SikTh
Death of a Dead Day

Release Date: 2006 | Tracklist

Let me phrase this in a very simple matter: SikTh (this will be the first and last time I capitalize it correctly in this review, so my apologies prior) is what got me to really enjoy music again. It’s not like I’ve never had a good time listening to Symphony X and Dream Theater in my “shredding is the be all and end all of a good band” days a few years back. In fact, I still love said bands with a burning passion. I just had a distinctly narrow outlook, ignoring anything that lacks technicality and speed, even pushing well written lyrics to the side almost 98% of the time. I look back upon those days with embarrassment, only to look forward and see what I’ve been missing. Thank you, dearly departed Sikth, for making me a true lover of music.

How could a band like Sikth make me fall in love with the likes of mewithoutYou or GY!BE? Simple, it did so by teaching me to recognize a palpable passion within the songwriting, and to find a beautiful order in atonality/dissonance and unconventional writing. There really is something special about Sikth, I believe. Somehow, they made math rhythms catchy. I can’t explain it. But from the second I popped in the disc at a UG forum user’s suggestion, the haunting harmony of “Bland Street Bloom” fading in, I was at 100% attention. A clash interval chimes, and we’re now hearing what I can only explain as Meshuggah with very intriguing interludes between each rhythmic pattern. Cue the wailing from our first singer, Mikee. But of course I knew little about the band and when the second singer, Justin, chimes in with his own brand of passionate screaming, I figured one singer had the talents of a god. But later I discovered that it was only the incredible talents of 2 of my favorite vocalists of all time. Nearly the entire album is a perfect harmony of these 2 gentlemen never harming one another, but accentuating each others strengths, Justin being the better singer, and Mikee having a voice so pained yet intense at the same time.

But of course I must mention the instrumental work, the thing that first caught my attention. Every single instrument fulfills its duty, making every riff a pleasant listen, even if it’s an atonal melody with a clashing harmony. It all sounds perfect, with each member painting one section of the whole masterpiece. There’s really not much more anyone can say, except that the musicians were absolutely perfect at what they do. It’s impossible to get bored, for if you listen closely, there’s no note out of place, and no time where you don’t have the opportunity to be amazed. This may just be me, but ever since this band, I’ve loved what can be done with unconventional time signatures, and these young men prove it can be used for than more than mathcore (no offense to my beloved DEP and Converge, of course). For songs like “In This Light” and “Where Do We Fall?” are rhythmically out of the norm, the songs embody exactly why Sikth was great. They evoke every emotion on the spectrum, from anger to love to guilt to sadness. The aforementioned songs are almost entirely melodic, yet pull no punches in technicality. The sort of technicality that truly enhances the listening experience, not just for the sake of flaunting ill-begotten skills (*cough*DRAGONFORCE*cough*... Yes, that was a cheap shot). The “softness” as it were allows for an opportunity to easily hear the lyrical stylings that usually can be lost in a sea of intensity (A plague upon many bands with screaming vocalists).

Right here is where the metaphorical blinders were removed. I got over the shock of the musicianship and heard what can only be the true essence of what the vocalists are composed of, with “Mermaid Slur” being my personal favorite. The largely Naturalistic/Idiomatic lyrics caught me in the sense that they said what I really couldn’t figure out how to say, let alone the fact that they do it in 19/16 time. It’s all heartfelt, even the negativity is taken in a sarcastic tone. It’s a level of care not reached by most bands, with the lyrics breaching the walls of the confined expectations of modern metal (Fire/Desire rhyme, the darkness inside etc. etc. etc. to the point of nausea).

There’s something so perfect about Sikth that I can’t possibly bore you any longer with reasons, there’s just too many. We all have our band, this is mine, and everyone needs to at least have a bite. If you’re a fan of oxygen, pie, and sexual encounters, you need to give them a listen.

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4.1 excellent

Rank: #50 for 2006