When it comes to a style that manages to scratch every itch you may have while managing to accomplish so much more, there truly is nothing in our modern soundscape like a black metal band that manages to both fulfill and greatly surpass expectations. The more dissonant and slightly experimental sides of the style have long been appealing to those who want a listen that’s even just a little bit more challenging than one might expect with the very themes and ideals in question always on the offensive as the listener is under constant pressure from the experience put forth. A small name before now, it’s with their second full-length album that Lithuania’s Sisyphean has not only poised themselves for aggressive success but to put forth a record that could damn well be called one of the year’s most invigorating sleeper hits.

There’s but one reason that I dare to call such a work like this a sleeper hit ahead of its release despite my hopes for otherwise: Sisyphean is still a largely unknown act. But, that doesn’t immediately seal the album’s fate to go vastly unnoticed for that simple reason for we’ve seen plenty of bands shot into the limelight for releasing just one album of quality to then stay within our vision for all the right reasons. In every form, “Colours of Faith” demands to be given that very same treatment for it’s in every possible moment of this record that Sisyphean not only shows how adept they are at such a vicious craft that actually manages to deliver on the promise of actually being a dissonant work of black metal that actually fits such a description. Right from the very beginning, it’s clear that this album will not be hitting on the same notes as what many bands throughout the vast realms of black metal might strike but it’s from one track after another that the very flow of “Colours of Faith” becoming all but supremely compelling as each song seems to pick up from the last as if these eight tracks were lacking in any level of cohesiveness or splendor. There’s nothing predictable about this record whether we’re talking about its themes or its riffs as it’s a truly thought-provoking creation that manages to peel away at the very concepts of the human psyche and our beliefs, yet it’s at the very core of this effort that we are able to bear witness to a magnificent effort of modern black metal at some of its finest. It’s a creation that keeps you guessing, endlessly on the edge of your seat, and perpetually enthralled by the undeniable power that Sisyphean weaves with tremendous talent right from the moment you even lay your eyes on the cover art.

It wouldn’t be any stretch to say that what’s brought forth throughout the entirety of “Colours of Faith” doesn’t exactly reach to the very limits of the craziest black metal that we’ve ever heard of, but to say that this isn’t an immensely compelling creation of all that can happen when the style is pushed to such an extent would be to greatly undermine all that’s accomplished here. Sisyphean is a new name to many ears, including my own, but it’s with all that’s brought forth in this effort that I can’t help but feel that many of us will be keeping a sharp eye on this band and all that they may deliver in the future.

“Colours of Faith” releases on May 27th via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Colours of Faith” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Sisyphean on Facebook here.