Written by Maddy Howell

When Sylosis returned with their raging sixth full-length A Sign Of Things To Come in 2023, it felt like a band snapping back into place. Leaner, heavier, and armed with the kind of sharp-edged purpose that only comes from stepping away and re-evaluating what you truly want to create, the record landed with a sense of urgency that swiftly reignited the conversation around one of British modern metal’s most dynamic forces.

Continuing that forward motion, the band’s latest offering, The New Flesh, is a blistering statement of intent. A collection of hulking, riff-driven cuts written with the potential to detonate in the live environment, Sylosis’ seventh album has been created with refinement at its core, stripping back any self-indulgence and sharpening their sound into something indestructible.

“Every time we make a record, it just has to be the best record we can do,” frontman Josh Middleton explains.

“Really, it’s always about trying to make a classic album. We’re always thinking about what makes them classics, but we still look to super heavy records as inspiration too. Just because something you want to be anthemic or hooky doesn’t mean you want to write radio rock.

“Growing up, two of the albums I put on a pedestal as a fan were The Great Southern Trendkill by Pantera and Iowa by Slipknot. Slipknot were already huge by the time they made their second record, so I was just hoping they were still heavy. As it turned out, Iowa was even heavier and had way more death metal influence. As a fan, that was huge to me. We never want to neglect our melodicism, but I just love heavy stuff. It always bums me out when heavy bands discover shoegaze and they start playing Telecaster guitars. Just stay heavy!”

When it comes to heaviness, riffs are one department Sylosis have never struggled in. Growing up as metal fans, every member of the band knows what it means to hear a riff that makes your skin crawl. Over 25 years into their career, it’s the refusal to give up on the pursuit of that raw, instinctive feeling that still drives them.

“You have to try and regress a little, think back to what it feels like when you’re a kid at your first band practice,” Middleton says.

“It’s easy to overthink things, but we wanted to try and channel some of that primal energy on this album. Some of our mid-era albums lacked that.”

Circling back to their instincts and filtering them through a more experienced lens, The New Flesh is also an album undoubtedly shaped by years spent on the road. Scoping out what works and what doesn’t when they step onto a stage, taking note of the moments that whip the crowd into a frenzy, it’s the kind of record made to set rooms alight.

“In 2011, we put out an album called Edge Of The Earth. We weren’t the biggest band, so we’d be playing 25-minute sets at festivals. When your songs are all six minutes long… that’s not ideal,” the frontman reflects.

“From that point, we’ve been more conscious of trimming songs down, keeping it more focused. The stuff that we find most fun to play is always the stuff that the crowd participates with. We definitely write with the live environment in mind now, but it’s not like we’ve just written an album full of mosh parts. It’s still a Sylosis record.”

Rooted in the band’s identity, The New Flesh also marks the first Sylosis record since their latest line-up was solidified. With Middleton now joined by bandmates Ali Richardson [drums], Conor Marshall [guitar], and Ben Thomas [bass], that stability has transformed the writing process from something largely delivered top-down into something genuinely collaborative — and it’s undoubtedly better because of it.

“Before, I would just present the songs to the band and no one else would challenge it,” Middleton recalls.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to not only accept outside opinions, but to seek them out. Ben especially has come in with some songs on this one. There’s a track called ‘Spared From The Guillotine’ which he wrote the entire front half of. It sounds fresh and new for us, because I didn’t write it. It’s still completely Sylosis, but it’s not all coming from me.”

We were first introduced to the world of The New Flesh with the arrival of the album’s title track back in November. Developed early in the writing process, around the time of A Sign Of Things To Come’s release, it was a track that began as an exercise in fun, paying homage to a band that paved the way for Sylosis.

“We were playing around and decided to try something a bit old school, but in a different way for us. It’s inspired by early Sepultura… really, it’s complete Sepultura worship,” Middleton laughs.

“We were listening to it on our summer festival run, and Ali was like, ‘This has to be the title track’. Originally the song was called ‘Manifestations Of The New Flesh’, which sounded super death metal. We trimmed it, and there was the title.”

“I personally hate writing with pressure — or at least I thought I did,” the frontman laughs.

“That song went through a bunch of changes at the last minute, including the whole middle eight and the main riff. I remember thinking that the chorus had to be better, and the middle eight needed to feel more authentic. That’s also one we were really thinking about how it would feel live. It all built up at the last minute, and that pressure really helped. There were about five songs on the album that got rewritten and made better in the last two weeks leading up to going in the studio.”

As much as the band’s sound evolves, Middleton’s obsession with riffs remains the spine of Sylosis. A byproduct of his constant listening and commitment to discovering new music, it’s that passion that keeps his bar for guitar writing brutally high.

“I don’t feel that the well is anywhere near dry,” he says.

“I’m listening to so much death metal at the moment, and there’s just riff after riff because there’s rarely any melody. I love death metal. I remember Mick Thomson saying something about Blessed Are The Sick by Morbid Angel when I was a kid, and I went out and bought it the next day.”

Curated with pure love for the scene, Sylosis’ upcoming tour package is the embodiment of that dedication to the future of metal. Including Boston technical death metal icons Revocation, fast-rising European deathcore outfit Distant, and unstoppable crossover newcomers Life Cycles, Middleton’s enthusiasm suggests he’d be stoked regardless of whether his own band’s name was joining them on the poster.

“I think keeping it diverse is always good for us,” he explains.

“We met Life Cycles when we were out in the States, and I’m such a fan. They have so many amazing riffs, and it makes me want to up my game. I have no problem with telling people where my influences come from, and ‘Spared From The Guillotine’ has a bit of Life Cycles in it.”

Unshackled from old restrictions, operating with clearer intent, and leaning into the things they love, with The New Flesh, Sylosis are taking advantage of their hard-won freedom. Rediscovering the joy of making music on their own terms, it’s the sound of a band still ravenously hungry for it, bounding forward with genuine excitement for whatever comes next.

“We placed so many limitations on ourselves back in the day, and ultimately that led to us going on hiatus,” Middleton finishes.

“I felt so boxed in by what I thought we were allowed to do. I grew up in an era where elitism was prominent in metal, and especially in death metal. Early on, I thought we needed to make sure that those elitists liked our band.

“Having re-evaluated things, we’ve come back with a more mature and open mind to the way we write. That means that it’s fun again. It feels like a fresh start, but it’s still us. We’ve always stuck to our sound, we’ve never jumped on trends, and now it feels exciting to get some recognition for what we’ve always done.”

Sylosis’ latest album The New Flesh is out February 20, 2026, via Nuclear Blast Records. Get the album - HERE

Sylosis begin a busy year of live dates with the launch of their biggest European headlining tour to date. The run features supporting sets from Revocation, Distant and Life Cycles. Following the EU/UK stretch, Sylosis will join forces with Bleed From Within for a siege of North America starting in the spring. A complete list of dates can be found below

Get tickets - HERE