Asystole – Siren to Blight LP

Led by guitarist extraordinaire Pat Hawkins (THAETAS, ABERRATED, NEEDLEPUSHER, KYRIOS) and bassist Kyle Linderman, New York’s ASYSTOLE debut with an album of furious death metal that doesn’t sacrifice atmosphere for technique. In the grooves of “Siren To Blight” there is an abundance of both, thanks to an articulated but fluid songwriting, brilliant and open to contamination.
If the influences are those of GORGUTS, VIRUS, KRALLICE, CRYPTOPSY and ANATA, the way of stitching them together in a coherent and recognizable style is all due to Hawkins, Linderman, drummer James Applegate (REPLICANT, WINDFAERER), and vocalist/lyricist John Dunn IV (ABOMINISM, DARK WATERS END). With a progressive metal approach, ASYSTOLE strung together a series of brutal and bizarre but memorable riffs and solos, counterpointed by ferocious and shattering rhythms. The lyrics, on the other hand, are curiously reflective and almost philosophical in portraying the illusion of goodness in humanity, particularly the struggle of man to achieve true goodness only to suffer or cause suffering in trying.
Mixed and mastered by Colin Marston, ASYSTOLE’s “Siren To Blight” is a creature that pulsates with life, an unstoppable, bloodthirsty shapeshifting monster that in the throes of painful convulsions will sink its fangs into your tender brain to suck it out.