Even though it can be challenging from a critic's perspective, since it drastically limits my choice of references - I just love it, when the seemingly impossible happens and I to stumble upon a metal band which has a completely singular sound.
Four years ago that happened on the sadly disbanded Cul De Sac stage of Roadburn with the Italians Syk, who now have finally released the successor to their 2016 album "I-Optikon".
Four years ago that happened on the sadly disbanded Cul De Sac stage of Roadburn with the Italians Syk, who now have finally released the successor to their 2016 album "I-Optikon".
SYK - Pyramiden (CD) (2022)
The instrumental part of "Pyramiden" isn't something which lands on my personal menu too often, since its main ingredient is djent. I'm not hating on the genre in general at all, but I also haven't heard too much bands noticably captivating me either. I guess most of the time that one element which makes it click is just missing.
But back to Syk: Around the ultra-heavy Meshuggah grooves there's also stuff happening which could easily feel at home in a context of post (black) metal oder dissonant death metal. But wherever the band goes, that typical low-string attack of the guitars somehow keeps it in the djent pocket, even when it could also be something entirely else. There is actual bass on the recording, but as far as I know live Syk remain a guitar-only band. And as far as I remember their custom-made instruments had somewhere between seven and twelve or whothefuckknows strings. Yeah, they are really going for that low end.
The high end however isn't left out, and that's also where Syk's real super power comes into play with singer (and also solo electronic music recording artist) Dalila Kayros.
I've seen several people compare her voice to Björk, but I guess that's just an idea caused by her singing with an accent and her vocals being bit odd and quirky and mixed very prominently into the foreground. But as soon as you're listening to the seven tracks of the albums with that comparison in mind, you'll realize that not only her tone is completey different, but apart from a handful of loosely related phrasings and harmonies, there are no actual björkisms to be found on "Pyramiden".
No, if we're going for handbook comparisons, Julie Christmas would be one that's far more applicable. My closest approximations however, which also work in regards of the relationship between vocals and music, are two rather obscure bands and their respective singers from the early 1990s:
Up to this day noone has ever pulled off to copy that singular blend of doom and prog metal Confessor from North Carolina presented on their 1991 debut "Condemned". It was like Black Sabbath merged with insanely garbled Watchtower mindfuckery. And on top of that those sometimes almost androgynous vocals of Scott Jeffreys made this record widely rejected, beloved and one of a kind.
In the same year Hamburg, Germany witnessed the debut of the progressive thrash metal band Megace, just like Holy Moses one of the very rare groups in the genre with a female singer. Beyond her sick harsh vocal side, Melanie Bock also went for melodies and harmonies.
Both bands combined a very prog, technical manifestaion of their respective metal genre with an unusual vocal style, which resulted in something both times very evocative and unique, yet of the same spirit, which now thirty years later is carried on by Syk in their post djent - or whatever you want to call the style.
Personally I don't care about the categorization. The ideas and performances on "Pyramiden" are what matters. And those are just stellar. A phenomenal album, which was definitely worth the long wait!
But back to Syk: Around the ultra-heavy Meshuggah grooves there's also stuff happening which could easily feel at home in a context of post (black) metal oder dissonant death metal. But wherever the band goes, that typical low-string attack of the guitars somehow keeps it in the djent pocket, even when it could also be something entirely else. There is actual bass on the recording, but as far as I know live Syk remain a guitar-only band. And as far as I remember their custom-made instruments had somewhere between seven and twelve or whothefuckknows strings. Yeah, they are really going for that low end.
The high end however isn't left out, and that's also where Syk's real super power comes into play with singer (and also solo electronic music recording artist) Dalila Kayros.
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| Syk live at Roadburn 2018 |
No, if we're going for handbook comparisons, Julie Christmas would be one that's far more applicable. My closest approximations however, which also work in regards of the relationship between vocals and music, are two rather obscure bands and their respective singers from the early 1990s:
 |
| Syk live at Roadburn 2018 |
In the same year Hamburg, Germany witnessed the debut of the progressive thrash metal band Megace, just like Holy Moses one of the very rare groups in the genre with a female singer. Beyond her sick harsh vocal side, Melanie Bock also went for melodies and harmonies.
Both bands combined a very prog, technical manifestaion of their respective metal genre with an unusual vocal style, which resulted in something both times very evocative and unique, yet of the same spirit, which now thirty years later is carried on by Syk in their post djent - or whatever you want to call the style.
Personally I don't care about the categorization. The ideas and performances on "Pyramiden" are what matters. And those are just stellar. A phenomenal album, which was definitely worth the long wait!
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