Sylosis - The New Flesh

Release Date - 20th February 2026

Label - Nuclear Blast

Words - Tony Bliss

The return of Sylosis as a full-time entity should have been a much bigger deal than it turned out to be. A force for pure hearted, riff-driven good since the turn of the century, mastermind Josh MIddleton’s constantly evolving take on the band's original thrash blueprint has conjured some bona-fide world beating records, although a slightly start-stop career has meant that the likes of 2011’s ‘Edge Of The Earth’ and the sorely overlooked ‘Dormant Heart’ aren't spoken about with the reverence they deserve. WIth a few years of activity under their collective belts, the present-day Sylosis feel like a band thrumming with confidence and forward momentum, and The New Flesh re-confirms that not only have they found their stride, but once again slams down their authority as serious contenders.

Delivering a generous fistful of lethally put together anthems, Sylosis 2.0 already established a fresh outlook with 2023’s A Sign of Things to Come; still dynamically rich but condensed, tightly constructed tunes that attack with a smash ‘n’ grab urgency and heralded a band thoroughly on top of their songwriting game. The New Flesh repeats the trick with maximum efficiency, evidenced immediately as barn-storming opener ‘Beneath The Surface’ boots in the doors like some deadly ‘Trendkill…’ era Pantera come Morbid Angel hybrid, all steroidical groove and tremolo picked venom; and from here the record never loses one ounce of potency as ‘Erased’ injects an A-bomb sized chorus into its darkly mid-paced assault, ‘Lacerations’ turns in something grand and melodic but a with a grim death metal heart powering the riffs, and the title tracks full tilt, classic thrashisms benefit from a gleaming modern metal mixing board oomph and a relentless performance from drummer Ali RIchardson.   

And so it continues. ‘Spared From The Guillotine’ is as destructive as we have heard Sylosis yet, a maddening extreme metal workout that recalls the pristine onslaught of peak Decapitated, and the closing one-two punch of ‘Circle Of Swords’ and ‘Seeds In The RIver’  are both full of so many money-shot riffs and moments of full blooded anthemic gusto that it’s difficult to deny that Sylosis are on the form of their lives. Some may bulk at the inclusion of ballad ‘Everywhere At Once’, however between Josh’s career best vocal and its genuinely heartfelt subject matter those with even the least bit of patience for this sort of thing will know the song is a triumph - even so, The New Flesh is very rarely anything less than sinew wrenchingly metal to the bone, and will surely see the Sylosis ascend to the level of success and acclaim they have so richly deserved for years.

8.5/10