Sylosis

Sylosis is a metal group from Reading, United Kingdom, active since 2000. The current lineup includes Josh Middleton, Carl Parnell, Ali Richardson, Alex Bailey, Conor Marshall and ATTLAES. Over its career, the band moves through death metal, metalcore, progressive metal and thrash metal, and its work also includes melodic death metal and melodic metalcore.

Formation and early releases

The band forms in late 2000 while its members are still at school, with Josh Middleton as the original driving force. It begins as a group of young musicians focused mainly on old-school thrash and death metal. Its name has no specific meaning and is one of the band names they come up with randomly when they are younger.

Sylosis releases its first two EPs, Casting Shadows and The Supreme Oppressor, on In at the Deep End Records. The original lineup does not remain intact: after recording the debut album, guitarist Gurneet Ahluwalia leaves to rejoin Viatrophy, another Reading band, and former guitarist Alex Bailey joins in his place.

Debut album and Nuclear Blast

In November 2007, the band receives an approach from Nuclear Blast and signs with the label shortly afterwards. Its debut album, Conclusion of an Age, is released in 2008. The record is not generally described as a concept album; its lyrics deal with the end of the human race and nature reclaiming the earth. The album artwork presents a world inhabited by humans, and the writing is not based on religious ideas.

Edge of the Earth, Monolith and touring

Sylosis replaces Rise to Remain on the UK leg of As I Lay Dying's European tour in 2010. The band records its second full-length album, Edge of the Earth, in 2010 and releases it in March 2011. It then records Monolith with Romesh Dodangoda at Monnow Valley Studio in Wales, with the album appearing in 2012 through Nuclear Blast Records.

During this period, Sylosis tours widely, including dates with The Black Dahlia Murder, Cephalic Carnage, Psycroptic, Hellyeah, In Flames and Lamb of God. It also supports Killswitch Engage in Europe in 2013 and is announced for a North American tour with Trivium and DevilDriver, with After the Burial also on the bill. The band later withdraws from those shows after members are involved in an RV accident.

Dormant Heart, lineup change and hiatus

After recovering from injuries, the band tours the UK and Europe as main support to DevilDriver with Bleed from Within. Drummer Rob Callard is unable to play on that tour because of other commitments, and Ali Richardson fills in before later becoming the permanent drummer in 2014, after Callard steps down following nine years in the band.

Sylosis announces Dormant Heart in late 2014 and releases it in January 2015 through Nuclear Blast Records. The band tours Europe with Wovenwar and appears at festivals including Graspop Metal Meeting and Hellfest. In 2016, Sylosis goes on hiatus while Josh Middleton fills in for Architects on guitar after the death of Tom Searle; Middleton later joins Architects as an official member while remaining in Sylosis.

Return, Cycle of Suffering and later material

Middleton confirms in 2019 that Sylosis remains active, and the band returns from hiatus around the release of Cycle of Suffering in 2020. The album is preceded by the single and video for “I Sever”. In support of the record, Sylosis appears on Trivium's streamed A Light or a Distant Mirror concert at Full Sail University.

The band then releases “Worship Decay”, “Immovable Stone” and “Heavy is the Crown”, which mark a shift towards a more mainstream modern metalcore sound. This direction continues on A Sign of Things to Come, released in 2023 and described as the band's sixth studio album. The singles “Deadwood”, “Poison for the Lost” and “A Sign of Things to Come” precede it, and the album also includes songs such as “Poison for the Lost” and “A Godless Throne” that retain more of the earlier thrash, melodic death metal and metalcore approach. The record also uses soft rock and electronic elements, and “Absent” is later issued as a single with a techno remix by Zetra.

Style

Sylosis begins with a blend of thrash metal and death metal, then incorporates melodic death metal and metalcore into a more cohesive style. Later releases lean further towards modern metalcore, with comparisons drawn to Middleton's work in Architects. Across its catalogue, the band remains associated with metal, thrash metal, death metal, metalcore and progressive metal.