An album in which Kayo Dot gives us a sublime excursion into dark beauty and controlled rage, flawlessly blending heaviness with brightness.
Toby Driver is a veritable jack-of-all-trades, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist. Similar to Kenn Nardi (Anacrusis), Dan Swano (Edge of Sanity), and Devin Townsend (V.A.I., SYL), he is a musical genius, restless in his pursuit of a unique musical aesthetic.
After the demise of the legendary Maudlin of the Well, Driver concocted Kayo Dot with former Maudlin members Greg Massi (guitar, percussion) and Jason Byron (drums, vocals) as the primary outlet for his incredible compositional skills. To celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Choir of the Eye, their first full-length release, Byron and Massi return to the fold.
Even though rooted in heavy metal, albeit of the Avant-Garde persuasion, this is as far removed as possible from the classic verse, bridge, chorus, solo, verse, chorus formula. Dark, haunting, menacing, brooding, uneasy, and eerie are all adjectives that can be applied to describe this work, which requires the full attention of the listener and also demands infinite patience. If you like more traditional metal releases, full of easy melodies, and melodic riffs and solos, you should steer clear of this record.
Spread across five tracks and clocking at 01h06m (I know! Napalm Death would be able to fit at least 45 songs on this time, 55 on a good day!), track number five, “Blind Creature of Sublime,” being the shortest at 8 minutes 7 seconds and track number four, “Automatic Writing, ” being the longest at 23 minutes 5 seconds. Not nearly long enough for any regular Dream Theater fan worth their salt, but you get the picture. Also, the song titles are fabulous, wouldn’t you agree?
This record is a dense, multi-layered album that warrants repeated listens before you can begin to comprehend the scope of the ambitious songwriting on display. The vocals range from raspy, quasi-black metal deities to operatic chorus, full of haunting beauty. Along with guitar, bass, and drums, the band also deploys an array of instruments instantly associated with metal, such as clarinet, vibraphone, saxophone, trumpet, and other assorted percussion instruments. Sadly, there is no cowbell on this release, much to the dismay of Blue Öyster Cult fans.
The music is as spooky as it is enchanting, gloomy and cheerful in equal measures. The use of an impressive array of instruments, various vocal styles, disconcerting drum and guitar patterns, never makes the music feel over-stuffed or clunky, quite the opposite.
Toby Driver, also in charge of the recording and mixing of the album, gives the music the space it needs to be breezy. You can hear every detail from Tibetan bells to the more subdued bass line or an intense drum break (there are not many, but some, for sure).
A band that never abides by the rules, which frequently hamper creativity within the metal genre. From the very beginning, they set out to be different, daring, and challenging, and by the 11th full-length release, they show no signs of winding down.
Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason is out on August 1.
PHOTO BY: Bob Shelley
