Review: Sylar – “To Whom It May Concern” (Track By Track Breakdown)

Sylar’s debut album drops today. I remember chilling with these guys a year ago when nobody knew of them, and now they’re signed to Razor and Tie Records. Check out our review of the album after the jump.

To Whom It May Concern/Prescription Medication – First off, let’s start with the intro. The nice samples in the beginning are a good opener, and then the oh, so infamous deep robotic voice comes in and says “To Whom It May Concern.” THAT is when it starts getting good. Right after those words, silence. And silence in metalcore either means a song is about to either kick in, go off or a breakdown is about to take place. With Sylar, they nailed the intro cut off to song kick in time ratio. Song kicks in, but as for the rest of the song, I wasn’t so impressed. The vocals are solid, but the instrumentals and samples got a little boring and repetitive.

Mirrors – This being one of the first songs they even released from TWIMC, I knew from the start it was going to be good. The instrumentals were on point, the vocals and vocal patterns (not something that gets a lot of recognition, but deserves a lot more). The only thing I don’t like about this song is when that lovely robot voice comes in and says “Take a look at what you did.” That voice/sound is something I’ve never been a fan of, and Sylar has no shortage of using it throughout the album. Later in the song there is a nice little calm section where it’s a “samples solo” and then the song kicks back in. I, for one am a big fan of when bands have the nice portions where the music calms down just to kick back in.

Two-Timer – This is personally my favorite song from the album. From the ambient textures in the beginning before Jayden starts saying “I’m still here and I never left!” This song has the perfect mixture between Nu-Metal and metalcore. Especially when it comes to the guitar tones. The lyrics are once again on point. This a song where the clean vocal patterns weren’t so great, I think they could’ve been more well executed. The main part that stood out to me was from 2:48 through 3:41 where it had the stereotypical hardcore/metalcore “breakdown intro” where the music slows up, the vocalist screams as loud as possible, then the instrumentals cut out while the vocalist yells a one liner and then the instrumentals kick back in even heavier and in some cases with a nice little bass drop. But the thing is, Sylar NAILED it. Their timing when it comes to when things happen and where they happen in/throughout the song is something I am awfully happy about.

Live/Breathe – Yet another example of the sample intro, with Jayden killing it in the background. I think the samples could be turned down a little so I could actually hear Jayden a little more. But instrumentally, I think this song is where they shine and also where they show a “softer side.” The samples actually turn out to be very melodic, with a kind of melancholy sound, but not to a point where it pushes someone to depression. Then those darn samples come back and Jayden starts with his rapping which I think is a fabulous add on to a band, really showcases the diversity in their talent. Then, those clean vocal patterns come in again and make my heart melt. Then Jayden with his best Eminem from 8 Mile impression before he kills it even more before those samples come BACK in. Overall, I love the song, and don’t want to keep ranting about the samples…BUT WAIT! There is a great breakdown right after all this where Jayden says “Fuck it” RIGHT before he hits everyone with a one liner and then tears it up. Even more love.

Interlude – Nothing special. End of story.

Golden Retreat – Love it. Heavy, finally get to hear Jayden showcase his deeper growls. Something about this song really hits home with me, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. The breakdown at 2:28 that ends up leading into him doing those growls again. Then…my favorite thing Sylar ever did….”GET BACK MOTHERFUCKER, YOU DON’T KNOW ME LIKE THAT, WHAT?!?!” I go hard every single time I hear that. Call it generic or fake or whatever, but it’s sick. 2nd favorite song from the album.

Spitting Image – Nice instrumental intro with that great robot voice again…then Jayden talking…okay…starting to get bored…THEN it kicks in! Instrumentals are superb, vocal patterns on both ends (clean and screams) are on point. Song reminds me of Emmure with the way Jayden’s vocals are, then the guitar tones are very Emmure-esque. Especially towards the middle/end of the song. I love it.

Interlude II – The samples are low, the vocal patterns were actually good.

Never Let It Go – yet again, melodic samples, good guitar tones, but I’m not sure what Jayden think’s he’s doing rapping like Mike from Linkin Park. Vocal patterns could’ve been better, but I like it. Speaking of LP, it’s a very Linkin Park esque song. Nu-metal is coming back. Let’s just say they had me at “nu-metal.”

Substance (ft. Doriano Magliano formerly from Woe, Is Me) – Yet again, starts with samples. But this time, they come out strong with the vocals, going over the sound of the samples and actually complimenting the samples very well, and the samples complimented their voices as well. Then the nice “BLEGH” and whatever that sound Doriano makes. Generic instrumentals, vocals were on point and obviously very pissed off. Then a samples solo, not impressive. Yet another “BLEGH,” and then I was bored and then the last minute of the song happened and I was blown away. Once again, very Emmure-esque guitar tones and sounds….but just because of that last minute, I was overly impressed.

Yours Truly – At this point the instrumentals are starting to sound the same throughout, the screams were very much the same throughout, and the clean vocal patterns is what made this song worth the listen. Lyrics were actually great.

When push comes to shove, Sylar roundhouse kicked me in the face. Overall, this album tore it up, added Nu-Metal elements with modern day metalcore elements. It did make me more anxious to see Sylar on June 1st with For The Fallen Dreams, Obey The Brave, I The Breather, Reflections and two NC locals. A band’s live show can make or break them and the album could mean nothing after a fan sees the band they love live. I hope they’re as good as they are on the album or even better.

Rating (1-5 scale) – 4