It’s
the end of the week, Friday does cometh; unfortunately so does the traditional
English weather. 6 hours of solid rain. Never the greatest motivation to head up the
M1 motorway at the best of times, but given severe weather warnings, there
needs to be a good reason to head up north, putting my faith in public
transport too, no less. At the end of
the day, the decision was made easy, that reason, Kylesa!!
3
hours later, a brief detour home, one bus, one coach, sodden shoes and a taxi
rider later, I arrive at The Brudenel Social Club, Leeds. The added incentive, getting to meet my
fellow sludgelordian and resident Kylesa fan boy and reviewer, Matt Fitton and
his lovely wife.
The
Brudenel, is every inch a social club, resident lounge bar resembling the old
working men’s club of yore, your favourite ales on tap and possibly even some
pork scratchings too. The venue itself,
exudes an old school blues bar vibe, exposed brick wall on the stage with ‘The
Brudenel’ emblazoned on the wall, it feels a venue with history and more importantly
that all important ‘vibe’.
With
the first beer of the evening in hand, the band Krokodil a late addition to the
bill kick things of in caustic fashion. Featuring
current Canaya (local to Leeds ) vocalist, ex –
members of A, Hexes, Gallows and SiKTH, most notably current Radio 1 Rock show
mainman, Daniel P. Carter on guitar, they are welcome addition. Mastering the art of the chugging riff and
with groove in abundance, Krokodil produce a scintillating display, with the
vocals being at the heart of everything good, splicing a growled and screamed
approach which, if you know Canaya is of the highest order. The biggest compliment I could give is that
if music had been available it would have been purchased. Amazing breakdowns certainly got you chest beating
hard, the only disappointment for me was that they were not given the main
stage in which to unleash the full range of their arsenal. Credit where credit is due though, these
dudes travelled a long way to get here today and they delivered a stellar
performance and left me thirsty for more.
Do yourselves a favour check out this snapping Krokodil. Indeed, check out the band Canaya too.
Next
up is the Norwegian Band, Jagged Vision, a blend of hardcore and stoner rock, signed
to the Retro Futurist Label. So what
bang, do we get for our buck? For me, having only listened to their debut
record, Harvest Earth briefly, I really didn’t know how the band would
translate to the stage, indeed the record left me a little lukewarm. Tonight, however Jagged Vision, with their
mix of hardcore, punk and stoner rock came out all guns blazing. Vocals were vehemently belted out and the
musicianship was faultless, indeed the crowd took awhile to warm up to them but
I could not fault the commitment of the band.
Gracious in their thanks to crowd, an endearing quality in my eyes, Jagged
Vision seemed at ease on stage, exuding confidence, bucketfuls of swagger and a
riff quota high and heavy. Delicious.
Sierra
are next up, having not heard their blend of rock, I was reliably informed by
present company that they deal in psychedelic stoner rock with a modicum of
prog thrown into the mix. What was
apparent from the outset was the depth and range of their songs, at the hard of
which were riffs, bone crunching riffs.
I’m talking ‘Vote with a Bullet’ crunch.
Ya dig! Sierra for me was a real
highlight, 3 dudes, the amps and fucking great songs. Ripping songs!! Front man
Jason Taylor caressing his Gibson Les Paul, like a mother with their new infant
baby and just the same amount of love and affection. There is also something to be said about a
bass player, doing it like Geezer, Robbie Carvalho his fingers like a plectrum,
giving that warm and generous tone to the songs. No gimmicks, just the power
kicking you in the gut. Awesome stuff. The prog element of their songs, is the
expansive tone of the music, rich and varied, the riff quota per song is high,
with some masterful lead breaks too. The track PSeptember
was the high point of their set for me, ferocious riffs which would make Zakk
Wylde blush. Crushingly heavy and just
good old fashioned groove in abundance, the ebb and flow of the band was
seamless and just a delight to watch.
The
headliners from Savannah, Georgia finally hit the stage long into the
evening. All is forgiven though, as soon
as they open up with a pulsating rendition of Scapegoat. Whilst far from
an expert on this band, Kylesa couldn’t have got it more right in terms of
opening up the show. Static Tensions is
the record that hooked me into this band around 5 years and their best record
IMO, dealing as it does in tight sludgy riffs and the dual vocals of Pleasants
and Cope, this is a crushing start to their 14 song set.
For
me, tonight is all about the percussion and drums. It is often overlooked or perhaps
it is due to lack of effect on record, but the presence of two drummers on
stage, just add further depth to their songs, indeed the intricacy and timing
of both is mind blowing. A real
highlight was the brief drum solo from Carl McGinley (drums), Eric Hernandez
(drums), and it just drew me in and had me and the crowd eating out of the palm
of their hands. There are not many bands,
who boast this kind of dual drum approach, but it just reminded me of early
Neurosis, or the more tribal aspects of Sepultura, say Ratamahatta. Amazing to
witness and those guys are just phenomenal, adding so much more to their live
show. Unspoken is up next, one of the stronger tracks from their latest
record, but in my opinion, it strayed a little too far away from their traditional
sludge sound, though it is another great track tonight.
If
one criticism could be levelled at the band tonight, it did seem on occasion, the
set was so nailed down, it seemed a little too clinical. In addition, the guitars, specifically that
of Pleasants was very low in the mix and barely audible at times, though that
is a minor gripe. Hollow Severer and Nature’s Predators were vehemently dispatched
and then we get the first taste of Spiral Shadow, Tired Climb is one of the strongest tracks on that record and it is
an absolute barnburner tonight, vocally, Pleasants sounds amazing and for me
Cope was a revelation
Bottom Line from To Walk A Middle Course is another solid
track, into Quicksand, the mood and
texture of the guitar tones enveloping you, this is a very tranquil tone and
sits comfortably against some of the more heavier moments of tonight’s set. The theramin adding moody ambience to the
set, with me jokingly remarking that Dr. Who must be in tonight or words to that
effect. It is a given that To Forget is next, given the qualities
of this track, bare strong resemblance to the previous one. The majestic Long Gone is up next and this is another great tune, which translates
to the stage perhaps even better than on the Ultraviolent record. Again there is a strong percussive element to
this tune and it is a drummer’s wet dream, because it is yet another example of
the rhythm section nailing things to the wall.
Unknown Awareness, We’re Taking
This and Running Red takes us into the tail end of the set. Perhaps with a fitting Encore, including Don’t Look Back, kinda typifying the journey
of an intense touring schedule, with the refrain of ‘keep movin, don’t look back’.
It
is close to 11.30pm and Said and Done is just a stunning end to a brilliant
evening tonight. Worth the journey on a
cold, wet Friday? You bet your fucking
ass, it was worth it. Much beer was
consumed, I met some ace people and to top it off, all bands were awesome. I’d say it was pretty much as good as it
gets.
Words by : Aaron Pickford
