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I would be taking advantage of you readers if I didn't start out this review by telling you guys how big a fan of Sylosis I am. I've been in love with the band since Edge of the Earth, which also happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time.
Dormant Heart is Sylosis' approach to a more stripped and simplified, heavy experience, filled with doom and grief. Hearing this, I assumed the band would be filling the album with atmospheric qualities and melody to represent the sorrow. I was wrong. This album has the least amount of melodic passages and clean vocal segments to date. Personally, I loved that about Sylosis the most; the way they bombarded you with amazingly heavy and intricate riffage, to booming inverted power chords, and suddenly all the heaviness stopped and some angelic melody would shine through and hit you so hard because you weren't expecting it. This was the Sylosis I was expecting for this release, so it took me a few listens to really get into the album because I was expecting something else.
Let me get this straight with you right now: I love the album. Despite my qualms, it's still my favorite band making really good music.
The simplicity in songwriting and straightforward nature of the album is definitely a first for Sylosis, whose songs usually pass the 5-6 minute mark.
On this album, most songs are to the point and heavy. The solos are plentiful and obviously perfection. Anyone who has listened to this band is aware of how talented Josh Middleton is when it comes to writing. If you are into Sylosis more for their heaviness than for their melody, this album is what you're looking for. Middleton's screams have come so far, and his pitched screams are impressive to say the least. The chorus of leech is one of the best examples of his prowess. It is even more impressive live if you picked up the physical edition of the album, which contains a live dvd of 4 of their songs.
So what do I love about the album?
-Where the Wolves Come To Die immediately grabs you and brings you in, without the length of Out from Below or Procession; I like this because even though I liked their old method of introducing listeners to the album, this idea changes up the formula.
-Middleton's pitched screams add so much to the music. The emotion that you get from them is impressive.
-Middleton's clean vocals are fantastic, both on the album and live. He has the kind of voice that goes so well with the band's music that it almost seems like fate was pulling some strings. I hate when bands include clean vocals just because, but Middleton's vocals have never overstayed their welcome, and even shape the identity of the band.
-The solos are fantastic, and on Harm, Bailey and Middleton even harmonize a sweep which sounds so flippin' tight.
-The album explores a sound that retains the Sylosis charm, but is very different from the longer and more progressive sounding Monolith and Edge of the Earth.
-Songs like Indoctrinated and Harm have beautiful, somber intros
-The mixing sounds much more "live" than the past 2 albums, which is exactly what it needed for the idea of Dormant Heart to work.
-Quiescent shows that the band isn't afraid to make the music they want. Josh has the distinct and beautifully somber cleans to make this work.
-This is the band's heaviest album to date. This doesn't make it better, as I just care about good songwriting, but the brutalness and how the solos play so well off the extremely heavy nature of songs like overthrown really creates a moshing atmosphere.
My only con would be personal preference. I wished the band included a few more melodic passages with clean vocal lines. Not including Quiescent, this album only has 3 moments of clean vocals. Harm, despite having my favorite use, only uses 2 words cleanly. The band already uses cleans smartly and scarcely, but when I thought doom, I thought a few more segments like harm, overthrown, or mercy would appear. I like that Middleton created Quiescent as a sort of balance to the lack of quiet, melodic segments on the rest of the album.
Another qualm is Pillars Erode being a bonus track. I feel that this would have been a perfect middle of the album track and wish it wasn't pushed as a B-side. The use of heavy, slow guitars, and low and mourning vocals makes for a doomy cocktail. I'm glad it exists, as it's a fantastic song, and no less in quality than the album.
The album is heavy and unforgiving. The album is moshy. The album is a great step for the band that is Sylosis. In an interview with Middleton, he claimed now that the band found its sound, each album starting with Dormant Heart can really become anything they want it to be. With 1 foot in the roots of the band, and the other stepping into territory they have yet to do, Middleton is confident this is only the beginning of where the band will go. I have to agree.
This album gets double devil horns and a 5/5.
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