It’s always a good Monday when you get to review a new release by a band like Sylosis.
“Monolith” is the fifth release by the British band who are rapidly and deservingly gaining recognition in the International Metal scene, and for fans who have been waiting anxiously; listening to the single, “A Dying Vine” on repeat. You will NOT be disappointed.
Sylosis waste no time showing off the guitar skills of Josh Middleton and Alex Bailey with the opening song “Out From Below”, which begins with a nice clean guitar melody that gradually turns into the balls to the wall, no BS Sylosis that we all know and love, not to mention a couple killer guitar solos to top it off.
The second track “Fear the world’’ is also a very strongpoint on the album. The song opens with a drum heavy, but simple intro that kicks into a thrash riff that will keep any “Big 4” fan more than satisfied.
Midway through the album is the albums title track, which changes things up a bit with things such as clean guitar during verses, and a Slower (but still heavy tempo). A soft section keeps a lot of variety in there as well.
The ninth track on the album, “All Is Not Well”, will definitely have fans thinking of Megadeth. The song features lyrics that are obviously political (not unlike the songwriting of Dave Mustaine). “All Is Not Well’, also features guitar harmonizations that might remind listeners of bands from the NWOBHM.
The closing track entitled “Enshrined” is four minutes of thrashy goodness, that eventually fades into a ten minute silence. Those who haven’t turned the radio off after said silence will discover a hidden track. The hidden track is, wait for it… acoustic! Acoustic, with all clean vocals! The song is great, and shows off Josh Middletons clean vocals, which have improved quite a lot (not that they were bad).
To sum it all up, “Monolith” is a monster of an album that showcases the bands ability to incorporate elements of thrash, progressive, and death metal into one beautiful sound. Fans of Sylosis will be absolutely floored, and new listeners will be excited to discover all that Sylosis has to offer.
Monolith gets a solid 9.5/10 due to the incredibly long silence before the hidden track.
