Straight from Italy, SYK have delivered the first great surprise of 2022, with their third album, “Pyramiden.”
Blast beats and down-tuned 16th notes accompany vocals reminiscent of Bjork, Siouxie Sioux, Melora Creager of Rasputina, plus a touch of Brittney Slayes (Unleash the Archers) or Sabrina Cruz (Seven Kingdoms).

It sounds crazy, unlikely, messy, untenable - - but it works. The down-tuned notes are well-utilized. These deep Ds, Cs, and Bs have become trendy in some Heavy circles, but for SYK, this sound feels fresh and right. You sometimes hear the label, “Djent,” applied to stuff like this, but no one likes that term. And besides, this is something weirder and more avant garde than that. Bands with this sound usually have a yelling guy in a baseball cap on lead or co-lead vox - - but look what’s possible when you instead have a singer with range and dimension! Dalila Kayros delivers a performance of nerve, emotion, vulnerability, rage, and grace; she’s impossible to ignore.
Opening track, “Pyramiden,” clocks in at 10:16 and the album closer, “Cell of the Sun“ is over 8 minutes; both are long songs that don’t feel laborious. The rest of the songs keep it in the 3 to 5 minute range, but still bring the scary, off-kilter thrill of a wild ride that could fly off of the tracks at any moment.
The riff breakdowns are sonically accessible, rhythmically complex. Tangled order, controlled chaos. This is what we look for out at the borders and badlands of the Metal genre. Highlights: Title track, “When the Fire Fell Into Water,” “The Hollow Mother,” “Promethean.”