Kalas - Kalas
Rating
RIYL
High On FireNeurosis
Kyuss
Cougars
Tracklist
1. Momuments to Ruins2. Frozen Sun
3. Godpills
4. Media Screws
5. Things Done and Undone
6. Mother's Tears
7. Pleasurable Prison
8. Due Time
9. Voyager
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Matt Pike has had quite the career in stoner rock and doom metal. He is undoubtedly an icon of the genre, and through numerous bands, has defined and redefined stoner rock. Following High On Fire’s 2005 masterpiece, Blessed Black Wings, Pike has returned with Andy Branton (Econochrist), Paul Kott (Cruevo), Scott Plumb (Cruevo), and Brad Reynolds with Kalas.
Although they refuse to be tagged as a side-project, it’s hard to see Kalas taking time from the other members’ initial bands – especially High On Fire. Regardless, Kalas tricks forward with their eponymous Tee Pee debut.
First of all, even if you like Pike and High On Fire, know this: Kalas is less metal and more dynamic hard rock than anything else. Following the lead of 70s rockers, Kalas utilizes harmonic guitar leads, pounding bass, and steady drumming. Nothing on the album is too noisy or inaccessible, making this a pretty standard hard rock album. In fact, with Pike’s signature growl removed, Kalas would sounds at times like a standard hard rock band. However, Pike’s presence is there and noticeable, and Kalas definitely utilizes doom attributes, most notably, doom’s slow pace.
Kalas sound like the stoner rock veterans they are, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to a great album. A lot of the album’s musicianship isn’t memorable, and it can be overly repetitive, even for a stoner rock band. Creativity is lacking a bit, and Pike sounds out of place and awkward during some of the songs.
Despite these small shortcomings, Kalas still manage to put together a decent stoner record, with killer tracks, like “Monuments to Ruins,” “Godpills,” and “Pleasurable Prison.” The latter of the three is without a doubt the album’s most exciting track, which includes chugging bass lines, varied crunching guitars, and a most sensationally heavy bridge.
Additionally, Kalas utilizes the dynamics of bands like Isis and Neurosis, which is admirable and definitely gives the album extended dimension, but with Pike as the frontman, these attempts sound forced and graceless. He simply doesn’t have the vocal qualities necessary for this to work effectively. He’s a mean motherfucker; he’s not a crooner.
Hopefully Kalas isn’t more than a side project because that would take away precious, precious album time from High On Fire.
--Kamran Rouzpay
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