12th October 2021

Review: “Born to Burn” by The Stygian Complex

There are just a handful of bands that we can truly say we have followed from the very beginning, day one, first single, all the way to the present day and Lexington, North Carolina Deathcore collective The Stygian Complex are one of those. Forged in the fires of hell in 2018, they’ve gone from strength to strength over with the assistance of both Bodysnatcher drummer Chris Whitted (Traitors, Sorroweaver) and Bound In Fear guitarist Keir Campbell (Detest, Capital Murder), handing the mixing and mastering on their 2019 self titled and 2020’s “Tartarus” respectively. They say third time’s a charm and so for “Born To Burn” they’ve returned to the former for the purpose.

The warped atmospheric of the opening riff of “Crooked Noose” is an eerie, dark and nauseatingly unhinged one that sets the tone for a brutal cuts that sees frontman Kyler Cheek bring the kind of all out vocal that makes you think he’s suffering from a split personality disorder. His range is incredible, from the Slam blood gargling to the fire breathing low roars and shriller screams, his larynx must be close to the last throw of the dice. The accompaniment is a classic Deathcore groove of stuccato riffage and pulverising drumming with some real jackhammer footwork from Cody Benge with an bad acid trip undercurrent of pure horror. “The Defect” skips the intro and piles straight in with breakdown upon breakdown dispensed in style. It’s just as brutally effective while being that instant call to the pit that will find you wanting to throw your friends around. Previous single “Hopeless” has been remixed and remastered for its appearance on this third studio EP from the band and benefits, sounding sharper than the original while also meaning it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of this record. Soaked in skull crushing depravity, it remains a titanic track that as Cheek vents and spins the Russian Roulette wheel over the kind of riffage is simple but lethally effective. When it comes to it, if the riffs are simple, there is no place to hide so they have to be killer or they don’t stand up in th cold light of day. Title track “Born To Burn” maintains the flow of headbangable material with thunderous percussion that groove for days and by the end you’ll be wondering what you’ve just heard. A monstrous Deathcore classic from a band who are at the top of an over saturated genre, The Stygian Complex once again defy the odds to deliver the hellish nightmare that we all need [8/10]

Track listing