Kylesa

Kylesa are an American sludge metal group from Savannah, Georgia, active from 2001 to 2016. Their sound combines sludge metal with hardcore punk, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, speed metal and other heavy, experimental influences, using drop-tuned guitars and, at points in their history, dual drumming. The name comes from “kilesa mara”, a Buddhist term for delusory mental states.

Formation and early years

The band forms in Savannah in 2001 from former members of Damad, a Savannah sludge metal act that has released two albums in the 1990s. Phillip Cope, bassist Brian Duke and drummer Christian Depken come from Damad, and guitarist and singer Laura Pleasants joins the new group after moving from North Carolina and studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Cope has also been active in hardcore punk since the late 1980s, and in 1992 he books acts such as Buzzoven and Neurosis at a local all-ages club. The band takes shape around Cope, Pleasants and the Damad connection, with Kylesa becoming the new name for the project in 2001.

The group records most of its self-titled first release in May 2001 and plays its first show with Mastodon and Cream Abdul Babar in Savannah on 2 June 2001. Brian Duke dies on 6 June 2001, and the band finishes the recording in his honour, adding two more songs with local bass player Michael Redmond. The self-titled release appears about a year later on Prank Records, after artwork by Pushead is completed. A limited 7-inch single on Prank appears before the full release, and the Pushead-designed logo from these records later becomes the band’s standard logo for merchandise and releases.

Line-up changes and recordings

After Duke’s death, bassist and singer Corey Barhorst replaces him. The band then records a split 7-inch with Memento Mori on Hyperrealist and a split full-length with Cream Abdul Babar on At A Loss Recordings. These releases appear after the debut LP, although they are recorded later, because the artwork for the first album takes time to complete.

More singles and the 2004 EP No Ending 110 Degree Heat Index follow before Christian Depken leaves the group. Kylesa sign to Prosthetic Records and release their second proper album, To Walk a Middle Course, in 2005 with drummer Brandon Baltzley. After that album, Baltzley leaves and the band adopts a two-drummer line-up with Jeff Porter and Carl McGinley, with McGinley coming from Unpersons in Savannah.

Eric Hernandez, from Capsule in Miami, joins in 2008 to replace Porter. The band’s dual drum parts are often mixed hard left and right. The line-up given for the group also includes Carl McGinley, Brian Duke, Phillip Cope, Eric Hernandez, Laura Pleasants and Javier Villegas.

Albums and labels

Kylesa’s third album, Time Will Fuse Its Worth, appears in 2006. Static Tensions follows in 2009 and includes two songs inspired by the shooting of Savannah musician Jason Statts. By this point, the band tours with Mastodon, whose guitarist Bill Kelliher praises them publicly. Journalist David Peisner describes their sound as aggressive but hazy, with a stoner feel that brings together Black Sabbath, Black Flag and early Pink Floyd.

The group signs to Season of Mist in 2010 for Spiral Shadow, which appears that October, and later releases the rarities compilation From the Vaults, Vol. 1. Ultraviolet follows in 2013 and is described as darker in both lyrics and sound than earlier work, with more vocals from Laura Pleasants. The band tours North America in support of the album with Blood Ceremony, White Hills and Lazer Wulf. In October 2015, Kylesa release their seventh album, Exhausting Fire, through Season of Mist. The group announces an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Later status

Kylesa’s activity runs from 2001 to 2016. Their work is associated with sludge metal, atmospheric sludge metal, desert rock, stoner metal and stoner rock, and their releases appear across labels including Prank Records, Hyperrealist, At A Loss Recordings, Prosthetic Records, Season of Mist and Retro Futurist.