When it comes to the conversation around how progressive metal, and in extension to that the Djent boom of the last 15 years, sounds and feels, you would be amiss to not mention the name SikTh. Since their inception in 1999, and solidifying of their line-up in 2001, the Watford locals have put their own stamp on heavy music. The result of that push and pull during their first iteration was two albums: 2003's The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out, Wait for Something Wild and 2006's Death of a Dead Day. Forward-thinking, frantic and overflowing with innovation and intensity, the foundations laid by these songs can be felt pulsating through the veins of many a band that followed in their footsteps. Originally disbanding in 2007 before reforming again in 2014, their legacy lived on in the bedroom of every fret-slapping explorer who dared to dream of there being something more out there.
Now the band are back at it again, preparing for two very special 20-year anniversary shows for Death of a Dead Day, and have kickstarted their celebrations with a live studio session. It's the first time the band's original line-up has been in such a space in almost two decades; the last time was at Maida Vale for a BBC session in 2006.
If that wasn't enough, they sound utterly ravenous. Taking place at Marshall Studios in Milton Keynes, engineered by the band's own Dan Weller alongside Adam Beer, and featuring footage collected by Ali White of Earth House, it is a document of a band that shows they are still on the cutting edge of heavy music.
Performing Bland Street Boom, the opening gambit from Death of a Dead Day, each member sounds at the top of their game. Every technically brash note delivered impeccably, every frenzied howl and harmonious croon chaotic and crisp. More than anything, it's a track that feels like it could have been released yesterday, embodying so much of the same ferocity and fervour that still defines so much of what progressive metal and progressive metalcore are in 2025.
Guitarist Dan Weller had this to say about the experience, stating, "Being in a room together with the original lineup was special. We have the fire back. There’s definitely unfinished business to be done next year”
If you like the sound of that, you'll be able to hear it alongside the rest of the album next year at the anniversary shows. And if that wasn't enough, they will be joined by modern marvels Heriot and recently reunited electronic bruisers Ted Maul.
You'll be able to catch the trio at Academy 2 in Manchester on February 26 and at London's Kentish Town Forum on February 28. You can find out everything you need to, and what else the band are up to right now anddjent right here.
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