Review Summary: Keistas offer a small taste of what's to come.
Lincolnshire isn’t much of a hotbed for metal. I’ve been wracking my brains trying to think of any major examples of bands from this area, but so far I’ve come up with nothing. But now we have Keistas, a young thrash/groove metal/hard rock outfit from Boston. They certainly have a lot of ability and it’ll be interesting to see how they progress as they hone their skills.
The band’s debut release, “Withering”, only contains 3 tracks but each one is different. Opener SAS is a straightforward groove/thrash offering while Whiskey is a slower hard rock piece and Smoke Street Gathering is more align with classic heavy metal. The musicianship is very promising, with the guitarists Kieran Dunnington and Dave Weston delivering some excellent riffs and some classy solos for good measure. The bass is simple enough but is audible (a rarity in this area of metal) and and carries the rhythm nicely. However the production is still rather muddy and the drums feel rather low in the mix while the guitars are at the forefront of the music. Vocalist Jake Scarboro also has some work to do before his vocals can catch up to the standard of the music.
However, despite those flaws, the music is still enjoyable. Opener SAS has a tight groove and is the sure fire mosher of the EP and while ballads like Whiskey aren’t for everyone, they can provide a nice change of pace. The variety in the tracks is also good for the band as it shows that they won’t be dragged and pigeon-holed into one style of music, however, a more focussed direction on their next release may help them to secure a sound that they can settle into and fully realise their potential in, because they lack the eccentricity of Mr Bungle and Maximum the Hormone to pull off that level of genre shifting – but stretched out over a full album? Maybe the occasional deviation from their staple sound will be a good thing.
I await their next (hopefully longer) release in order to see what their best style should be and what direction they’ll decide to take. But is you want to hear a few songs from a young band, that’s a little rough around the edges, showing what they’re capable of, then check out Keistas.
