Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
From the port city of Trieste, Italy comes the arrival of SIKSIDED and their phenomenal nine-song, full-length album début, ‘Leave No Stone Unturned‘.
To the point, that is no mere happenstance title, friends… it is a damned mission statement, through and through. Let us equate “stone” as genres, or classifications, of rock music and once you do, you should begin to get the picture of these implications.
Melding a potent amalgamation of modern metal with fragments of grunge / alternative rock with progressive overtones, SIKSIDED shatters the mold with this recording. Much like Trieste’s own mixing of Italian, Austro-Hungarian, and Slovenian influences in its culture, this quintet united as SIKSIDED are just as widely diversified in their music.
The introductory song here, “Disposable Livings“, is a thick riff-driven strut of intoxicating heavy rock not too far removed from Nu Metal, really. Emotional vocals soar upon the thrilling din of audio unfurling beneath them, all while crunchy drums and rhythms pulsate right along in tempo.
But remember, I did mention how Xander (vocals), Delano (guitar), Paolo (drums), Jeff (guitar), and Wolly (bass), seem to be masters of the aural curveball? This is instantly verified as the second song, “Leaf“, gradually ripples into your ear space with a slightly more tapered down presence. Melodic, soothing tones envelop you while the powerful, full-of-feeling vocals are crooned with hypnotic effect. Of course, this is all prior to the song’s taking on a much darker, heavier hue ala shredding guitars of an almost death metal-like nature.
The rollercoaster of exceptional music continues to careen into the unexpected, with surprise after surprise in such stellar songs as “Fragments“, “Meant To Be“, and “Charon“. The latter is a chunky descent into spiraling metal aggression with sedate moments and haunting nuances.
SIKSIDED are finely adept at walking a fine line between calm, super-cool swagger and totally off-the-chain tumults, capturing the energy of both alternately within a single song. “New Savior” and “Blatant Quiet” are proof positive of this yet they only slightly prepare you for the one-two throttling delivered by the pair of tunes that bring this album’s eventual end, “Desert” and “Defaced“.
Pristine, tranquil audio flows with entrancing persuasion as “Desert” unfolds and blankets you within its ethereal embrace. There are periodic increases that build ever so slightly in their intensity, but never completely wash things out.
No, that is saved until the following song’s final minute or so. “Defaced” is yet another full-on delivery of moody elements put to enthralling music. Things do soon reach a point where a cyclone of controlled aural aggression is set loose within a free fall plummet that rides us outright to the end.
Take your own look and listen to ‘Leave No Stone Unturned‘ from SIKSIDED here in our review or stream/purchase the album at Bandcamp HERE.
For Fans Of Soen, Mudvayne (L.D. 50 era), Alice In Chains
