| | Full Review | Ratings (358) |
Give your Rating |
| 3.5 great | Inveigh | October 5th 10 |
still not sure about a rating for this, but it's damn good. Kylesa are consistent as hell, and Spiral Shadow continues with the progression they hinted at on last year's Static Tensions while retaining the hardcore edge that's separated them from contemporaries Mastodon and Baroness in recent years. Definitely on par with High On Fire's latest, and maybe even a bit better.
edit: ok, 3.5 it is. probably would be closer to a 4 if "Don't Look Back" wasn't on here. That song sucks balls.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | Sevhead | October 4th 10 |
Finally adopted a poppy sensibility. "Back and Forth" is so Torche-esque!
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | robthompson | December 30th 12 |
Spiral Shadow was one of the albums of the year for me. The choruses, the effects, the riffs, the vocals, everything is excellent. The mix is resonant and expansive with the instruments complementing each other to make a cohesive whole. It respects its past but moves the band on to win new fans. 78 minutes of quality.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | InbredJed | July 28th 12 |
While I can appreciate that Kylesa is at the point in their career where they wish to experiment and indulge
themselves a bit, I am somewhat disappointed with this album. My opinion is that they should have spent
less time wanking with the pedal effects and more time on structuring the songs to be more interesting, as
there are some touching pieces to be found here. There is also the fact that the "two drummer schtick" is
only a schtick if your drummers fail to make the band sound any different than it would with one. It should
either sound heavier or more intricate, like The Melvins. All in all, it is a good listen, but not nearly as
dynamic as its predecessor. There are new ideas introduced here besides an effects-laden sound, such as
more personal lyrics and more confident singing from Laura Pleasants, but they are not enough to make this
the album that I would hope to hear from this band. And yes, Don't Look Back is severely weak.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | Martine Balcaen | December 9th 10 |
kylesa are a bunch of bad-asses, doing their bad-ass activities in the most bad-assedly delicate way that bad-assery can be done. it's sludge metal in the least sludgiest way possible, often bordering on post-metal or heavy progressive rock. if you're a prog-metal type who's lost faith in anything that doesn't wank around on a fretboard track after track, or that says sludge metal is just another overtried genre that'll eventually all consolidate into one boring track and dry-swallow us whole (you know who you are), please listen to this. spiral shadow grabs you by the wrists, blindfolds you, and hoists you onto some monstrous horse-creature for some desert night-riding. if you are an infant, this will give you shaken baby syndrome... you'll probably like it.rdid i mention this band has dual vocals (female/male) and two drummers? bad ass.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | HereComesTheStorm33 | November 6th 10 |
Majestic music from a prodigious band, the only fault in this album is that you can't really tell why do they need two drummers, because it seems like there's only one guy playing. Nonetheless, this is their most incredible work.
Bump |
| 0.0 | Eli Kleman STAFF | October 11th 10 |
Kylesa FINALLY begin living up to their potential. "Spiral Shadow" is fierce, and wholly immersible. A very, very well done metal album.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Decapod | October 3rd 10 |
Mind bending album. 5 spins, and I'm already hooked. 4/5
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Matski | May 15th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Uqnivde | April 27th 13 |
| 4.5 superb | Caco | April 16th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Yotimi | March 2nd 13 |
| 3.5 great | zakalwe | February 20th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | JSx206 | February 8th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | kb36 | January 22nd 13 |
| 4.5 superb | Brruce | December 20th 12 |
| 3.5 great | akimbo | December 19th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | Radek | November 26th 12 |
| 3.0 good | cndflg | November 19th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Melanin | October 6th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | cjo | September 3rd 12 |
| 3.5 great | Toolock | September 3rd 12 |
| 3.0 good | Titan | August 24th 12 |
| 3.5 great | 231090 | August 19th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | tomr4 | July 18th 12 |
| 2.5 average | lobby | July 12th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | Rail | May 17th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | MrElmo | May 5th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Haunted | April 19th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | 9MgTar | April 17th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | TLX | April 17th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Thomas | April 5th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Lalka | April 5th 12 |
| 3.0 good | nex77 | March 27th 12 |
| 3.5 great | snewso | March 22nd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | joyless | February 5th 12 |
| 3.5 great | SpyMan | January 30th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Troggy | January 4th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Coast | December 21st 11 |
| 3.0 good | pcar | December 6th 11 |
| 3.5 great | Eric | October 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | idk | August 21st 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Juradon | August 3rd 11 |
| 2.5 average | Megan | July 31st 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | dPsychc | July 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | asrowe | July 2nd 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | June 21st 11 |
| 3.5 great | JAV | June 17th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | dav4550 | June 11th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Raust | May 19th 11 |
| 3.5 great | ev0ken | April 20th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | pumi | April 13th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Corvus | April 10th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Adeem | April 2nd 11 |
| 3.5 great | Asator | March 25th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Jozua | March 3rd 11 |
| 3.0 good | aob9 | February 19th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Phate72 | February 2nd 11 |
| 4.5 superb | TBliss | January 23rd 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Fractal | January 16th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rumulox | January 9th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | TheStig | December 29th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | T.K. | December 15th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Deathcar | December 14th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | Babyss | November 25th 10 |
| 2.5 average | endtyme | November 19th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Will C. | November 17th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Irad | November 14th 10 |
| 3.5 great | o971 | November 12th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | bvkuntz | November 11th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | gonzab | November 11th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Eskate87 | November 10th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | djunior | November 8th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Moraff | November 7th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ian W. | November 7th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | 1zero | November 3rd 10 |
| 2.5 average | Mikk | November 2nd 10 |
| 4.5 superb | chaos17 | November 1st 10 |
| 3.5 great | Velcro | November 1st 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | rid | October 31st 10 |
| 3.5 great | prouty | October 29th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | loutr | October 27th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Voivod STAFF | October 25th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Ali CONTRIBUTOR | October 25th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Hep Kat | October 24th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | ot63 | October 22nd 10 |
| 3.5 great | Breeg | October 17th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | shortz | October 13th 10 |
| 3.5 great | alsid | October 10th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Photon | October 9th 10 |
| 3.0 good | drew | October 6th 10 |
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