Howling Sycamore: Seven Pathways To Annihilation

Howling Sycamore is a project started in 2017 by guitar player Davide Tiso (Ephel Duath, Gospel Of The Witches) and by (ex-WatchTower and ex-Dangerous Toys) singer, Jason McMaster, along with drummer, Hannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, ex-Necrophagist, ex-Obscura). Their idea was to explore the sound of extreme Metal drumming, fused with multi-layered de-tuned guitars and old school Prog Metal vocals.

The band’s second release, Seven Pathways To Annihilation, is their second album for Prosthetic Records and was mixed and mastered by Jamie King (Between The Buried and Me, The Contortionist) and also features a very special guitar solo from the one and only Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) on the song, “Second Sight�.

Seven Pathways To Annihilation clocks in at over 50 minutes and features 7 tracks filled with transcendental music linked to shamanic and metaphysical principles displayed with crude and at times, brutal imagery. All 7 songs lead toward the same annihilating purpose, so there are some cerebral things happening within these 50+ minutes. These lengthy tracks are built on dark and thick guitar tones, that are more on the mellow and brooding side than the manic. There is definitely a tad much going on in these songs to “grasp� it all at once. To call this music “cerebral� would be an understatement. McMaster’s vocals are that of the clean variety and they rise to the occasion within these haunting and twisting compositions.

Seven Pathways To Annihilation closes with the 10 plus minute, “Sorcerer� that is full of atmospheric tones, as well as quick 'Blast-Beat' drumming. It is heavy, ominous and impactful and this is the only ending that you could imagine for such an auspicious musical undertaking. Did I mention that there is a Saxophone solo underneath the Blast-Beats? This is an interesting and not so easily digested album, if nothing else. This album will take some effort on your part, it goes down slowly.

Davide Tiso -Guitars and Bass
Jason McMaster- Vocals
Hannes Grossmann -Drums and percussion

Track Listing
1. Mastering Fire
2. Departure
3. Initiation
4. Second Sight
5. Raw Bones
6. Tempest's Chant
7. Sorcerer

Added: August 28th 2019
Reviewer: Butch Jones
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 803
Language: english

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