Kylesa - Exhausting Fire (2015)^{Release ID: 11962}

Name checking a few bands who I am aware of but have never listened to in The Fallen soon got me onto Kylesa. Formed from a sludge/crust band, Kylesa are billed as progressive/psychedelic sludge metal in some quarters. Not on their 2015 release they aren’t. This is straight up stoner metal to my ears. Whilst there most definitely is a psychedelic influence here, there is nothing progressive or sludgey on show.

I found Exhausting Fire to be a mixed bag overall. Much more appealing to me are the sections when Laura handles vocal duties and I am genuinely unsure as to why Philip Cope is allowed anywhere near the mic stand. Easy though it is to get lost in those occult, hazy vocals that Laura deploys if you listen beyond them you will hear some excellent musical performances going on. McGinley’s drums are consistent throughout the record and well placed in the mix, they are never overbearing but solid and robust at all times. Likewise, guest bassist, Jay Matheson’s bass is a driving force behind the fuzzy riffs and swirling melodies of the guitars. Although I cannot pretend to get on with all of it, Exhausting Fire does come across well in terms of a tight unit having made the record.

As I mentioned above already, my main gripe is Cope being on vocals. He just sounds lazy and half-arsed and when he tries to get into more of an aggressive space it just does not compliment the music and on the rare occasion they share vocals the gulf between Laura and Phil is glaringly obvious. Although I have praised the tightness of the band on this review, they do have a habit here making unexpected and not altogether clean time changes. This often kills the atmosphere of a track (Blood Moon) feeling more like an intrusion as opposed to any necessary new direction to develop tracks into. A competent but unfortunately fatally flawed album.

P.S. The band should be indicted for war crimes for that cover of Paranoid by Sabbath.  Offensive.