Syrens

Upon listening to them we saw a creative fuse of noisy grind, precise progressive melodies, and some amazing gutteral screams. For spontaneity track after track, this is an album worth buying. - Alisha Turrull

Score - 5/5

Everything is bigger in Texas, the lonestar states own Syrens create larger than life progressive melodies that fly at you in all directions like a pissed off swarm of bees. Syrens latest self titled effort was made available to the masses on April 7th on Cavity Records. Whether it is slow progressive melodies or fast paced grind, Syrens presents a real in your face sound without the typical bullshit. With main vocals spewing from the mouth of Terrance Delaney, alongside the crunchy technical play of guitarist Bryce Lucien and bassist Chance Harris, all to the sporadic beatdown delivered by drummer Dustin Weaver. With the introductions out of the way, let me dive into this six track ep.

Holy Shit, I was not expecting the fast paced assault that proceeded after pressing play. The screeching guitars, powerful drums, and the bomb shrapnel explosion of Terrance’s vocals knocked me straight on my ass. With complex rhythms and a sound unlike the barrage of core bands that have been plaguing stereos. How fitting “The People Vs. Motherwolf,” a commentary on the big business that has taken over music as an art form and used bands for corporate gain. Not to mention some killer riffs yet again. Leading into a slower down tempo track entitled “Metamorphosis,” and maybe I am becoming bias but damn these lyrics are incredible, “I’m tired of living in circles. I’m tired of living with this hate. Forgive Me.” Also my favorite track “May Armageddon Reign In These Hands,” challenging relgion while posing the ultimatum of being “the soundtrack” of the apocalypse, what is not to love.

Social commentaries over soundtracks that take the best aspects of hardcore, metalcore, and grind, blended together to create a symphony that is so different from what you’ve heard in the past, yet has a feel that you have known it for ages; is simply the best way to describe Syrens. This self titled is EP is flawless in my eyes, perhaps its because I never heard the band prior to this, but Syrens produces a sound that has a fresh feel, that will draw listeners in they just need a second of your time for you to open your ears. So may I suggest, give in and indulge you wont be disappointed I sure as hell wasn’t. The cd will only set you back six bucks, but it is six dollars well spent, so don’t waste anymore time pick it up and let Syrens do the rest of the work. Pick it up here, you won’t regret it. - Editors Pick

There's only three bands that I've gotten this stoked on in the past ten years and that's Daughters, Coalesce, and these guys" - Spitfire

Syrens debut self-titled EP opens up with, “Flesh and Honey�, a hardcore blend with elements of grind, metal, and screamo. The former giving an interesting take on where the genre is going. The layered vocals that present themselves towards the latter end of the track give what is generally a bland category of music a unique perspective and something to look forward too as the album progresses. “The People vs Mother Wolf�, illustrates itself with off-key guitarwork building up the mood; while ending in a tumultuous breakdown. Song structure, patterns, and timing are all very reminiscent of The Jonbenet but in a heavier form.

Moving into the thick of the album, “Metamorphosis�, the tempo slows down quite a bit; with drawn out cacophonous chords and drumworking setting the mood. The lyrics and vocals have a lethargic, yet oxymoronically energizing aura about them. The instruments and time signatures are definitely the theme of “Equality 7-2521,� at the same time the vocals seem to drudge on the mood of shoegaze-categorized bands.

Oh, Sleeper because an obvious comparison as the album moves into “May Armageddon Reign In These Hands.� Flushing out the finale, “Poison Begat Poison�, the theme of breaks and breakdowns, has a very well-comprised summarization of the album as a whole. The final track also does well to lay out a significant ending, and provide a provoking setting for future work.

To give a brief conclusion, the album consists of a blend of quickriff grind, sludgerock, classic hardcore and much more. The genre crossovers and diversification definitely give Syrens their own feel, and something that should be given a listen to any fan of hardcore to any degree.

-8/10 - Review

"The band mixes all the right elements of Botch, The Minor Times, and The Ocean for a brutal assault of in your face metal" - Metalunderground.com

Score - 8/10

Like disco, rockabilly, polka, and most other lifestyle choices couched in musical names and excuses, hardcore harbors myriad prohibitions - all of which pretty much boil down to "don't let anything get not austere enough." Any hint of ornamentation - say longer hair or songs - almost inevitably raises questions of loyalty among trueness enforcement hobbyists. Guitar solos often equal treason.
'Hence, huge hunks of the genre flutter outside of time like Peter Pan, conceptually blindfolded andn stuck in perpetual adolescence. Bands with expanding horizons and pallettes tend to either end up with a "post" tag, per These Arms Are Snakes, or drift, Mono style, into one or more altogether different realms. While Syrens' debut EP offers zero intel on which direction [if either] they'll take, the Dallas based progressive hardcore prodigies are clearly outward bound.
'Guitarist Bryce Lucien leads the expedition - front loading "The People Vs Motherwolf"'s parallel realities with powered-obsidian dissonance, slipping elegant post-rock flourishes into "Metamorphosis"' glacial fissures, and, whenever opportunity knocks, enriching tracks with concise, eloquent solos, and/or gestures ported from shoegaze and black metal, as on majestic apocalypse lament "Poison Begat Poison" - but the rest of the band lacks neither skills nor volition. Encompassing everything from jazz to sludge, drummer Dustin Weaver and bassist Chance Harris' expansive vocabularies make their presence felt throughout, and it's vocalist Terrence Delaney - already a master screamer situated well beyond hardcore's conventionalized gesture set - who holds the key to a very promising band's future if his brief forays into cleanliness are any indication. - Rod Smith

Score - 4/5

Syrens' Cavity Records debut self titled EP is, to put it simply, psychotic. They mix influences from all over the heavy spectrum including their fusions of many death-esque breakdowns with the techincality and pure intensity of grindcore.

There are moments where you scream "grindcore!," such as the beginning of the standout track "May Armageddon Reign In These Hands" which opens with rolling riffs from both the drummer and guitarist and grind-esque screaming from the vocalist Terrance Delaney. However, in other places, particularly the collossal breakdown in "Metamophasis," you hear moments that make even the eerie and heavy as hell breakdowns of See You Next Tuesday's Intervals pale in comparison (which is really the only area where these two bands are comparable). Not only that, but they consistently take their sound through ups and lows. For example, the vicious first half of "Poison Begat Poison" leads into the second half that's teeming with atmosphere and much lighter vocals than present throughout the rest of the EP.

Syrens isn't going to do anything you've never heard before, but they are going to lump it all together and make it flow in a way you haven't. They transition between massive breakdowns, unfathomably heavy, yet short instrumental breaks and Delaney's insane screaming more smoothly than most bands are capable of in this genre. Both the drummer, Dustin Weaver, and guitarist, Bryce Lucien, are technically skilled, and their arrangements are more than impressive. Lucien's skill is especially noticeable since he's more capable alone than most bands that utilize a dual guitar approach.

Syrens' debut EP has already wow'ed plenty of people in the right places. I have a feeling that with their knack for writing these chaotic pieces combining all of the best parts of heavier genres they'll have no problem catching on in quite a few circles (pit or otherwise). Of course, Syrens puts it into words better than I ever could in Armageddon, with Delaney screaming: "The end is near, and we are the soundtrack." And that's exactly how it plays - like the soundtrack to armageddon: heavy, chaotic, somber, and unstoppable. - Andrew Klatzke

I was only half right when I imagined how Syrens would sound like. Since I am familiar with some of the Cavity releases I was expecting the exact expanding sounds that are featured here. Post rock? Sure thing. Ups and downs? Couldn’t live without ‘em. There is plenty of that here. Expansion and retraction? Double check and even tripled? Moments of heaviness counterbalanced by nuanced calm? Yeah, kinda.

But on another plane Syrens are more of a technical hardcore band. Especially because the vocalist has one of those blistering rawer than raw and in the flesh throat out approaches. And yeah, he is the most monotonous aspect of this excellent band. He of the name Terrance Delaney is a man of one feeling, and that’s somewhere between pained and angered, which either way go the negative way. Listening to him will leave your skin scratched.

Could we call Syrens a post hardcore band? Yes. Definitely. But that’s just irrelevant.

Listening to these songs will very likely make your day. Syrens have recorded a pretty impressive EP. It takes some digging to find the gold though. Simple perusing just won’t cut it. Middle cut “Metamorphosis” is great. Five minutes of balanced guitars constantly hopping between heaviness and not so heavy heaviness. But I’ve heard about a dozen cuts that sound like it. That’s like post rock at its most formulaic. But check “The People vs the Mother Wolf” and try not to be impressed by Syrens’ pummeling force, jaw dropping mathematical construction and jazzed up meddling.

“May Armageddon Reign in These Hands” is ridiculously good. The Dillinger Escape Plan haven’t sounded this alive for like a decade and leave it to these four Texans to rip the scene a new one. It’s four minutes of hysteria. - Review

Arrhythmic metalcore remniscent of The Chariot, rife with time signature changes, and honest songwriting. If they snuck on to the Scream The Prayer tour, nobody would notice a drop in quality - their sound is that tight. - Pick of the Litter

Artist: Syrens
Album: Syrens
Genre: Grindcore/Hardcore with Heart
Label: Cavity

It seems with the summer coming we tend to get flooded with commercial rap and pop punk records. I’ve not been complaining about this one bit as 2009 has had a lot of solid records to offer, but I have noticed a true lack of remarkable heavy music on the scene. However, that all changed the day I met Syrens and their brand new self titled release.

Starting as if they were making the soundtrack to the barrel of a smoking gun during wartime, “Flesh and Honey,” showcases the band’s truly ridiculous side. This track, heavily reminiscent of anything from See You Next Tuesday meets Heavy Heavy Low Low lasts less than two minutes, but let’s you know the band came to play - LOUD. “The People Vs. The Motherwold,” the second track, is where we really get to sink our teeth in Syrens. We have the heavy elements from earlier, but with a twist melodic jam and Every Time I like rockcore music. It builds this foundation that the rest of the record seems to sit on throughout the duration of the record - almost as if the band is raising the bar with each sequential track. “Metamorphosis,” the third and possibly most experimental track on the record, truly defines an epic song, in any genre. If you have any doubt of the originality of this genre, look no further than right here.

The heavy factor hits a new high on the insanely compelling, “Equality 7-2521.” Through Chariot like vocals and a straight onslaught of guitars and thunderous drums, Syrens takes us into the eye of a hurricane of grindcore and and let’s us watch the insanity. This is only pushed to the next level with the apocalyptic, “May Armageddon Reign In These Hands Now.” Seriously, between these two songs, we have an act that some albums fail to create. The songs flow without sounding repetitious and just lave you wanting more.

Then, to close the record, the band that has already proven to be more than just another grindcore/hardcore act, takes it one step farther. “Poison Begat Poison:,” is a grandiose display of seemingly every element of heavy music. It’s the band’s opus and it works amazingly well.

I entered Syrens’ self titled release with caution as the past few months have given us our fair share of terrible grindcore acts, but I can say full heartedly, I left the record with a smile. By mixing elements of seemingly every genre of heavy music and great vocals/lyrics, Syrens has managed to create and a remarkable and much needed golden goose for the world of heavy music. This is the kind of record that restores your faith in a scene. It’s great.

Score: 8.5/10
- James