By Kit Brown
I was first introduced to Savannah’s sludge-metal quintet KYLESA last year when I saw them as a supporting act on MASTODON’s Crack the Skye tour. While not instantly hooked to their sound, I found their live show to be the most active and outright entertaining of the night. The interplay between two drummers was something I’d never seen any metal band attempt before, and yielded some of the most memorable parts of that entire show. I’d like to say that I became a dedicated KYLESA fan after that, but I’d be lying. Leave it to Spiral Shadow to change all that.
Simply put, Spiral Shadow is one of the most outright fun metal albums of the year. While the album still delivers plenty of crunch and punch, there seems to a much higher emphasis on melody and clean vocals hooks than ever before. The dichotomy of Phillip Cope’s more traditional, rock-influenced vocals mix excellently with Laura Pleasants’ more ethereal, effect-laden, and evil crooning. The prime example of this can be found in “Drop Out”, arguably the album’s crowning achievement. “Drop Out” is effectively a summary of the album’s best moments. Sabbathian riffs intertwine with the subtle layering of drum parts on both sides of the speakers (as well as a bitchin' dual drum solo), and are interspersed with bonafide psychedelic verses. Should you choose to invest in any one song off of Spiral Shadow, let it be this one.
While the album certainly delves into more experimental territory, the album seems to also follow somewhat of a formula. While almost each song is noticeably different than the one before it, many of Spiral Shadow’s eleven tracks show similar qualities. Structurally, many of the songs rely on the bifurcation of cleaner, more experimental verses, which are then resolved by the more familiar, heavy, and incredibly satisfying choruses. There are obviously some exceptions to this rule, but Spiral Shadow’s “predictability” should only be taken as a positive. KYLESA certainly show experimental qualities throughout the album’s brief 43-minute run time, while keeping many of the songs rooted in more traditional and accessible song structures.
On the whole, KYLESA have come back for their second consecutive year with a kick-ass album, which has been superbly produced by the band’s own Phillip Cope. Spiral Shadow offers fans of KYLESA’s older (and certainly heavier) material something to immediately latch onto, while also giving even the most casual rock-and-roll fan a solid collection of songs to simply play on a long car ride. There’s also something to offer for a wide variety of musicians and songwriters; be it the well executed tapping leads in “Cheating Synergy”, the uncompromisingly heavy riffage at the end of “Spiral Shadow” (the album’s best use of tension and release), or the uplifting choruses in “Don’t Look Back”. Look out, Valhalla. Savannah just got awesome again.
Rating: 8.5/10
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