Sylosis - Cycles of Suffering to A Sign of Things To Come

Yes, this is kind of two album reviews in one, but there's a couple of key differences between the two records that I just wanted to point out along the way. So I am going to review them together to take note of them. No, neither are bad, and I am not bashing either record in the least.

My history with Sylosis is quite a long one. Back in the day, I was learning to play guitar and some of my favorite bands at the time were Trivium, Amon Amarth, and Dark Tranquillity, and a lot of my friends were into other metalcore acts such as Polaris, Bullet for My Valentine, and As I Lay Dying. Someone introduced me to Conclusion of an Age (their first record) and I was blown away at the guitar work on the album. The album didn't however, really stick for all that long, but some of the riffs did. In 2011, they dropped what still is, to this probably my favorite, or top two favorite albums of all time; Edge of the Earth.

I'd never quite heard anything like that before. I remember hearing the single Empyreal with the sweep picking, new aggressive vocals, and just general heavier in nature than what I was currently listening to. At the time as well by this point, Soilwork had become my favorite band. You might ask - "how is this heavier than something like Amon Amarth or Soilwork?" - Look, I don't know. It just felt heavier.

Fast forward, I liked their next two records, and there are some killer songs on each album... but I could make one album of the songs I don't skip out of the two. Then 2020 hits, and now we're at where we need to be when Cycles of Suffering drops, right before the pandemic.

Sylosis musically, while they have sort of experimented over the years, can still to this day be described in the same manner for any of the albums. It isn't like calling them a melodically driven thrash metal band doesn't apply to all their records in general. In my humble opinion, the things that make each album different are the tone, lyrical themes, and songwriting that creates a unique experience each album. Plus, even though they tend to sound very similar, there's always a few little surprises and developments in each album.

Let's be pretty honest here; you don't end up coming to a Sylosis record because a hooky chorus or some extraordinarily extreme genre of metal or some deathcore acrobatic vocals... no, you come for the guitar work. It is the main driver of ALL of their music in general. While they do have songs that aren't necessarily guitar driven, guitar still plays such a major part in what keeps the song interesting that it can't be ignored.

So here's where I do hit a little bit of key differences between the two albums we're going to talk about. Cycles of Suffering is the Sylosis I heard back in 2011, just more adult, more suffering, and darker in tonality. When I heard I Sever, Empty Prophets, and Calcified, for the first time in a long time, I felt compelled to pick up the guitar again and learn someone else's songs (I'd been writing my own forever, but didn't really pick up much of anyone else's stuff in years at that point). Josh Middleton is the mastermind behind the album - the lead guitarist, main songwriter, and vocalist. I was hard into this album for years, and then in 2023, they dropped A Sign of Things to Come. It was certainly a Sylosis album, no question, it had all of what you'd expect to hear style wise... but there is a little something missing from the album - which is the insanity of the guitar. They decided to take a step back and focus on the flow of the songs, which is nice, but it's not really what I was looking for out of them. It still sounds like Sylosis, it still feels like Sylosis, but they went a little simpler on A Sign of Things to Come. It is by no means a bad thing, it's just not necessarily what I was looking for.

If you are coming into Sylosis for bass and drums, you aren't going to get anything crazy, but what you do get is musicianship that knows how to play for the song, which sometimes is hard to find in metal. These instruments play to help the songs tighten, loosen, shift focus, and really open up when they need to. Both these albums are no exception to the rest of the discography.

Vocals always consistently grow with each record. Specifically around the way Josh is able to pitch shift his screams and sing. It gets a little better every record, but A Sign of Things to Come is noticeably different; because it improved a lot. All of the vocals are cleaner, more aggressive, and his clean singing is on point. The other thing that happened to level up on A Sign of Things to Come is the production. It's insanely punchy, crisp, and sounds very clear. Usually Sylosis records have a sense of really focusing on the guitar work, and while everything else fits, when you put it next to A Sign of Things to Come, it's quite different.

One of the things for many years that I've loved about Josh's approach to lyrics is where he ends up planting them in songs, and how sort of buried they are in feeling and emotion, tied around very loosely described images. They tended to hit pretty hard though when you started to catch them. Cycles is on that same plane.

Take Invidia for example with lines like this -

And we've forgotten, it seems
Everyone's alone and everyone bleeds
We're haunted by the thoughts more than the toil

Tired of being alone
And the fingers you've worn to the bone
Are feeble yet clawing for more
Yet you wish it all away

There's a lot of pretty intense lines like this across the album. The songs tend to focus on different forms of suffering - grief, work, hopelessness, absence, depression, anger.

Shifting gears into Signs, there was a bit of a noticeable difference, not in that what he wrote about was any different, though it is a little bit, but around how he wrote for the songs.

Face down in the dirt again
What's to gain from being the last one standing?
Cut the limb and not the tourniquet
So now it's understood, we remove the deadwood

It's a little more direct, a little more focused, and in my opinion, a little more on the nose. Nothing wrong with that, but I personally prefer the confusion a little bit more. It does not however take away from the impact of the record at all. In fact lyrics become a little more forefront, which is kind of cool.

Hiding inside your own skin
And now you're so absorbed
Are you even listening?
Words fallen on deaf ears
Eye for an eye
But you're the only one who's been left blind

One really strange addition to the record was this almost anti-religious feel to it. A lot of the lyrics fall into almost a religious vein, and at first I thought it was just for effect, but they also included track names like Judas and A Godless Throne, which in that regard puts songs like Eye for An Eye, Poison for the Lost, and Thorns in a much different light. Depending on your cup of tea, take what you will from that.

A side rant - Personally, it's a little bit of a turn off. Sure, they've had lyrics in the past that maybe talk about struggle and godlessness that could be considered outside of a religious vein, but when you start putting this kind of stuff in your songs, it's as much a divide as putting politics in your music, at least for me (and that goes for either side of the coin here). I prefer lyrics that have direct relation to struggle, sometimes that can cross the "faith" line, but most of the time it's just about all of us trying to live our dang lives. Again, it's just my preference. Honestly, it didn't bother me enough not to like the album though, at least for lyrics alone. Maybe it's your cup of tea, that's all fine and dandy!

Cycles of Suffering for me is up there with Edge of the Earth. I was not expecting the album to go as hard as it did. So many goosebumps and chills through the album, it just really connected on all sorts of levels. In 2020 as well, I was going through a ton of struggle in life (outside of the pandemic), and this album just so happened to hit at the right time.

A Sign of Things to Come was less an emotional roller coaster and more about a... "cool factor" that they 100% hit without a doubt. You listen to the record, you hit those grooves and high impact moments and they land every time. Of course, there still is fantastic guitar work, and Josh lets loose on any and every solo on the album. It is definitely a different, yet fresh start to what Sylosis may do in the future.

Even if their next 5 albums absolutely suck, I'll be back every time they release something. Consider me a fanboy, but out of a top 10 list, they own at least 2 spots on it, so they'll get at least an solid attempt from me on every record.

Anyway, both albums are 100% worth your time if you are any type of metalhead that isn't looking for the extreme side of metal.