Kylesa - Spiral Shadow

Since my forced migration to the sunny yet metallically challenged climbs of Rio de Janeiro there hasn't been a lot to write about. It's not that bad, but sadly most international acts play São Paolo/Belo Horizonte/Curitiba ahead of Rio. That means travelling the distance from London to Aberdeen just for some good music. So there are no gigs in this city at the moment, and it's very hard to get the latest releases without downloading them or paying £15 postage and waiting 2 weeks. But the release of the new Kylesa album demanded some attention...

After discovering this bunch and much eulogising over seeing the band back in July this year (far too late admittedly) I was pretty excited to hear their new album, their forth full length, and their second album in only two years.

Kylesa are, along with such other psychadelic sludgy metal counterparts as Mastodon, Baroness, Black Tusk and Zoroaster are part of the Georgian scene, which at this rate will probably go down as legendary as the early 80's Bay Area thrash or the late 80's Floridian death metal scene.

The record is brilliant - no filler, packed with an equal weight of heavy trademark grooves and celestial instrumental passages. The production is excellent, and the two drummers are given enough space in the mix to distinguish their amazing interplay. The album owes as much to metal as it does to rock in general - the song Don't Look Back is a potential radio hit, whereas Drop Out showcases both hardcore and stoner influences.

Singer/guitarist Phillip Cope mentioned in a recent interview with Terrorizer that he isn't much of a fan of prog, and that he prefers songs that are more to the point and catchy. This is certainly reflected in the record, and it is usually executed wonderfully, although I'd take issue and say that it would be interesting if a few of the songs, particually the gorgeous album closer, Dust, were carried a bit longer and given a more, erm, epic vibe. This is nit picking essentially, it's a great record.

Hopefully I'll have more to come in time. I'm going to see Polish death metal behemoths Vader the weekend after next, and hopefully I'll find time to give the new Intronaut a spin. Other than that, there are new albums by Morbid Angel, Crowbar, Hate Eternal, Eyehategod, A Perfect Circle, Devin Townsend, Autopsy, Neurosis and Gojira to look forward to in the next 6 months. 2011 looks to be promising already!

Jack

Baroness, Islington Mill, Salford

Truth be told, Salford is a bit of a dump, but it will be fondly remember for what Baroness did at the Islington Mill on the 20th January.

Beginning with the divine instrumental "Bullhead's Psalm", they effortlessly oscillate between the ethereal and the formidable. It's fucking exquisite, and it's easy to forget they're in their infancy. They play for a seamless hour before frontman John Baizley bashfully thanks the crowd for its enthusiasm and the band round the night off with "Tower Falls".

These bearded folk seem to have the knack of knowing when to have a bit of a wank about with tricky time signatures and when to nonchalantly slam out a big fuck off riff that has us maneheads headbanging like its 1984.

With two sophisticated albums out, rather humbly named "Red Album" and "Blue Record" (Pokémon, anyone?), along with a tight and honed live sound, theyre set to "Do-A-Mastodon" and launch themselves into the upper echelons of the metal world. Coming soon to a stadium near you....maybe.

Yours tr00ly,
Jack and 'Meshuggahpuffs'