That gap, however, has closed with the release of their latest EP, Stay Wild.
If Lzzy Hale is the mother and Maria Brink is the daughter, SYKA vocalist Jesyka Loren is making a vigorous run at becoming the Holy Spirit of female-fronted modern rock. Loren's voice is a top-notch blend of legit vocal prowess and Pop-Rocks-in-the-throat grit.
While that assessment won't come as a surprise to long-time "Sykos" as the band calls their fans, the biggest surge for the band is in the production and songwriting combination on Stay Wild. The opening track, "Shock Me," is one of the better tunes from this year's crop of black leather and stud covered bands. And the high-budget video for the song can only help SYKA cast a wider net and capture a larger base of future fans.
Another strength of Stay Wild is the stylistic variety between songs. While "Rattle The Cage" continues the aggressive metal edge established by "Shock Me," "Suffer in Silence" swings the pendulum in a different direction with its piano intro and dark balladry. And the title track wraps the EP with a bit of an old-school, happy alternative feel.
With the incredible progress the band has made with Stay Wild, we think that SYKA has a good chance of blowing up sooner rather than later on the female-fronted metal scene. The biggest variable is whether their occasional visual and sonic similarity to old Halestorm and In This Moment will cast them as too much of a facsimile to carve their own path or, conversely, will help them get welcomed to the growing estrogen-fueled hard rock party.
We're predicting that the asylum will need to add a new wing to accommodate all the new Sykos.
# of Facebook page "Likes" for SYKA at the time of this writing: 14,864.
Helping Hands Rock Reviews prides itself on discovering great artists just before they break. We record the number of Facebook Likes to watch our favorite artists grow and to track how far we are ahead of the curve.
