Static Tensions

Album Review

Since constant musician turnover has pretty much been the only "constant" aspect of Kylesa's career thus far, the Savannah, GA-based outfit's latest personnel department update (that being session bassist Javier Villegas) is duly noted, but glossed over so that we can focus on far more relevant issues such as the condition of the group's ever-evolving musical endeavors on album number four, 2009's Static Tensions. (Come to think of, it shouldn't that always be the case? Anyway...) Well, for starters, the band's refreshingly uncommon two-drummer, three-singer lineup continues to offer expanded possibilities for distinguishing their technically busy brand of post-progressive metal from contemporary competitors (and fellow Southerners) like Baroness and Mastodon. Along with the severely downtuned guitars of last-standing founding members Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants, those alternately shouted, crooned, or croaked "singing" styles provide all of the multiple personalities needed to flesh out the instrumental diversity of standouts like "Unknown Awareness," "Nature's Predators," and "Only One," whose mighty grooves boast elements of stoner rock, sludge rock, psych-rock, alternative rock (no "To Walk Alone"), and just plain ol' rock-rock (see "Almost Lost," in particular). And, OK, so some cynics may argue that a pair of "normal" drummers merely equates with one Brann Dailor (that's Mastodon's octopus-like percussionist), but not after hearing the devastating rhythmic propulsion that Kylesa's Carl McGinley and Eric Hernandez bring to bear on whirling sound dervishes like "Insomnia for Months" and "Said and Done." At the end of the day, the best single word for describing Static Tensions is "unpredictable," and although this characteristic may demand a few more listens before the album's many amazing qualities can sink in properly, the ultimate payoff is very much worth the effort.