Sybreed
Slave Design

The dawn of the '00s marked the decline of those who can be considered the pillars of industrial music within metal. In fact, while Fear Factory gets lost in producing mediocre albums amid various disputes, Strapping Young Lad disband, and Meshuggah decide to have fun by exaggerating their technical prowess with no particular end. It is precisely during this period that we witness the emergence of new industrial metal realities, which unfortunately, in the opinion of this writer, never quite reach adequacy. But there is an exception! In 2003, Sybreed formed in Geneva, and by 2004 they had already released their first LP.

"Bioactive" is the opening track and contains almost all the distinctive elements of the album: tight and mechanical rhythms (where the usual double pedal-guitar trick is excellently applied), vocals alternating between scream and clean, electronic inserts and lyrics steeped in technological themes to spice everything up. Unfortunately, this is one of the album's issues.
We are not offered anything new. The formula is the same that anyone can hear for more than ten years, simply presented in a more modern key. However, in my view, this is not a particularly serious problem, considering that the album is well made, both technically and in terms of songwriting. The songs are highly enjoyable and accessible, thanks to the strong melodic vein of tracks like "Decoy," "Next Day Will Never Come", and "ReEvolution." Overall, the proposed work can be seen as an excellent showcase of a genre that said everything it had to in the '90s and today lacks quality bands.

In conclusion, this "Slave Design" is not a masterpiece from an objective standpoint, but subjectively speaking, it is an album I like a lot, despite its ups and downs. For this reason, I suggest those who are interested delve a bit deeper into what Sybreed will narrate in the following years. In the span of ten years, they have remained a niche band, but I think this gives them a certain additional charm.