Infected Syren – S/T (Cypriot Punk)

I’m glad I can finally say I reviewed a band from Cyprus, because the adjective “Cypriot” just sounds so great. So, here we have, for the first time ever, a Cypriot Punk outfit, though just “punk” is not nearly enough to describe them. This particular one, Infected Syren (also the band’s name), was further down my queue of stuff to review, but with all the usual metal and such I cover I wanted some balance so here it is with some splendid, comic-book-style art by Bill Hauser. I don’t have a single clue what a winged woman with a sword slaying a bunch of cops and random innocents has to do with sirens, but just look at it, it doesn’t matter. This time, at least.

  

Infected Syren don’t punk. This S/T is packed with genre influence from that, sure, but metal (various styles including death), psychobilly, and who the hell knows what else. I can’t remember the last time I received a punk submission that wasn’t the usual oi-boy geriatric snore. Infected Syren have pieces of very traditional punk structure and style, but fused with far too much to call it straight punk. That, yet again, is a sure way to succeed with me, if not in the underground in general today. Variety and experimentation. There’s always going to be a crowd of ready-and-willing oisters to toss kicks around in their studded jackets, but the cultured of us need more. Though this is far from a stellar release, Infected Syren is enjoyable on several levels; pure musical escapism, frivolity, fist pumping, and face slamming. One strong feature is the vocals, which, along with the rest of the music, genre-mix. Louis Syrimis can easily go from that punk/whateverbilly twang to black metal shrieking and death growls without sounding ridiculous. Throw in some inventive solos and effects, and you have what’s simply a fun listen. They’re going to need to take this further in the future, for more of this is going to become redundant in a single song on a new album, but currently, there’s very little to hate about it. In fact, there’s nothing to, just perhaps a bit to dislike but not much.

Infected Syren Official Facebook

Written by Stanley Stepanic

Infected Syren – S/T
Self-Released
4.1 / 5