Kylesa - Time Will Fuse Its Worth (2006)

 Here we go again with my personal favorite band lately, Kylesa. This time I'll spent no time with introductions and stuff. Was the pointless "Intro" skipped and we would have an amazingly  straightforward opener, as the first actual track is. Of course, I'm referring to " What Becomes and End " and its instant, furious opening riff and lyrics, in an absolutely ex abrupto way. Harsh vocals from the lady of the band, Laura, once again accompanied with apocalyptical lyrics about endstime. By listening to this single song you'll get the first best impression about what it's coming next and, generally, about what this album is about. Diversity among the riffs and the tempo changes, as well as for the vocal duties, which are handled by three members like in their previous full-length, "To Walk A Middle Course" .
 Up next is " Hollow Severer" , an indisputably cacthy song especially because of the vocal patterns, handled by guitarist Philip Cope. Also, the "soft" break at the middle of the song worths a mention because of the trippy guitars and the excellent drumwork. "Where the Horizon Unfolds" is coming next, and  I think that this is the perfect title selection for this particular song. It starts off with an almost clean guitar melody and then it erupts! The first riff along with the full of anguish and anger screams and growls are simply DE-VA-STA-TING. However, the song gets more melodic by the time the vocal duties change once again, and guess whose turn is..mr. Pope's. Although I love this band, his vocals -most of the times- piss me really off. Anyways, it is a great song.
 And now, we've reached at the best song of the album, and my personal favorite, "Between Silence and Sound". A song that slowly progresses inside you as you're listening to it again and again. Again a repetitive clean guitar melody,which perfectly illustrates what the band's name means(a Buddhist term denoting delusory mental states), this time powered by leads that really give you a weird, negative feeling..Like being locked in a dark room, hearing nothing but your own thoughts and feeling nothing but pain and despair. As soon as the heavy part comes in, Laura grabs you from the face with her amazing vocal perfomance and makes you  forget all of the above and just relieve any burden possible by screaming. Apart from the plethora of emotions it manages to capture, this song also provides us with -possibly- the best lyrics the band has ever written. "Blood of ignorance continues to reign / It's automatic. The process the gain / On silent hands with silent demands / We see the end. We see the end." Yeah, not the most positive ones but this is reality.
 Following the peak of the album is an instrumental interlude with just the two drummers beating on their sets, nothing special. After the interlude come " Identity Defined " , a very interesting song and -once again-  catchy! What makes this song special is the constantly shifting riffing and vocal duties. Simply impressive teamwork and an awesome refrain. I must mention that I really like Pope's vocal approach on this one. " Ignoring Anger" opens with a weird riff, I don't know how else to describe. It seems that it is the song I like the least so, I 'm going to move on with the last actual track, " The Warning". And what a great closer that is! Nice lyrics and vocals (!) by mr. Pope, then comes the bassist's time to grab the microphone and show us his growling talents, while the riffing is getting really doomy. You've reached around the 3 minute point and you haven't sensed Laura's presence. Here comes her part, the climax of the song ,in my humble opinion, which comes as a salvation for the listener, who might have gotten a bit tired. Unfortunately, it doesn't last to long. The song ends in an annoying way, with Pope going really repetitve on the vocals. The album closes with a drum solo by the drumming duet. They did a really great overall job, combining many rythms and adding a little more heaviness to the already heavy compositions.
 I love this band and this record so much mainly because of the diversity, that keeps you far from getting bored, and the teamwork. This is a band in which every instrument - except for the bass - is handled by two or more members.Two drummers, two guitarists and three vocalists. And what's more impressive is the fact that they manage to keep them all well constructed and equally shared. A phenomenal album, a classic and personal favorite.
Download of the 2012 remastered version

Kylesa - To Walk a Middle Course (2005)

"Darting eyes and whispers revolve around me.."
Oh, Kylesa..! What an awesome band! How unique, unpredictable and variable!Their second full-length release, "To Walk Middle Course", has recently been my personal favorite and I feel like getting a kind of addicted to it. Although I've been a fan of the band for almost two years, this is the first time I feel this way, and, damn, it feels right!
 In this effort Kylesa combine their early hardcore-punk influences along with sludge and doom elements.Also, you can come across with some traces of psychedelia, especially during the seconds
of ambience between each song, something that makes the album flow better. At that particular point of their career Kylesa used to have a single drummer, however the drumwork on this album is pretty solid and does not lack of anything, really heavy percussion. The riffing is amazingly creative and unique in some tracks, such as the uber-catchy opening riff of "Eyes Closed from Birth". Others are bleak and slow, like the intro of  "Motion and Presence" and "Phantoms". Of course, some DOOM passages are always present as well as beatdowns.Vocalwise, I have really fallen in love with Laura's vocals (or rather screams?) on this album. She appears like being the "man" of this band, since her vocal approach is so harsh and hardcore influenced. That takes guts. As for the guys' vocal attempts I prefer more the deep guttural growls of the bassist (although I'm not sure if that's him) than the let's-say-singing of the other guitarist, which I consider the only drawback of this album.
 The lyrics..I really like them, even though they're not audible sometimes. As I said above I love Laura's vocal parts and apart from her style, that's because of the lyrics.
"The air rolls through me
Only to cultivate fog
We're smothered with blackened lungs
An internal smog
Have you ever known fear?
Have you ever felt fault?
Have you ever felt something?
Did you ever seem lost?" ( In Memory )
Simply stunning! In general, the lyrical themes on this album, just like in their entire career, vary from personal issues and inner struggles to abstract thoughts.
 Ten songs, a total running time of 40 minutes. Could be an enjoyable listen for everybody as the majority of the songs are kind of short and keep far from getting bored or something. I would recommend it to anyone keen on hardcore-punk influenced sludge metal and generally a fan of experimentation, cause these guys really tend to experiment a damn lot.
Standout tracks: "In Memory", "Fractured", "Motion and Presence", "Eyes Closed at Birth", "Phantoms"
Official site
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Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead (1984)

This band and album drew my attention around 2 years ago because of their name (It is translated as ''Pass of the Spider'' in Tolkien's Elvish language and of course refers to Shelob's lair from the Lord of the Rings books)and the awesome artwork that depicts the albino prince Elric from Michael Moorcock's eponymous books fighting the King of the Dead.So I decided to listen to this album and let me tell you it was really worth it!In fact I consider it to be one of the best heavy metal albums of all time.First of all the production isn't anything special but it is by all means good enough for you to feel the epicness of the album flowing through you.The guitar work is also really awesome with doomy riffs and really catchy melodic solos that send chills down your spine.The acoustic pieces in some songs like ''Finger of Scorn'' fit really well and help to create an amazing atmosphere.The vocalist sounds exactly like a banshee crying under a full moon mourning the death of a brave warrior.Not everyone likes his singing style but I couldn't help but love it.The lyrics are exactly what you'd expect from a band named ''Cirith Ungol''.That's right, their lyrics are mostly influenced by J.R.R Tolkien's books but they are also gloomy and dark,drawing inspiration from the work of Black Sabbath,making them one of the pioneering bands of doom metal.

So in conclusion I believe that Cirith Ungol's King of the Dead is a true landmark in the history of heavy metal though it didn't get all the recognition it deserved.I think all fans of traditional heavy metal should check them out.

Find info here: Metallum Page

Download at : Album Download

Black Knight - Master of Disaster (1985)

  These old dogs from Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) drew my attention really recently, because of a good friend who reminded me to check them.
They truly amazed me with those heavy metal pounding riffs and the classic clean vocals of the 80's NWOBHM and Heavy Metal bands. Truly impressive and powerful sounds that, unfortunately remained underrated and forgotten (by some). Together with Virtue, I put this band in the list of the "Amazing but Underrated", as I believe that if they continued, they would make Heavy Metal diamonds! Black Knight, of course, worth a try and if you are the classic heavy metal type it will surely suit your tastes, as you will love the riffs and the epic-themed lyrics (even though they are not written somewhere, you can easily understand them in some songs).
 Unfortunately, this awesome band left only an EP and a compilation for us, which is more than stunning. Master of Disaster is surely an EP that would belong in the Heavy Metal Legacy, a piece of good, old, classic, Heavy Metal, so...make sure you check them out!
Download here: Mediafire Download
Find information here: Metallum Page