I am a relatively new fan of SyX, I began in '07 with PL, didn't like it at first and shelved it - in the meantime I tried DWoT, also didn't like it much somehow. 3 months later I reluctantly listened to PL again, and suddenly The Walls of Babylon hit me like a train and I realised how multi-layered and complex the music of SyX is (mainly the mismatched time signatures of guitar and drum that de-synch and re-synch at just the right times - compositional genius, and the performances of each individual musician are breathtaking on their own), and the rest is history. V is definitely a more approachable album that had me hooked right from the first few seconds of Evolution.
From what I have read on this forum it seems like I am in the minority, but I greatly enjoy all of PL both musically and lyrically, and the lyrics of the title song in particular IMO are the band's peak of poetic mastery - if inclined I could give an analysis of the meters and rhyming schemes, and I love how the rest of the album contains little paraphrases of Milton's great epic blended fluidly into the main body. In fact, I wouldn't have known of the paraphrases had this album not inspired me to read Paradise Lost, which was very difficult for me since it is very different from the books I am wont to read.
What I am trying to say on the topic of SyX's lyrics is that it is one thing to have intelligent lyrics, and another to take that one step further to craft these lyrics in a more poetic fashion, and the tracks on PL have done this in a way I have not heard on earlier albums.
Anyway, enough about that, I listened to the two new songs for the first time today, and felt a need to register here to share my (mostly negative) first impressions. Dehumanize - I'm getting a feeling like this is chugga chugga metal that I listened to in high school when I was all angsty and had not developed a good taste in music yet. Also, the cussing comes as quite a shock to me - I always had a feeling that SyX was music for an older crowd who enjoy a bit more sophistication in their music, and this represents a change in musical direction about which I am somewhat apprehensive to say the least. End of Innocence, I can't say anything especially stood out to me, but I am certain this will change once I hear the studio album.
Part of my reasoning about Dehumanize comes from the CDs I see in shops (at least in my part of the world) that have a label plastered over the cover, "Parental advisory - Explicit lyrics", which implies this music is targeted to people for whom parental guidance is presumably still relevant to their musical selections (i.e. kids), yet these labels have never been necessary for SyX. Not saying the new album will need it, but I just hope this is not a new trend for SyX.
All that having been said, my faith is SyX is only slightly wavered, the new album is still my most anticipated release and I hope I have time to drive to Seattle in May to see them live for my first time. Thanks for reading through my big wall of text...