through it. The speed of the song fluctuates but all throughout there is a dynamic, angry undertone that is present throughout the entire album.

The title track has a beautiful guitar intro before it takes things up a notch with meaty, powerful instrumentals. The blast beat styled drums work well and contain a prominent metal front. Sylosis have quite a few memorable guitar solos throughout and the aforementioned track provides one of the favourites, allowing the song to once again change up its pace.

Equally, the full-length provides some unique songs and we see that Sylosis are not afraid to mix things up a bit. A refreshing trait - particularly for a metal band. Closing track, ‘Quiescent,’ is one of the slowest tracks and is different from what preceded it. We get to see a hint of the acoustic Sylosis and some clean vocals that are extremely peaceful and resonating. This track is seriously a standout beauty.

‘Dormant Heart’ is an album with so many different sounds and emotions, it takes you on a journey and keeps you hooked at every moment. It is largely a heavy and angry album, but don’t be put off by any death metal cliches, these guys know how to experiment and make a record that excels.

'Dormant Heart' is an assertive album, pissed off at the world and with this comes the brutal, menacing elements of death and thrash metal combined. With fast riffs and guttural vocals, the viciousness of the album is not lost. However, we get to see a slower and more beautiful side to Sylosis' sound that makes this offering special and completely captivating.

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1. Where the Wolves Come to Die

2. Victims and Pawns

3. Dormant Heart

4. To Build a Tomb

5. Overthrown

6. Leech

7. Servitude

8. Indoctrinated

9. Harm

10. Mercy

11. Callous Souls

12. Quiescent