New Haven based metal band Syfon released their debut EP, New World, on Tuesday, February 14th. It can be found on the major streaming services as well as a digital download on their bandcamp site. Make sure to check them out!
The opening track of the EP is Parasitic, a song that was live debuted at the University of New Haven’s Music Industry Club Battle of the Bands back in November. The track starts with a bang with staccato slams on all instruments, followed by a guitar riff filling the intro. The end of the intro features a gnarly scream, and goes into the verse. This song has the guitar relatively high in the mix to have that riff punch through. Lyrically this song is a call against humans. The chorus features lyrics like; “Corruption of nature, Bipedal flea” and “Incapable of learning a lesson, They won't stop until the earth burns with them.” It’s a great set of lyrics to convey the message, and “Bipedal flea” really pushes the idea of us being parasites to nature.
The following track, Silly Puppy Kisses, takes it down a bit in terms of speed and punch, but keeps everything heavy you might’ve loved from the next track. It begins with a guitar riff, layering drums on after, and then adding a second guitar part. The motif of the guitar part is great in between verses and choruses. During the chorus, it’s like a call and answer because the instrumentals move rhythmically with the vocals, creating a cool feeling of unified motion. The lyrics of the first part of the chorus are “You see the horror, what have you done? You scream, but nowhere to run, Wrapped in entrails, covered in blood, You scream, but nowhere to run.” Because of the unified motion effect of the instrumentals paired with these lyrics, it gives an off putting feeling of being stalked, and chased like in a horror movie, which is an amazing feeling for horror fans!
The penultimate track is the title track, New World. The intro for this one is really nice, because it’s the guitar part slowed down, with the drums coming in just accenting how slow it is. The vocalist lets out two screams, and then there's just suspense as they pause with the amp buzz filling the silence. This doesn’t last long however, because soon after there's a sudden breakdown, with the drums and guitar alternating focus. The drums do a blast beat fill, then back off as the guitar comes in with a trill part, mimicking the same effect a blast beat would do. Around 45 seconds, the original intro riff comes back just sped up, and perfectly blends into the drum/guitar alternation phrase.
The final track, Fredrica, opens with a baseline and a sample for about 10 seconds, until the rest of the instruments come in faster. The song’s verse riff utilizes a lot of pinch harmonics, which are great for creating a high range of tones. The drums accent the guitar part by playing blast beats over the strums during the post chorus. With 30 seconds left, the tempo drops off for a breakdown set up. After it drops, two more lines are sung, followed by a laugh that rings out as the EP ends.
The album is perfect for people who want a new metal band to listen too. Syfon's debut EP sounds professional and is definitely worth a listen! If this sounds like something for you, check out New World on streaming platforms now! If you’d like to support the band further they offer a digital album on their bandcamp here.