Sylosis
Edge of the Earth
Label – Nuclear Blast
Release Date – March 11, 2011

Sylosis made ripples with their 2008 Nuclear Blast debut Conclusion of An Age, but these modern UK thrashers are going to make waves with sophomore album Edge of the Earth, set to come out on March 11th. Sylosis play just the kind of modern thrash we like — enough of the old stuff to let you know where their influences lie but with plenty of modern inflection and lots of their own pizzazz — so it’s fitting that they’re worthy of being discussed in the same breath as bands like Revocation and Lazarus A.D.

When Sylosis wrote and recorded Conclusion of An Age in 2007 and 2008 much of the result was rooted in the re-thrash and metalcore bands that were all the rage at the time; still, they managed to funnel their influences into a sound that was uniquely theirs and they created an album that was far better executed than what many of their peers were doing.

I interviewed guitarist Josh Middleton in February of 2009 and he had this to say about the maturation of the band’s sound to that point:

I think because we were so young when we started I kind of wish we’d got to where we are much earlier as it’s been nearly 9 years now, but I guess I’m glad we didn’t get picked up sooner because we’re only just approaching settling on a sound we’re truly happy with.

It’s as if Middleton knew the band’s sound was still in its developing stages, even then. With three more years of experience and perspective to add to their collective maturity, Sylosis are now set to unleash an album that’s going to turn heads. Just one taste of the album in the form of “Empyreal (Part 1)” (streaming here) has me convinced that they’ve settled on something truly original that will catch the ear of many an unsuspecting listener. Expect Edge of the Earth to fully fuck your face off when it’s released on March 11th.

-VN