Time Will Fuse Its Worth

The third album by Georgia stoner metal outfit Kylesa comes after a trying period in the band's history, following the 2002 death of a founding member with a period of personnel instability that finds the group with a largely remodeled lineup and singer/guitarists Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants the sole remaining original members. Somewhat paradoxically, however, the turmoil seems to have refined and amplified Kylesa's strengths. Unlike the band's earlier records, which sometimes seemed rather scattershot in the way they fused hardcore punk, power metal and low-end sludge, the descriptively titled Time Will Fuse Its Worth finally finds the band putting all the pieces together. An admirable experimental streak is evident in the near-psychedelic interludes that tie the songs together, and the songs themselves utilize the power of the riff in ways that haven't always been in reach for this band previously. "Where the Horizon Unfolds" and "Hollow Severer" are particularly solid, with both tracks using the band's unusual three-vocalist lineup to its best effect. One nitpick: other than the expendable drum duet "Intermission," the band's new dual-drummer setup adds little to the group's sound, which is a shame, because a pair of drummers could potentially add some interesting rhythmic approaches and textures to a style of music that's otherwise all about the thud. ~ Stewart Mason