My first real experience of Sylosis was when I went to see Lamb of God play in Dublin (just two weeks before Randy Blythe’s arrest in Czech Republic) and these guys were the support. Ever the optimist I said I’d check them out and after two songs I knew I was there to stay and that my usual ritual of pre-gig pints was out the window here. To this day I don’t think I’ve ever had such a profound experience with a support band whereby I was completely blown away. You couldn’t take your eyes off these guys. From the song composition to the vocal delivery and guitar dynamics I knew I was going to have a field day listening to everything by Sylosis the next day.

They were touring their second album, The Edge of The Earth at the time so I decided that it was a good place to start. Upon reading up on the history of the band, I was surprised to see that it was the first release to feature guitarist, Josh Middleton on vocals. His performance on this record is outstanding from start to finish. In a scene where vocal styles can really become generic and as a result many bands are barely distinguishable from one another, I felt that these vocals were a breath of fresh air. Starting with a standard setting growl to bring the opening track, Procession , to life the album features some truly memorable vocal moments such as the earth shattering proclamation of “I watch the dead sun burn” in Sands of Time .

The album is relentless for the most part, once the eery intro of Procession makes way for an all out sonic war. The main riff in Sands of Time will be ringing around your head for months, while the sweep picking in Empyreal will have the guitarists among us scratching their heads. The pace rarely lets up and the likes of Altered State of Consciousness and A Serpent’s Tongue will leave the air around you feeling charged. There’s also a bit of variety on here that will keep you interested, and while Empyreal Part 2 serves little purpose, Where The Sky Ends is quite a memorable instrumental piece.

I must say this album is one of the most impressive I’ve heard in the genre in a number of years. It’s a reminder of how sharp and powerful thrash can be while also achieving more of a crushing aspect with the array of extreme vocal styles exhibited. The one downside is that it’s just a bit too long and while I can’t pinpoint exactly what I’d leave off this album with the possible exceptions of Eclipsed and Kingdom of Solitude , I just think these songs aren’t suited to a 70 minute album. Surely, it’s going to be a monumental challenge living up to this but I think these guys hold the future in their hands and could be flag-bearers in years to come.