Album Reviews : Sydonia – Given to Destroyers

Sydonia hail from Melbourne and are quite well known within both the alternate rock and metal live scene. Many cliche metal fans however may question the bands sound as it borders more towards alternative rock than anything within a heavy metal vein.

Sydonia‘s sound influences a plethora of heavier elements which range from melodic metal to straight forward heavy metal, albeit with a traditional dominant rock sound. Their overall sound encompasses a haunting, melodic and amazingly unique blend which inevitability combined both metal and rock roots into their elaborate mix .

The band have done extremely well for themselves in terms of touring over the last couple of years. Not only were Sydonia hand picked by Slipknot on their last Australian tour, but also got the chance to tour with Slipknot around the United States which is documented on Sydonia‘s latest DVD ‘Through A Lens Is All We See’.

Sydonia have also been lucky enough to tour with such other metal heavy weights as Stone Sour and Lamb of God, respectively. Once you hear Sydonia on disc,  or more to the point see them live on stage you’ll most likely understand why the bands mentioned beforehand picked Sydonia over any other band within their respected genres.

I actually saw Sydonia on tour with the Dead Letter Circus a few weeks back in Melbourne at the Corner Hotel. During that time I wast extremely knowledgeable of Sydonia‘s material. I did however know alittle of their touring history but to be honest I never got the chance to listen to them live. After the first 10 minutes of their live set however I was instantly hooked and knew that these guys had something special to offer.

Thanks to lead singer Dana Roskvist, I was graciously given a copy of Sydonia‘s debut album ‘Given to Destroyers’ to listen too and inevitability review on Metal Obsession. I rarely review albums of such calibure but this is seriously a special album which greatly needs more attention than it’s been given within the live and local scene.

To start things off we are introduced to the opening track Adornment which seems to carry a dominant percussion and drum sound which seems to flow throughout the entire album. This influential percussion sound is even implemented into Sydonia‘s live performances.

Moody riffs and haunting melodies from guitarist Sam Haycroft, carry the song along while lead singer Dana Roskvist,  showcases his harmonising, eerie and beautifully tuned vocals. I Will Not Serve slowly pushes on a more aggressive element with drummer Sean Bailey and bassist Adam Murray greatly pushing the entire song while the usage of guitars is effectively used to add ambiance and volume to the song. The aggression is clearly present on the track but doesn’t completely over shadow the entire song.

No Woman’s Land would have to be considered the albums quintessential radio friendly track. The song carries an abundance of mainstream sounds while still offering more melodies within Dana Roskvist vocal talents. Much of the aggression from the previous track has been pulled back as the song is just a simple and beautiful melodic number. 3 Tongue’s seems to up the ante with the bands entire delivery. Musically speaking it showcases both melodic and heavy progressions which seamlessly send the listener on a roller-coaster ride of varied musical elements.

As you progress further you’ll notice the album taking on a much darker and heavier aspect. Guitar riffs and drums are in a much higher and foreboding clarity while bass-lines are added with an extra haunting twang. Dana Roskvist pushes his vocal talents to the limits which border on a more male dominate scream, something of which resembling Chad Gray of Mudvayne and is clearly present on the track Incoming and Rubber Bullets.

Lonely Soul quickly reverts back to the more mellow and radio friendly esque sound as the song clocks in at nearly 12 minutes . An epic song indeed which showcases the bands musicianship as a whole and finishes off with a beautiful piano outro. As a bonus, the band have added a secret track on the album simply dubbed ‘??? Secret Track ???’ which I saw on my iTunes play-list. This bonus song is a very straight forward moody rock and blues number. A great song to finish off an already amazing album.

At first glance you’ll probably label this album as a generic rock release but if you pay close attention you’ll notice many influences from not only a rock and metal aspect but also a heavily diverse mainstream sound. Think of it as a sound resembling Cog, Karnivool or even The Butterfly Effect but being completely unique and diverse within itself with the addition of more heavier elements.  8.5/10

For fans of: Cog, The Butterfly Effect, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Karnivool

Band: Sydonia
Album: Given to Destroyers
Year: 2006
Genre: Melodic Metal
Label: Self Released
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
www.sydonia.com.au
www.myspace.com/sydonia

Tracklisting:
1. Adornment
2. I Will Not Serve
3. No Woman’s Land <- Reviewer’s choice
4. Sorry
5. Dream Kiss
6. Life in a Cup
7. 3 Tounges
8. Incoming <- Reviewer’s choice
9. Rubber Bullets
10. Lonely Soul
11. Secret Track*