Kylesa Albums (3)
'Time Will Fuse Its Worth'
Release Date 10/31/2006
Tracks 10
Label Prosthetic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The third album by Georgia stoner metal outfit Kylesa comes after a trying period in the band's history, following the 2002 death of a founding member with a period of personnel instability that finds the group with a largely remodeled lineup and singer/guitarists Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants the sole remaining original members. Somewhat paradoxically, however, the turmoil seems to have refined and amplified Kylesa's strengths. Unlike the band's earlier records, which sometimes seemed rather scattershot in the way they fused hardcore punk, power metal and low-end sludge, the descriptively titled Time Will Fuse Its Worth finally finds the band putting all the pieces together. An admirable experimental streak is evident in the near-psychedelic interludes that tie the songs together, and the songs themselves utilize the power of the riff in ways that haven't always been in reach for this band previously. "Where the Horizon Unfolds" and "Hollow Severer" are particularly solid, with both tracks using the band's unusual three-vocalist lineup to its best effect. One nitpick: other than the expendable drum duet "Intermission," the band's new dual-drummer setup adds little to the group's sound, which is a shame, because a pair of drummers could potentially add some interesting rhythmic approaches and textures to a style of music that's otherwise all about the thud. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
'To Walk a Middle Course'
Release Date 3/22/2005
Tracks 10
Label Prosthetic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Many rock musicians love to run around insisting that they are "genre busters" who "defy musical boundaries" when, in fact, they provide generic, cookie-cutter material that is big on formula and short on originality. If one repeats a lie often enough, he/she may start to believe it -- and there are plenty of musicians who honestly believe all the nonsense that goes into their press kits. But when Kylesa's members tell you that To Walk a Middle Course is difficult to categorize, they speak the truth; the Savannah, GA, outfit really is striving for originality on this CD, which was recorded in 2004 and released in 2005. Perhaps the most convenient description of what they do is alternative metal -- a broad, far-reaching term that has been applied to everyone from Limp Bizkit to Hammerlock to Nothingface to System of a Down. But if Kylesa are essentially an alt-metal band, they're an alt-metal band with a variety of metal and non-metal influences; during the course of the album, they draw on everything from doom metal/stoner rock to punk to goth rock. Elements of Neurosis, Eyehategod, Orange Goblin, and Black Sabbath assert themselves, as do elements of the Melvins, Lydia Lunch, and X. In fact, Kylesa often employ the punky male vocals/punky female vocals contrast that worked so well for X in the '80s, although they're a much heavier band. Kylesa can be very dissonant, noisy, and discordant, but they aren't that way all the time; moments of sensory assault can easily be followed by passages that are moody, eerie, and darkly atmospheric. To Walk a Middle Course isn't as consistent as it could have been, but more often than not, Kylesa's risk-taking pays off on this intriguing, if uneven, effort. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
