Since the 1994 release of their now-classic full-length debut, Epistemological Despondency, formidable UK outfit Esoteric have never given any ground or sacrificed any of their forward-thinking, avant garde approach. Their albums — all but two of the total six are double-CDs — are massive, expansive slabs of divergent doom. They may hail from the home of the genre in Birmingham, but the only tradition Esoteric have ever adhered to is their own tradition of innovation.

Long established as an influential and guiding act for others who would be of their ilk, Esoteric return this month with their third outing for Season of Mist. Titled Paragon of Dissonance, the name could easily be extrapolated into a statement of intent on the part of the five-piece. Led by guitarist, vocalist and sole founding member Greg Chandler, the seven-song/94-minute collection not only renews Esoteric‘s spirit of willful progress, but continues their push into creative discomfort. On the verge of marking 20 years as a band in 2012, Chandler and Esoteric still refuse complacency at every turn.

And one thing about those turns: They are s-l-o-w. As much as Esoteric have maintained this musically adventurous spirit while skillfully weaving dirge melodies into oppressive, drawn-out doom, they’ve always taken their time doing it, and Paragon of Dissonance is no exception. To wit, the second-disc closer “Torrent of Ills,” unrepentantly tops 17 minutes.

In that time, Esoteric lurch their way through vivid atmospheres of wretched depression, never quite losing the sense of what also makes the bleak beautiful — at least until the destructive noise of the last several minutes rises to engulf the song, the album and seemingly everything else in its path. “Torrent of Ills” is an abyss to get lost in, and Season of Mist was kind enough to let me stream it for one week only on the player below. Hope you enjoy:

Paragon of Dissonance is out Nov. 11 in Europe, Nov. 15 in North America on Season of Mist. More info can be found through the label’s site or the band’s page.

I don’t remember the last time I looked forward to a tour the way I looked forward to the Irving Plaza, NYC, stop of Metalliance. Usually, I’ll get down with a couple bands on a bill, maybe even three or four on a great night, but this lineup was insane. Helmet playing Meantime, Crowbar, Saint Vitus, Kylesa, Red Fang, Howl and The Atlas Moth. Even the bands I was ambivalent about seeing I wanted to see. It’s been a while since that was the case for a single show.

The difference, I suppose, is that Metalliance is essentially a traveling festival. That means shorter sets — 20 minutes each for The Atlas Moth, Howl and Red Fang, then gradually more for Kylesa, Vitus, Crowbar and Helmet — but still, the thought of seeing this many bands on one bill made the show an absolute must. It’s been on my calendar for months. Whatever else happens, Metalliance.

There was a meet and greet before doors and I was invited for that, so I went and chatted awkwardly for a couple minutes with the bands, mostly the dudes in Red Fang about bassist/vocalist Bryan Giles‘ recent interview, but also got my picture taken with Wino, which was cool despite the lengths at which I’ll protest about hating that kind of thing (both having my picture taken and my picture taken with dudes in bands). The conversation steadily fizzled and everyone, myself included, went about their business. I grabbed the first of the evening’s several $8 Guinnesses, made my way upstairs to stake out a spot. It’s Irving Plaza instinct. I’ve seen more shows from that balcony than I can remember to count.

It was early, though. The Atlas Moth didn’t go on for maybe another 20 minutes, and the place was still basically empty, so the beer went fast. When they took the stage, I went downstairs to take the first of the evening’s many, many photos, and check out their set. I had been served a digital promo of their Candlelight Records debut, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, when it came out, but it must have slipped through the cracks. They were post-metal, and apparently down one of their three guitarists, but not terrible. They said from the stage that they’ll have a new album out in the fall. Maybe I won’t have my head up my ass about it this time. No promises, but it could happen.

If I’m not much familiar with The Atlas Moth, I’m a little more directly “take it or leave it” on Howl. The Rhode Islanders don’t really do it for me musically, but even they put on a good show, and I heard from several showgoers over the course of the night how much they enjoyed their set. They were heavier than I recalled them being, but just tipped to the far side of the doom/metal equation, and watching them made me feel old. Think I’d be used to that by now.

Part of my “meh” factor for Howl‘s set might also have stemmed from anticipation for Red Fang. Having never seen them before and so thoroughly dorked out over their forthcoming Murder the Mountains Relapse debut (second full-length overall), I was more or less dying to see their set. They opened with a couple tracks from their self-titled, and hit the new single “Wires” before closing with “Prehistoric Dog.” I felt justified in my excitement by their performance, as they more or less ripped through the material — not in the sense of rushing it — just making it all sound meatier and meaner. They were the first of the night’s several killer acts.

As I mentioned, with Kylesa, the set-times began to lengthen, but even a half-hour of stuff from them seemed short. Bathed half in darkness by the projected art of their Spiral Shadow album, the dually-drummed five-piece were also much heavier than the production on their record might lead you to believe. “Running Red,” from 2009′s Static Tensions, was a particularly welcome inclusion, and though the vocals were high in the mix, everything still came through well enough.

With the double-guitar/double-vocals of Laura Pleasants and Philip Cope, it’s probably really easy for some of Kylesa‘s complexity to become a wash in a live setting (I’ve seen them before but not yet on this touring cycle owing to January’s ridiculous snowfall) depending on who’s working the sound. I think they got a decent treatment at Irving Plaza and was glad to get the chance to have “Don’t Look Back” from Spiral Shadow injected straight into my head from the amps as opposed to the CD. I also got a new appreciation for bassist Corey Barhorst, who I think is a much bigger part of what makes Kylesa so damn heavy than anyone gives him credit for, myself included. I know they tour like bastards, but I was glad to see them this time around, especially after enjoying the album so much.

What can I possibly say about Saint Vitus? I felt like life was doing me a personal favor by their reuniting at Roadburn 2009, and I’ve seen them twice now since then, and I feel the same way. “Dying Inside,” “Born too Late,” “Clear Windowpane” — they were all fucking fantastic. The only challenge I had was trying to decide which I was most into (I finally settled on “Dying Inside”), but the whole set was earth-shakingly heavy. I don’t know how Crowbar felt about having to follow them, let alone Helmet, but I know I certainly wouldn’t want to. They also played the new song “Blessed Night” from the impending whatever-they’ll-put-out, and it was even better in-person than on the YouberTubes clips of it I’ve seen.

I’ve done plenty of worshiping at the altar of Saint Vitus before, but it’s worth noting that even just in terms of the chemistry between the members of the band, they’ve got it down. Even since I saw this lineup — Scott “Wino” Weinrich, vocals; Dave Chandler, guitar; Mark Adams, bass; Henry Vasquez, drums — in Brooklyn late in 2009, their time on the road has made them tighter as a group, and the songs sounded all the more killer for it. Vasquez, who came aboard as a replacement for founding drummer Armando Acosta owing to the latter’s failing health (Acosta died last Thanksgiving), does an excellent job driving the material, and watching Adams, Chandler and Weinrich on stage is like calculating a geometrical proof to discover why the word “legendary” so often appears directly before the band’s name.

If they’d been the only band of the night, I still would have made the trip into the city for the show, but to then have Crowbar follow them was when things really got surreal at Metalliance. It’s like one of those “But wait — there’s more!” infomercials, except that instead of useless, easily-broken shit you get high-grade metal. Crowbar were in sludgy fashion, and the guitar sound, which I bemoaned after their set at the Championship Bar and Grill in Trenton this past December, was much improved coming through the Irving Plaza P.A. They ran through a smattering of the highlight cuts from their career, offering a post-”Planets Collide” mini-encore in the form of latest single “The Cemetery Angels,” from their first album in six years, Sever the Wicked Hand.

It was interesting to compare the Saint Vitus and Crowbar sets in that the two long-running (admittedly Vitus longer running than Crowbar) acts have very different stage presences. Crowbar guitarist Kirk Windstein is clearly the star of the show. It’s his band all the way through, he’s the last of the founding members, the only songwriter and not to disparage the contributions of his band, because they sounded good, but you could probably have any number of musicians up there filling those roles. In terms of presence, Chandler is one of two very strong focal points in Saint Vitus, the other being Wino. Bassist Mark Adams, while a founding member of the band, is overshadowed personality-wise by the guitarist, and from the look of it this past Friday, that suits him just fine, but still, Saint Vitus — even apart from the aura their decades of influence carries with it — are more of a total band experience, where with Crowbar, it’s Windstein‘s gig and everyone knows it.

What that rounds out to, at least as regards Metalliance, is two unmistakable, diverging roads leading to a killer set. The place cleared out a lot after Crowbar with Helmet still to go, but those who stayed were ultimately rewarded for their effort. The truly unfortunate thing about Helmet is how their dissonance got bastardized in the later part of the ’90s by the nü-metal movement. That’s not to say their own burgeoning commerciality didn’t have a role to play, but the sound they became known for fostering wasn’t necessarily the way they actually played. As Meantime nears its 20th anniversary (originally released June 23, 1992) and Helmet has become a more melodically-centered band — the staccato riffing of guitarist/vocalist Page Hamilton taking a back seat — the songs themselves remains eerily relevant.

Hamilton is without a doubt the central figure, though, even more so than Windstein is to Crowbar. Though he’s had roughly the same band with him since 2006, Helmet is his band. All the same, their rendition of the Meantime album was welcomed by those who stuck around to see it, and an appropriate salvo to the evening’s unbelievable gait. When I left, it wasn’t yet 11PM, but I was already dead tired. Six hours of show will do that to you.

Feels redundant to even say it, but if Metalliance hasn’t hit where you are yet, you need to cancel whatever it is on your plate and go. As I noted previously, I took over 2,100 photos at the show, and most of them were crap. About 280 weren’t, and if you want a small sampling of that batch, click the “Read More” link below. Special thanks to Steve Seabury for making the night happen.

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It’s been almost two full years since I last interviewed guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants of Kylesa, and in that time the growth her band has undertaken is remarkable. Their latest album, Spiral Shadow (first for Season of Mist and fifth overall), is a progressive leap from anything the band has done before, Pleasants and fellow guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope — who also produced — in particular focusing on writing memorable songs with an increased emphasis on melody.

The result of their efforts can be heard in tracks like “Tired Climb” or the unrepentantly hooky “Don’t Look Back,” which not only show a newfound maturity from Cope and Pleasants, but an increase in the chemistry between them as a team and the double-drum rhythm section of Carl McGinley, Tyler Newberry and bassist Corey Barhorst. Like its 2009 predecessor, Static Tensions, Spiral Shadow was a highlight of its release year. Hands down one of the least regrettable new-album purchases I made in 2010.

Whatever growth or breadth of influence they show, however, what remains consistent about Kylesa is a fierce will for exploration. They don’t follow the trend in modern metal, they help set it; their post-sludge breathing new life into a genre which often wills itself against sonic diversity. Coupled with the kind of songwriting prowess they show on “Spiral Shadow” and “Distance Closing In,” Spiral Shadow could easily be the marking point of a new stage in an already impressive career.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Just two days after the New Year, Pleasants checked in for a phoner to discuss the metamorphosis of Kylesa, the band’s recent tours with Clutch and Torche/High on Fire, and the working relationship of the band in the studio with Cope at the helm. Like last time, it was more of a conversation than a Q&A, but that’s nonetheless how it’s presented here.

Unabridged interview is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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Kylesa‘s first album for Season of Mist, Spiral Shadow became something of a lesson about life in the age of digital promos. In my review of the album, I raved about the genius of the 10-plus-minute title-track. Extensively. When I finally bought the record to include it in the Southcast, I found the title track to be half as long. I still don’t know what the story was, if they edited the song down, if there was some fluke in my mp3s or what. The songs on the physical product were also in a completely different order.

The result is I’m not sure which version of Spiral Shadow I like better, but suffice it to say both kick considerable ass. Hearing Kylesa embrace their inner prog was a high point of 2010 for sure, and between cuts like the aforementioned “Spiral Shadow” (still pretty good at 5:12), the stomping “Drop Out” and the viciously catchy “Don’t Look Back” — which is probably one of my favorite single songs of the year — there was just about no way Kylesa wasn’t going to make the top 10.

They’ve established a very solid chain of consistency between Spiral Shadow and last year’s Static Tensions, and with all the touring they’re doing (winter 2011 dates have been announced), they can only add to the momentum. Kylesa has never really had a steady lineup, but with the creative core of guitarist/vocalist/producer Phillip Cope, guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants and a duo of drummers, they nonetheless crafted one of 2010′s best albums in Spiral Shadow.

It’s an odd thing that’s happened over the course of the last couple years with the surge of blogs replacing print publications, but you have people (myself included) lining up to be the first place listeners can go to hear/view/download whatever. It’s interesting, like the White House press corps being too afraid to criticize George W. Bush in his first term for fear of losing access. I don’t know if it helps establish a critical aesthetic for these websites, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

There’s an odd egalitarianism too it as well, though, because while anyone can be “the first” to post something and it’s their name that goes out in the press release, five minutes later, everyone else has it. To wit, the following Kylesa video for the track “Tired Climb” from their Spiral Shadow album. Stereogum got the premiere, got their name out there, got the hits, and here we are, with it posted below. Strange days we live in, my friends. Strange indeed.

Sometimes I think bands just use changing record labels as an excuse to screw with their own sound. Certainly Savannah, Georgia, sludge-bringers Kylesa have grown over the course of their four prior studio offerings, but with the latest, Spiral Shadow (their first for Season of Mist), they push their approach into new territory in terms of how it touches on both prog and pop, and come out sounding easily the tightest they ever have, but also the most melodically capable and farthest ranging.

It should say something that in a band with two drummers the guitars still dominate, but that’s the case with Spiral Shadow. By now it goes without saying that guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope did an outstanding job with the production – his prowess in that area is well-documented and one can chart his growth as an engineer/producer over the course of Kylesa’s career – but on Spiral Shadow he seems to have smoothed out the band’s sound some. You can hear it in the tones of opener “Tired Climb,” or in the mixing of the ringing notes that mark the intro to second track, “Cheating Synergy.” Of course, the rhythm section of bassist Corey Barhorst and drummers Tyler Newberry and Carl McGinely is still essential to what Kylesa does, but Spiral Shadow’s focus seems just as much on bringing forward the five-piece’s instrumental and vocal melodicism as on pummeling with sludge or surprising with quick percussive turns.

Guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants made a breakthrough on Kylesa’s last album, 2009’s Static Tensions (their final album on Prosthetic Records), and here she refines and redefines her role in the band. Her interplay with Cope, as on “Drop Out” – which also features some of Spiral Shadow’s best performances from McGinely and Newberry – makes that track among the record’s strongest, but it’s on songs like the poppier “Don’t Look Back,” where Kylesa approaches Torche-like accessibility, and “To Forget” that she really demonstrates how much she’s come into her own in terms of clean singing. It’s strange to think of Kylesa as a band with a frontperson of any kind, since up to this point it’s always been about the group’s performance as a whole, but to call Pleasants’ work on Spiral Shadow anything less than standout is to undersell it.

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How do I know Kylesa‘s new album, Spiral Shadow, is bad ass? I’m listening to it right now! Plus, as though to confirm the assessment I just made (and the one I’ll make in longer form when I review the record tomorrow), the band has posted the opener, “Tired Climb” now on something called MySpace. Being “so totally into this Facebook thing,” I don’t know what that is, but there’s a link provided in the PR wire info below that you can click if you’re feeling adventurous.

Kylesa‘s Spiral Shadow is due out Oct. 26, and the band join High on Fire and Torche for a five-week US tour starting Sept. 29. You’ll find the dates after the jump:

Savannah-based Kylesa have unveiled “Tired Climb,” a new track from their forthcoming Season of Mist debut, Spiral Shadow, on the band’s MySpace page.

The band, who recently wrapped up a European tour with Converge, recorded the new album at the Jam Room in Columbia, SC, earlier this summer with band member and renowned producer Phillip Cope (Baroness, Withered) once again at the helm.

Kylesa is currently working on a video for “Tired Climb” and will return to the road on Sept. 11 with a performance at Raleigh‘s Hopscotch Festival before joining High on Fire and Torche for a five-week US trek.

Click “Read More” below for those dates and others.

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If you heard Static Tensions, then in all likelihood you’re already excited about the forthcoming Spiral Shadow, which is Kylesa‘s first album for new label home Season of Mist, which is due out Oct. 26. If you didn’t hear Static Tensions, well, there’s still time before the new one comes out, and no one has to be the wiser.

Kylesa is about to tour a month-plus with Torche and High on Fire. The PR wire has this:

Kylesa, the psych-rock co-ed Georgians, have revealed the cover art (illustrated by Santos) and track list for the anticipated new album Spiral Shadow.

The band, who recently wrapped up a European tour with Converge, recorded the new album at the Jam Room in Columbia, SC, earlier this summer with band member and renowned producer Phillip Cope (Baroness, Withered) once again at the helm. 

Upon Spiral Shadow‘s release (Oct. 26, Season of Mist), the album will have a limited edition digipak version with 3D cover art packaged with a bonus DVD.

Kylesa is currently working on a video for “Tired Climb” and will return to the road on Sept. 11 with a performance at Raleigh‘s Hopscotch Festival before joining High on Fire and Torche for a five-week US trek.

Spiral Shadow tracklist:
1. Tired Climb
2. Cheating Synergy
3. Drop Out
4. Crowded Road
5. Don’t Look Back
6. Distance Closing In
7. To Forget
8. Forsaken
9. Spiral Shadow
10. Back and Forth
11. Dust

While you and I are sitting on our lazy asses, ostensibly “remembering” the contributions of the veterans who’ve made our empire so very great and laid the foundations for the evil which our leaders have wrought, Savannah, Georgia‘s Kylesa will be in the studio, working hard on their new album. It’s going to be their first record for Season of Mist, and especially coming off the oh-so-badass Static Tensions, I’m stoked to hear what they come up with. Best of luck to the band. I’ll keep them in my thoughts while grilling and/or grabbing a beer from the cooler.

Sayeth the PR wire:

Between extensive tours of Europe, Kylesa will enter the studio on May 31 to begin recording the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed album Static Tensions. The new album is the band’s debut for Season of Mist Records. The sessions will take place over the month of June at the legendary Jam Room in Columbia, SC with Phillip Cope at the helm as producer. The band is very excited about the new material, with writing ongoing since January of this year. After the completion of the recording the band will return to Europe supporting Converge through August, with US touring plans to be announced shortly.

I’ve never experienced one myself, but I’d imagine summer in Savannah, Georgia, is about as hot as you get without actually lighting your face on fire. Nonetheless, Kylesa have bravely chosen to record their album starting in May and finishing in July — right about kerosene time, for anyone paying attention one sentence to the next. Good thing they’re headed north to do it… all the way to South Carolina. Much better.

Straight from the “Didn’t See This Coming” Dept. is the news that Kylesa has signed to Season of Mist, who seem to be making a play at the metal bigtime. Good for them, good for them too, and good for us all because we’ll get a new Kylesa record hopefully before the end of the year. If you missed out on last year’s Static Tensions, it did quite rule.

Says the wire of PR:

Kylesa, whose 2009 album Static Tensions was one of the most critically acclaimed metal albums of last year, has signed with Season of Mist with work already underway on the follow-up.

“We’re very happy to announce our new partnership with Season of Mist for the next Kylesa release, which we are hoping to get out later this year,” said the band. “We are stoked to be working with SOM on this next album. They are a forward-thinking label and they have all been very accommodating and a pleasure to work with.”

Regarding the new album, Kylesa adds, “The writing process for the new record has been intense, taking up the better part of each day since January (that’s why you haven’t heard from us lately), but in return we have some new material that we’re very proud of. The studio sessions at The Jam Room in Columbia start in May and end in early July; we’ll try to have a few reports for you along the way.”

The band is currently touring Europe until early May and will perform at the Roadburn festival in Tilburg, The Netherlands on Apr. 15. Check out the band’s MySpace page for more information on tour dates.

And if I may say so myself, that’s pretty badass. Here’s the PR wire infos:

Two of doom metal?s most acclaimed acts will team up for a two week US tour this winter as the legendary Pentagram joins forces with celebrated ?True Heavy Metal? band The Gates of Slumber. The 11 city tour will launch on January 15, 2010 in Springfield, VA.

Pre-sales for the Pentagram / The Gates of Slumber 2010 US tour go on sale Friday, November 13 [Gads! That's today! --ed.]. The initial routing for the trek is as follows:

January 15 Springfield, VA, Jaxx
January 16 Philadelphia, PA, Polaris
January 17 New York, NY, B.B. King Blues Club
January 18 Richmond, VA, The Hat Factory
January 21 New Orleans, LA, The Howlin’ Wolf
January 23 Atlanta, GA, The Masquerade
January 26 Des Moines, IA, Vaudeville
January 27 Madison, WI, High Noon
January 28 Cleveland, OH, Peabody’s
January 29 Detroit, MI, Blondie’s
January 30 Chicago, IL, Empty Bottle