Metal Underground.com

Joining the ranks of those few bands with a front woman who screams instead of sings, Syrebris offers up a well-rounded extreme release on the “Aetheric Dynamics” EP. Technical and progressive, these seven tracks are very strong for an unknown metal band. Although not without some hiccups, “Aetheric Dynamics” is one of those releases that showcases why metal heads should be paying attention to the deep underground of the scene.

The base sound is death metal that’s more on the technical side, but it’s not without soul or emotion, and each track goes through a variety of transitions. A progressive edge is worked into the EP, more prevalent on some songs than others, and coupled with the spacey sounds and themes will bring to mind groups like Cynic, Obscura, or Beyond Creation.

The first half of the release is a head-banging good time, but it really kicks into high gear with “The Current.” An atmospheric and melodic intro piques the interest before the strong bass grooves come out, and there’s a fantastic interplay between the bass and guitar across the entire track. While the prog fans will love all those elements, the song doesn’t leave the death metal fanatics out in the cold either, going into a chaotic frenzy of growls and guitar acrobatics before ending.

For downsides on the release, the production is a bit on the rough side and the EP would definitely benefit from a cleaner sound. Overall, the music is rock solid, but there are also a few parts that are less than satisfying. For instance, the rapid-fire drumming halfway through “Subjective Reality” is overbearing and too chaotic to be effective, while the guitar intro to “Emerald Memory” is underwhelming.

These are relatively minor quibbles for what is otherwise a shining star in the black abyss of the underground metal cosmos, however. Technical/progressive death metal fans need to check this one out, and hopefully Syrebris will have more to offer in the future, perhaps with a little more polish to complete the package.