I was pretty hyped for the release of Kylesa's new album Static Tensions. Kylesa has had a few good albums over the years and has been pretty secure in the sludge metal scene. But I have bad news, Static Tensions is just not all that good. Kylesa opens the album really strong with the track "Scapegoat", but quickly falls into a deep void after that. It wasn't until I got to "Almost Lost" that I regained my interest in the album and it hurts to say that.
The real problem with Static Tensions is purely a repetition thing. Several tracks sound so identical that it is saddening. As a metal fan and a promoter of the genre, I can only wonder how they made so many songs that sound so identical on the same album. It used the exact same sounding chords and beats for about 3 or 4 tracks on the album and therefore, created a vortex of lost interest.
The best tracks on the album are "Scape Goat," "Almost Lost" and "To Walk Alone" - all three show Kylesa's real grunge sound. The three tracks are powerful and lasting and provide you with music that is catchy and well put together. The music is well collaborated and done wonderfully... on these tracks only. The rest of the album is not just forgettable, but it is very rough to listen to. The biggest thing about metal is to sound different yet stay the same.
The genre of metal is a displaced one that features true great performers like Dimmu Borgir, 3 Inches of Blood, Amon Amarth and Loren Battle, but also very overrated bands like Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold. I'm not saying that A7X and Metallica are bad, just that they have had a big drop off in their overall abilities and albums over time. Kylesa with this album, seems to be going a bit downward. It's not that the album is unlikeable, it is just a drop off from albums past. It hurts to say, due to how Kylesa has been pretty solid up until now.
The fact is that nowadays you really have to do something explosive to get your foot in the door. Kylesa has been keeping up with their strong style for a few albums and this one just really hit a wall. It is an album with too many misses compared to hits and too many stretches of songs that sound too similar. There is a stretch of five tracks that just hurt your ears and do very little to keep your attention. It becomes painstaking and rough to continue the album on and on. In an easier way to put it, this is a three track only kind of pony.
Overall, the album is not a failure, just a bad period so far. They can make a comeback easily from this album and should. This is Kylesa's 7th album and just like any other band they hit a fork in the road. The album contains good songs, strong lyrics and vocals, but not the umph you would expect from Kylesa. A true Kylesa fan would love this album, but your average metal fan would find the album just the opposite. Kylesa can still make a valiant comeback in the future and let's hope for the best. This just seems to be them between a rock and hard place.
"Static Tensions" is on sale March 17, 2009 from Prosthetic.
