2014 is now behind us and with that in mind, we at Musical
Chairs, asked our resident metal magister to cast his scrying eyes forward.
Fresh from his top 20 albums of the year, Gary Lee takes a look at Mercy, the single by Sylosis, in anticipation
of the new album Dormant Heart, to be
released January 12th in the UK, January 16th worldwide.
Hailing from Reading England and residing on Nuclear Blast Sylosis are getting ready to kick off their 2015 with a new album. The album in question Dormant Heart is 4th full length studio album for the band who have spent their career with Nuclear Blast. However, while I will be reviewing the album when it drops we are not here for that yet, we are here for the single.
Mercy is the first single release from this album, and was released in October 2014, with Leech following in November, which I will also cover at a later date. I find that there is one word that springs to mind whenever I listen to Mercy, simply "safe." However, I should stress that this is not a bad thing. Front man Josh Middleton who has become known for his Kirk Hammet like riffs continues to deliver in that vein with riffs that really roll and chug along. The chorus contains clean vocal singing that has become a strength of Sylosis, which has a touch of Trivium's Matt Heafy about them. The bass and drums combine to create a strong rhythmic section that really underpins this track, giving it a head-nod inducing groove carrying the listen through the track that clocks in at just under 5 minutes.
Although, this single as I said is safe-it offers nothing new or exciting and almost feels like a track that could have been put out "pre decade." It could be argued that, that was the point, take no risks on the single create something that ticks boxes, without dividing fans of the band or genre and hope to generate sales for the album where the deeper cuts will do the talking. Indeed Sylosis have shown before that they are capable of more with tracks like Last Remaining Light and Oath of Silence from the Conclusion of an Age. (2008)
To sum up, this single gives me no cause for concern, from this track I can see no reason why Dormant Heart will not be a good offering. Therefore, it stands to reason that with nothing to cause woe, I have all the reason to hope for a stunning outing and a great start to 2015's metal releases.
Dormant Heart is available for pre-order now
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