In 2017, SikTh are perhaps only second to Meshuggah in terms of influence on the djent scene. However, when they formed in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1999, they were nothing short of an anomaly. The six-piece banded sported two vocalists, complex time signatures, and a disregard for conventional song structure. During a time when most people were sporting unwieldy wallet chains, this made them stand-out like good rhymes on a Limp Bizkit album.
The Future in Whose Eyes? is SikTh’s first full-length since their triumphant return from a six-year hiatus. They pick up where they left off, being as insane and original as ever. Everything, from thrash metal heaviness on ‘No Wishbone’, to soaring melodic metalcore choruses on ‘Vivid’, is filtered through their incredibly dense, technically proficient sound.
SikTh are a band where every member fires on all cylinders. Vocalist Mikee Goodman has a histrionic style all of his own. He switches from pained yelps to bellowing baritones, like the mutant offspring of Mike Patton and Jonathan Davies. The same goes for bassist James Leach. His slap technique can only be compared to Les Claypool’s swirling wall of sound, albeit in the context of a tech-metal band. Guitarist Dan Weller displays amazing versatility too. Playing everything from classic metal guitar solos on ‘Vivid’, to crushing tech-metal riffs that rival even Messhugah on tracks such as ‘Riddles of Humanity’. With every member bringing such an idiosyncratic style of playing to the table, it puts The Future in Who’s Eyes? in a genre of one.
The Future in Whose Eyes? is a storming return from one of The UK’s best-loved cult metal bands. It gives you everything you could possibly want from a SikTh album, but somehow it never manages to re-tread old ground.
Catch SikTh at ArcTanGent if you know what’s good for ya.
