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 KYLESA – Spiral Shadow
(Seasons Of Mist/Riot!)
The Skinny: sound explorers find what they’re looking for
Kylesa’s 2009 release Static Tensions was the best damn alternative heavy metal record since Mastodon’s Leviathan. The Savannah five-piece’s hasty follow-up, Spiral Shadow, is a layered, diverse and truly expansive sonic offering. A worthy successor to Static Tensions. Like Mastodon, their frequent touring partners, Kylesa have evolved their sound by looking outside an immediate scope of heavy metal reference points allowing their artful ability of crafting dark, spacey pysch-rock to emerge from their swamp dirge take on heavy metal. Spiral Shadow is another exercise in superbly controlled dynamics from the band. From fast to slow, punk to psychedelic. The sparring dual drum kits helmed by Carl McGinley and Tyler Newberry and the male/female vocal interplay between Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope provide tracks like Dust and Drop Out with endless nuances.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: tracks like Don’t Look Back. That even sound, if only for a moment, (gasp) radio-friendly.
****½
 SOILWORK – The Panic Broadcast
(Nuclear Blast/Riot!)
The Skinny: no signs of distress from melodic death metal disciples
If you’re reading this column then you probably already have a pretty good idea what you’re getting into picking up a Soilwork record. Either that or you’re a relative or close friend of mine who is flipping through Rave and you feel obliged to read the stuff I’ve written. Either way, Swedish outfit Soilwork have stayed relatively true to the Gothenburg sound since their inception, and this eighth full-length is no exception. In spite of its familiarity however, The Panic Broadcast is one of the most exciting Soilwork releases in a long time. The expected ultra-melodic choruses are a standout here. Ranging from the awesome (Late For The Kill, Early For The Slaughter) to the ridiculous (Two Lives Worth Of Reckoning), vocalist Speed Strid lays down some memorable lines and hits all the right notes, creating instantly memorable mosh pit sing-alongs. Abandoning the thrashy feel of Sworn To A Great Divide, The Panic Broadcast has Soilwork adding an unparalleled level of technicality to their instantly recognisable sound.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: King Of The Threshold
***½
 ELECTRIC HORSE –Translations
(Independent)
The Skinny: new record from a new group of rock vets
Formed out of the ashes of Lump and Sunk Loto, Electric Horse’s debut EP isn’t what you’d expect from the band if what you’re anticipating is a bona fide jumpdafuckup nu-metal slammer. Which is for the best, because you probably can’t remember where your Limp Bizkit CDs ended up either. Instead, Translations offers up six tracks of driving hard rock, the heaviness of guitars balanced against Jason Brown’s soaring, powerful vocal melodies. Benefiting greatly from Electric Horse’s years spent honing their songwriting chops in other bands, the debut sounds incredibly polished. Tracks like They Say are immediately catchy and hint to a very prosperous career for Electric Horse.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: fans of Australian hard rock done right.
***
 36 CRAZYFISTS – Collisions And Castaways
(Roadrunner Records)
The Skinny: more punches from Alaskan bruisers
36 Crazyfists have always offered something more than the morass of metalcore wannabes, and Collisions And Castaways, the band’s sixth record, is still ahead of that curve. Again, the band’s post-hardcore posturing shines through in the arrangement of songs on the album and Collisions offers relief from the rigidity of the metalcore dynamic. While the tracks seem to fall just short of being the kind of anthems that comprised Rest Inside The Flames, cuts like Anchors and Caving In Spirals sound like ideal additions to the 36CF live set.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: the infectious sing-song quality Brock Lindow injects into In The Midnights and Death Renames The Light.
***
TOM HERSEY
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