This self titled debut from California rockers Syrym is a dozen well produced compositions. The quality of the sound is much better than what we have been getting from some well established artists.

The disc kicks off with “Foul Mouth Blues” which sets the mood for the entire disc. Vocalist Jeffrey Winslow really takes the forefront and just fucking nails it. His delivery is powerful without being over the top to the point of sounding forced and fake. This is the real deal. Next up is “Warpath” which is one of the albums stand-out tracks. Here Winslow’s voice is accompanied by some great guitar and heavy backbeats. You want 80’s?? The next track; “Torn In Two” begins like an L.A./Sunset Strip mid 80’s hard rock band before going back to what we have heard on the previous songs. This style continues on throughout the disc until we hit “30 & Dirty” which is the most Sunset Strip influenced song on here.  There is one place on this debut where the vocals vary slightly and that is on “Alive In The Real World” and its not for the better. The song itself is extremely catchy and contains some great guitar playing but the vocals are strangely enough the weakest aspect. The album ends off on a surprisingly mellow note with “What I’m Trying To Say” and “What I’m Trying To Say (Reprise)” which is very strange to say the least. This is the only ballad on the disc and it will just blow you away.

What can I say? This disc really surprised the living hell out of me. It has now become one of my favourite albums of the year as it beats out some seasoned veteran’s releases from this past year. Hopefully this is just the beginning and we will get many more quality albums from Syrym.