Despite the name, SYLOSIS' forthcoming release Dormant Heart is not a peaceful album: It’s about a powerful force unleashing anger against everyday injustice and a sleeping society that lets these things wash over them, which is perfectly highlighted by the band's recently premiered video for the track 'Leech'.
The video made its online debut last week and today sees the release of another tutorial video by frontman Josh, covering the new track. Learn how to play 'Leech' on guitar here:
Although the official video for 'Leech' is animated, the content is not for the faint hearted. Due to the nature of the video, we aren't able to stream it on YouTube - fans can however watch it over on Vimeo.
The video was animated by Oliver Jones of Better Feeling Films in the UK. It took five hours to film the band and story footage and roughly 60 days to animate. Oliver was the only person working on the project, from shooting the live action footage to animating the entire video. The process he used is called 'rotoscoping', which involves tracing over footage, frame by frame. Frontman Josh commented: "Leech is the second single off the new album. I would say the album is probably our heaviest to date but this song showcases a more melodic and stripped back side to what we do. It's a really dark, sinister doomy sounding song and we thought it would be cool to try something a bit different for the video and have it reflect the vibe of the music. We've always wanted to have an animated music video and it allows for a bit more creativity and makes it stand out."
Speaking about the album Josh states: “It's the most pissed-off, aggressive and intense album we've done, yet it still retains the epic, progressive and melodic side we're also known for. It's a very gloomy and atmospheric album. We've been through a lot as a band and individuals and we've made our darkest album to date.
“The title refers to people going through life on autopilot and being one of the herd, how a lot of people simply accept the way things are just because it's 'tradition' as opposed to taking a good look at the world around you and thinking for yourself. Sometimes there are catalysts that happen and change our perspective or consciousness.” The album was produced by Middleton with the help of engineer Scott Atkins and was mastered by TesseracT guitarist Acle Kahney.
SYLOSIS began tracking the new album back in March 2014, working away secretly alongside touring commitments. Drum tracks were recorded in May at Monkey Puzzle House by original drummer Rob Callard, who parted ways with the band last month due to time restraints. After filling in for some live shows during SYLOSIS’ Spring 2014 tour, BLEED FROM WITHIN’s drummer Ali Richardson is now a permanent member of the band.
