Written: 11th January 2025
Formed in Brighton in 2022, metal quartet Sypha – who name Avenged Sevenfold and Deftones, to Halestorm and Blink 182 as influences - are steadily building a loyal following. Having previously released two of the three songs here, the band are looking forward to completing the trio with new song The Afterparty when EP Borderland is unveiled on 24th January.
Opening track Dirty Floor signals a slight change in style for Sypha, one which has brought even more biting hooks and driving riffs to their sound. Along with an excellent performance from vocalist Alicia Pillling, Dirty Floor could be the perfect song to attract fans to the band’s cause. With a thoughtful use of dynamic shifts, the band have produced an intensely catchy track that will, without doubt, go down extremely well in the live environment. Lyrically, the track is an investigation into emotional and psychological entrapment. The recurring motif of being consumed and hollowed out underscores a deep sense of defeat and the struggle to retains one’s sense of self. Can’t determine what is real / Through my degrading mental health / Locked up without a key I sit and cry / Because I can’t escape myself.
Limbo (See You On The Other Side) is an altogether more intense offering both in terms of tempo and riffage. Alicia Pilling remarks, “Limbo highlights our evolved dark, metal sound. Both lyrically and visually inspired by Manga series Alice in Borderland, it explores the twisted realm between life and death.” While the band certainly embrace their metallic leanings here, there is still a strong emphasis on melody which melds with the forceful staccato riffs from Alfred Atkins. With a grittier and sharper edge, Limbo is another track that is seemingly purpose-built for a sing-along during a concert. Won’t you save me from myself / So I don’t burn into the ground / Before the lights start to go out / Pull your fortune, now, head South / See you on the other side.
Final track The Afterparty is a dark and defiant ode to embracing one’s own brokenness and finding a sense of identity and community in the margins of society. The fun’s not over, cold / I crawl out from my grave / You gave up how to save me / You think that this will change me / But I feel invincible. In places, The Afterparty is the heaviest track on the EP, but once again, it retains its ability to ensnare the listener with insistent hooks and another alluring vocal from Alicia Pilling. Each track on Borderland has a memorable chorus and The Afterparty is no exception; Sypha are becoming more adept at deploying these to their advantage both in terms of their placements in songs and their overall appeal.
On Borderland, Sypha have taken a bold step forward. Bassist Will Cheesman and drummer James Anthony combine wonderfully throughout the EP, with Anthony making sensible use of dynamics during Pilling's different vocal styles – from beautifully melodic to powerful growling. Sypha make irresistible use of their ability to write some truly catchy hooks and not overcomplicate their music. Part melodic tinged metal(core) and part hard rock, they present as an interesting amalgamation of Infected Rain, Architects and the songwriting sensibilities of bands such as Within Temptation or Delain (at least when Charlotte Wessels was the vocalist). With a host of festival appearances scheduled for 2025 including Hammerdown, Breaking Bands, and more, and with a full UK tour on the horizon, this year promises to be a defining one for the quartet.
Borderland is released on 24th January 2024.
Sypha online
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