Search - Kalas :: Kalas (Dig)

Missed Oppurtunity - Why Pike Is Not Playing Guitar Bemuses

Tom Chase | London | 10/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Kalas interested me as I am such a huge fan of Matt Pike, in my opinion THE guitarist in the doom/stoner genre for his timeless work with the legendary band Sleep and his more recent works with High on Fire. While he takes lead vocals in HoF, the main redeeming feature of both bands is his guitar work. He was the driving guitar force in Sleep, churning out monumental riffs and ethereal solos, and with HoF he is simply a blaze of fury with those frantic solos and of course juicy riffs. So naturally I was excited to hear about Kalas, a new stoner/doom style band with this legend at the helm. I was extremely disappointed when I found out that really, he isn't at the helm at all as he only plays guitar on one track (which not so coincidentally happens to be one of the highlight pieces) and takes sole duty of lead vocals. This is a big mistake, because quite frankly without the Matt Pike interest, Kalas would be nothing more than your run of the mill act.



The most aggravating thing about Kalas' self-titled is that the two guitarists only make about half the noise Pike makes with his one guitar in HoF and Sleep. There is a real lack of power in the tone, it's often very dreary and very un-confrontational, which makes potentially good riffs rather bland sounding. This is obvious to me straight away with the menacing riff intro to Monuments In Ruins, it IS a good riff, it has that rolling bluesy style that only the best of the genre can pull off, yet by the time the band has gone over it a few times, I found myself bored. There is no real attack, the guitars are too quiet and weak, the bass isn't fuzzy enough and the drums have a thuddy dull kind of sound.



Pike's vocal delivery I have to say savours the overall sound, he does have a nice gritty rasp that cuts through the lacking tone, best shown in Godpills where he really gives everything. But while his vocals are good at times, adding a more abrasive quality, they are nothing special and do not stop me from thinking how much of a disappointment the album is. In HoF his vocals are perfectly mixed, they are behind the guitar onslaught, so he accentuates the guitars, as opposed to lead them.



Another grope I have is the song structures, perhaps it is because the band lacks any real delivery, but the songs just seem to meander and drift around simple motifs with needless bridges and needless extra verses. I think about 15 minutes could be cut off the album to better effect. Every song has a bloated structure and outstays its welcome. But, I believe this is a result of the lack of attack and delivery in the general tone and feel.



Matt Pike should be playing the lead guitar here, that is a certainty. The two guys playing here make nowhere near enough sound and delivery, and while Pike has an interesting voice, he will never be acclaimed as a master vocalist, as he has been claimed master guitarist for over a decade. Real missed opportunity.

"

Good first release

darkmoon | oakland, ca | 07/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Heavy, depressing and slow, yet rich and emotional, has the power of High on Fire with a tempo more like Isis. Moments to Ruin opens the album with the sweetest riff ever. Pike's vocals are a bit rustic on this one- even compared to HoF. Some questionable moments as he explores new territory......he goes a bit too far with the tortured goblin/muppet [...] for my taste at times......but the more melodic stuff is interesting. This album grows on you and if you liked Sleep and HoF you will probably like Kalas. Has a similar sort of Tolkien metal feel that will keep you coming back for more."

High On Fire meets Isis

Big Ern | Salt Lake City, UT | 05/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you like High On Fire, then buy this CD. On a couple of the songs Matt Pike tries some cleaner vocals, it's good."