Massive KEN Mode & Kylesa EU Tour.

01/13    Oberhausen, DE @ Kraftwerk In Der Turbinenhalle
01/14    Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
01/15    Paris, FR @ Glazart   
01/16    Montpellier, FR @ Secret Place   
01/17    Madrid, ES @ Ritmo Y Compas   
01/18    Porto, PT @ Hard Club   
01/19    Lisboa, PT @ Santiago Alquimista   
01/20    Bilbao, ES @ Sala Azkena   
01/21    Barcelona, ES  @ Salamandra 1   
01/22    La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirene   
01/24    Zurich, CH @ Abart   
01/25    Munchen, DE @ Feierwerk   
01/26    Wien, AT  @ Arena  
01/27    Milano, IT @ Lo-Fi   
01/28    Schweinfurt, DE @ Alter Stattbahnhof   
01/29    Poznan, PL  @ Blue Note   
01/30    Berlin, DE @ Magnet  
01/31    Hamburg, DE @ Logo   
02/02    Tampere, FI  @ Klubi   
02/03    Helsinki, FI  @ Nosturi   
02/04    Jyvaskyla, FI @ Lutakko   
02/06    Stockholm, SE @ Lava   
02/08    Trondheim, NO @ Klubben  
02/09    Oslo, NO @ Bla   
02/10    Bergen, NO @ Garage  
02/11    Stavanger, NO @ Folken  
02/13    Aarhus, DE @ Train  
02/14    Copenhagen, DK @ Beta  
02/15    Leipzig, DE @ Conne Island  
02/16    Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez   
02/17    Reims, FR @ La Cartonneire   
02/18    Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje   
02/19    Brighton, UK @ The Haunt   
02/20    Birmingham, UK @ HMV Institute Temple  
02/21    Leeds, UK @ The Well   
02/22    Dublin, IE @ Button Factory   
02/23    London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington   
02/24    Evreux , FR @ L’Abordage 
02/25    Quimper, FR @ Les Hivernauts   
02/26    Lille, FR @ Aeronef

Revolver Guide To CMJ 2011.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19th  

BARRERACUDAS
Brooklyn @ Knitting Factory    CMJ Showcase, set time 10:30 PM

DAVILA 666
Brooklyn @ Knitting Factory    CMJ Showcase, set time 11:20 PM

WEEKEND
New York @ Cake Shop    CMJ Showcase - Spaceland Productions, set time 1:00 AM

New York @ Puma Store    CMJ Showcase - Puma/Spin, set time 2:30 PM

THURSDAY OCTOBER 20TH

BLUES CONTROL
Brooklyn @ Littlefield    CMJ Showcase - WNYU, set time 9:30 PM

FRANKIE ROSE
Brooklyn @ Littlefield    CMJ Showcase - WNYU, set time 12:00 AM

WEEKEND
Brooklyn @ Cameo Gallery    CMJ Showcase - MTV Hive's Weird Vibes/PopGun, set time 12:30 AM

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21ST

DROP THE LIME   
New York @ Public Assembly (front room)    CMJ Showcase, set time 10:00 PM
New York @ Mercury Lounge    CMJ Showcase - Windish, set time 2:00 AM

ROYAL BATHS   
New York @ Bowery Ballroom    CMJ Showcase, set time 10:00 PM w/ Crocodiles, Dum Dum Girls
New York @ Cake Shop    CMJ Showcase - Kanine, set time 11:20 PM

WEEKEND   
New York @ Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios    Unofficial CMJ party - Insound/Fred Perry, set time 1:00 PM
Brooklyn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg     CMJ Showcase - Brooklyn Vegan, set time 11:00 PM

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22ND

KYLESA
New York @ Santos Party House    CMJ Showcase - True Til Def, set time 10:00 PM

WHITE FENCE
Brooklyn @ Public Assembly    CMJ Showcase - Panache, set time 10:30 PM

Revolver Guide To Pichfork Music Fest 2011

FRIDAY JULY 15TH
GUIDED BY VOICES   
Green Stage - Set Time 6:25 PM 

SATURDAY JULY 16TH  

CHRISSY MURDERBOT   
Blue Stage - Set Time 1:00 PM

THE FRESH & ONLYS   
Green Stage - Set Time 1:00 PM

WOODS   
Red Stage - Set Time 1:45 PM 

SUNDAY JULY 17TH

TWIN SISTER   
Blue Stage - Set Time 2:50 PM

BATHS   
Blue Stage - Set Time 4:45 PM

KYLESA   
Blue Stage - Set Time 5:45 PM

Golden Hammer Of The Gods - Kylesa

Guess what? Kylesa has been nominated for Best Underground Band for Metal Hammer's 2009 Golden Gods Awards. You can show the band your support by voting HERE. Killer logo.

According To Pitchfork Kylesa's Static Tensions Are Of 8.2 Magnitude.

Kylesa
Static Tensions
8.2
Original Post

If the world were just, Kylesa would be a household name. Fellow Georgians Mastodon have rocketed to fame due to hard work, press hype, and acceptance by non-metalheads. Fellow Savannians Baroness have earned plaudits due to a sound that's more classic rock than metal. Kylesa, too, have alloyed sludge metal with melody and finesse. Their star, though, has brightened more slowly. After four albums and thousands of road miles logged, its shine has become brilliant.

Kylesa formed in 2001. From the beginning, it was somewhat of a mutt. Hardcore punk, crust punk, caveman metal, and rough-hewn prog did battle on its self-titled debut. 2005's To Walk a Middle Course was darker, dragging sludge metal through murky depths. The following year's Time Will Fuse Its Worth was a breakthrough for several reasons. First, its production was relatively clear, exposing diverse elements: flashes of psychedelia, dueling male and female vocals, punk and metal at each other's throats. Second, it was Kylesa's first album with two drummers. At that time, though, their impact was greater live than on record. Most importantly, the band discovered catchiness. "Hollow Severer" found guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope carrying an actual tune, and its video got MTV exposure.

The lessons learned are manifest on Static Tensions. In the past, Kylesa's songs were often about a minute too long. Their head-down pounding worked well live, but dragged on record. Now riffs repeat only when necessary. Songs climb up and down with relentless momentum. "Scapegoat", for example, is basically a hardcore punk two-step. But despite this newfound efficiency, the songs are more baroque than ever. They flaunt melodies shamelessly now. Choruses are insistent. Practically the whole record is hummable. The bright theme of "Unknown Awareness" arcs like a rainbow overhead. "Running Red" alternates Slayer harmonies with riffs redolent of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Laura Pleasants' singing, once a buried gem, is often upfront. She ranges from a mysterious coo to more forceful declamation. Both provide a feminine contrast to roiling, downtuned riffs underneath.

Headphones, or a good stereo, reveal this record's masterstroke: production that mostly separates the drummers hard left and right. This yields both greater clarity and density. Together, the drummers form a prickly thicket of percussion. But they often separate into rich counterpoint. "Said and Done", for example, pits blastbeats on the left against slow accents on the right. They're playing in time, but they're almost fighting each other. The body is torn as to how to react.

Such push and pull echoes Kylesa's lyrical obsession with time. Yesterday and tomorrow are common concerns. The specter of aging haunts this record, with repeated references to fading away. "Insomnia for Months" swims in a haze of "Multitude of memories/ Left in a stupor/ Sobriety out of boredom." But the delivery is sharp, with ride cymbals cutting through tumbling syncopations. Kylesa's lyrics lean towards the abstract and personal. They avoid grand gestures or obvious themes that allow for easy grasp. (Contrast, for example, Mastodon and mythology.) This time, though, grasp is almost moot. The band has etched light, dark, sky, and earth so deftly onto wax that it vibrates the very soul.

— Cosmo Lee, March 23, 2009

Upcoming live shows:
03/24 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
03/25 Savannah, GA @ The Jinx
03/26 Wilmington, NC @ Lucky’s Pub
03/27 Asheville, NC @ Rocket Club
04/10 Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theater (W/ Mastodon)
04/11 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues (W/ Mastodon)
04/13 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater (W/ Mastodon)
04/14 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre (W/ Mastodon)
04/16 Phoenix, AZ @ Martini Ranch (W/ Mastodon)
04/17 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
04/18 Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Veterans Hall
04/19 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (W/ Mastodon)
04/21 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre (W/ Mastodon)
04/22 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s (W/ Mastodon)
04/23 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (W/ Mastodon)
04/24 Calgary, AB @ MacEwen Ballroom (W/ Mastodon)
04/25 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Ballroom (W/ Mastodon)
04/26 Saskatoon, SK @ The Odeon (W/ Mastodon)
04/28 Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick W/ Mastodon)
04/29 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Hall (W/ Mastodon)
04/30 Chicago, IL @ Metro (W/ Mastodon)
05/01 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom (W/ Mastodon)
05/02 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom (W/ Mastodon)
05/03 Montreal, QC @ Club Diablo
05/04 Montreal, QC @ Le National (W/ Mastodon)
05/05 Toronto, ON @ Opera House (W/ Mastodon)
05/06 Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
05/07 Boston, MA @ House of Blues (W/ Mastodon)
05/08 Philadelphia, PA @ TLA (W/ Mastodon)
05/09 New York, NY @ Fillmore @ Irving Plaza (W/ Mastodon)
05/10 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (W/ Mastodon)
05/11 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club
05/12 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (W/ Mastodon)
05/13 Carbarro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (W/ Mastodon)
05/14 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel (W/ Mastodon)
05/15 Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage (W/ Mastodon)

A Whole Lotta Kylesa.

Metal Sucks Reviews
KYLESA’S LEAN AND MEAN STATIC TENSIONS
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 12:00pm by Sammy O'Hagar

The excellence of Kylesa’s new album, Static Tensions, is rooted just as much in what it doesn’t do wrong as what it does right: Kylesa’s two drummers could have made them the Allman Brothers of metal (metal doesn’t need an Allman Brothers, as far as I’m concerned); their super down tuned guitars and classy, evocative amps could have lead to drone metal wankery; their sludgy riffs and clear penchant for marijuana could have lead to an entertaining, yet directionless, riff fest. But they eschew that whole thing all together, instead opting to make a concise and brilliant metal record, plain and simple, without indulging themselves in the sort of excess the genre can be known for. The best parts about having two drummers in a heavy-footed metal band, the best part about having lower-than-hell guitars and sweet amps, the best part about composing an album of wall to wall top shelf sludge riffs are all that’s present on Static Tensions, an admirably lean and to the point album that’ll rattle around your rib cage until it sticks there.

At times, Static Tensions brings to mind fellow Georgians Mastodon (the opening riff to “Insomnia for Months“ sounds straight off Remission), but only in the respect that they both worship at the alter of classic capital-”M” Metal, dusting bits of prog and Sabbath swagger on top of their riff-heavy concoction. But the two bands are by no means derivative of one another; while Mastodon suckle at the teat of thrash, death metal, and even grind as well as old school metal, Kylesa are content to stay nestled in the old school, riding mammoth sized grooves and briefly dallying in psychedelic bits before diving back into the primordial ooze. And the songs retain their own personalities while managing to work well together: “Running Red” is what Fugazi would sound like covering Iron Maiden, “Said and Done” is vintage stoner rock with the menacing bellow of Philip Cope keeping it focused, “Scapegoat” is venomous metallic punk rooted in a wonderful two step, “Only One” and “Perception” both have almost offensively simple-yet-effective riffs that beg the question, “How the hell can a band in 2009 still pull this sort of shit off?” There’s not a song among them, though, that stands as filler. Every song is essential to Static Tensions, and every fucking one is great.

Drummers Eric Hernandez and Carl McGinley, as I mentioned before, certainly know how to utilize everything that’s great about having two drummers: they make monolithic beats that stand twice as massive, skitter about pensively (like they do in what sounds like an ADD blast beat on “Said and Done”), or briefly indulge in tribal-sounding rhythms. Kylesa’s sense of when to reign it in puts them head and shoulders above their hipster metal/beard metal “peers,” too obsessed with art school pretentiousness to fully grasp the primal spirit of great metal. While unafraid to put a toe into the outer reaches, they make sure that their other foot is firmly planted on the other side. Static Tensions, despite its occasional genre-flexible tendencies, is just a solid fucking metal record. Though it’s hard to tell at this time of year, it may be an early contender for one of the year’s best.

(four out of five horns)

Marathon touring schedule for 2009:
02/06 Nagoya, JPN @ Huck Finn
02/07 Tokyo, JPN @ Earthdom
02/08 Tokyo, JPN @ Kameido Hardcore
02/11 Gifu, JPN @ 51
02/13 Fukuoka, JPN @ Graf
02/14 Yamaguchi, JPN @ Club Squad
02/15 Osaka, JPN @ Club Drop
02/28 Masquerade @ Atlanta, GA
03/13 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
03/14 Johnson City, TN @ The Hideaway
03/15 Nashville, TN @ The Muse
03/16 Little Rock, AR @ Downtown Music
03/17 Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe
03/18 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
03/19 San Antonio, TX @ Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar
03/20 Austin, TX @ Red 7 (SXSW Tone Deaf Touring Showcase)
03/21 Houston, TX @ Numbers
03/22 New Orleans, LA @ Candle Factory
03/24 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
03/25 Savannah, GA @ The Jinx
03/26 Wilmington, NC @ Lucky’s Pub
03/27 Asheville, NC @ Rocket Club
03/28 Birmingham, AL @ The Nick
04/02 Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
04/04 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
04/05 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
04/06 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
04/07 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/08 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Ballroom
04/09 Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse
04/11 Winnipeg, MB @ Royal Albert
04/12 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
04/13 Mokena, IL @ The Pearl Room
04/14 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
04/15 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
04/16 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
04/17 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
04/19 New York, NY @ BB King’s Blues Club
04/21 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s
04/22 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx 04/23 Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
04/24 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade

Blown out dual drum solo footage: