Steel Cage - Syndrome (Review)

Steel Cage, the Italian melodic death metal group concentrate on mixing death, gothic, and some progressive elements with their primary roots based on thrash metal. The band has dropped their latest concept album titled “Syndrome” via Sliptrick Records.

As the band mentions: “Syndrome tells of the spread of this techno-demonic epidemic, of the machine-man leap and of the harsh war that follows, of the indomitable essence of the human spirit, and of the final resistance. The first artificial intelligence able to feel emotions is an extraordinary achievement, but their newborn and unprepared emotionality has made them easy prey for demonic possessions.”

Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room - though the promo might state "Syndrome" as a Melodic Death record, it rather lies somewhere along the borders of metalcore and modern prog. Also, haters of clean vocals in metal - take this record with a pinch of salt! “Syndrome” is very much a vocal-oriented album, with Silvia Nardoni being the ship's captain. The album thoroughly puts her vocals upfront while instrumentations take a backseat. Also, a significant portion of the record features her clean vocals, while growls are present few and far between.

Steel Cage showcases a musical blend of grooves and melody while having layers of atmospheric passages. Open chugging riffs with melodic lines capture the modern progressive or metalcore vibe. Punchy drums are always my favorite, and the album does not disappoint. The bass is well blended in the mix, often audible in tracks, and also serves solos on tracks like “Trusting Hysteria”. “Red Detonin’ Pyre” and “Welcome Obscuritas” are primarily groove-based and filled with melodic riffs. The clean sections foreshadow the atmospheric proggy side the band is headed towards. “In-Static Mind” is metalcore to its ‘core’ with a lot of catchy hooks and choruses while the latter half showcases a shift in the prog domain with the usage of clean chords and lead lines. Tracks like “Trusting Hysteria” and “Revenge of Sanity” experiment with melo-death riffs. “Humanity Threshold” might be the catchiest song off the album - a perfect balance achieved of metalcore and melodicism. Also, the right amount of guitar solos on the track just elevates the listening experience so much!

The underwhelming aspect which can be specified is that few rhythm guitars and solos on the album lack clarity in the mix. Often sounding muddy in the mix, it becomes difficult to comprehend what's going on.

In spite of all this, “Syndrome” is an enjoyable record. In the age of instant gratification, where fast and complexity is the new norm, Steel Cage relies on each song structure and memorable vocals, which is easier to grasp for even folks not belonging to this genre of music. I would even go further to call it a ‘Radio-friendly’ record. Simplistic, memorable, and catchy - Steel Cage punches right in your face!

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Website: Steel Cage Facebook

Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore

Label: Sliptrick Records

Worldwide Release: July 19th, 2022