Kylesa, BloodCeremony, White Hills, Lazer/Wulf
June 21, 2013
Atlanta, GA, The Earl
Review & Photographs by contributing writer/photographer Jeff Miles (thanks Jeff)!
Kylesa brought their Ultraviolet tour to the Earl in Atlanta, GA, Friday, June 21, with a full lineup including Blood Ceremony, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf.
Lazer/Wulf was the first band to play. I have to preface this with the fact that I’m generally not very interested in instrumental rock. Usually when I listen to instrumental music it’s going to be classical, jazz, or ambient, but with rock I want vocals at some point. A loss for me with so many good instrumental bands out there now (Russian Circles, Pelican, Stallone, If These Trees Could Talk) just to name a few. It’s not that I don’t enjoy instrumental rock when I hear it, I just don’t intentionally pursue it very often. Lazer/Wulf’s arrangements combined heavy guitars, complicated grooves with often a thrash-style syncopation, and a jazz sensibility. Unlike many proggy instrumental bands who play extremely well but are boring to watch, Lazer/Wulf is a very entertaining band. If instrumental rock is your thing, you should definitely give them a listen.
White Hills took the stage next. Blending droning bass riffs with psychedelic space rock guitars, White Hills is somewhat reminiscent of Hawkwind in the way they use repetitive rhythms as a backdrop for long dizzying, acid trip guitar solos that lure you into forgetting it’s a traditional song format, before exploding back into the main riff.
Blood Ceremony was the third band of the night. I spent some time talking with guitarist Sean Kennedy before the show about music and discovered we have some mutual friends. Sean’s a really nice guy and I enjoyed his band’s performance. Blood Ceremony has a definitive late 60s/early 70s vibe, but it comes across as genuine, not retro. Sonically, there is a connection to early Alice Cooper, early Pentagram, and the dark folkiness and melodic sense of Jex Thoth.
Vocalist Aria O’Brien is a show stealer and kept the audience enthralled for the entire set. In addition to vocals, she also plays keyboards and flute. Often when heavy bands add violins, flute, or other “nonmetal” instruments to their ensemble it sounds like an afterthought; at best a garnishment, often a gimmick. The flute and keys in Blood Ceremony’s music are as integral to the songs as the guitar, bass, and drums and didn’t feel out of place at all. To address the 400 lb gorilla in the room, no one will ever play flute in a rock band again without being compared to Jethro Tull so insert your own generic Tull reference here: ___________. I picked up their newest release, The Eldritch Dark, and have been enjoying it ever since. I look forward to seeing these guys again.
[imagebrowser id=12]
Finally it was time for Kylesa to take the stage. Having undergone some recent lineup changes, 
Kylesa now has Chase Rudeseal on bass and in an odd twist, former bassist Eric Hernandez how now switched to drums; maintaining their two-drummer rhythm section. Kylesa has always delivered live. They played through songs from Spiral Shadow, Static Tensions, Time Will Fuse Its Worth, and of course, Ultraviolet. I’m impressed with how Kylesa has expanded their musical breadth on Ultraviolet while still retaining the brutal riffs that beget their success. The riffs on “Exhale” and “We’re Taking This” are as aggressive as anything they’ve done, but the subtlety of “Steady Breakdown” and “Low Tide” is a refreshing growth that became more apparent with Spiral Shadow.
Guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope has always made use of a theremin for additional atmosphere sounds, but now he incorporates what he refers to as a “Skatar” in his arsenal. A theremin is a device which uses antennas to determine the position of the “player’s” hands. The location and movement of the hands determine the pitch and the volume of the sound produced; usually an eerie or sci-fi sound. The skatar is essentially a skateboard turned upside down and strung like a guitar so it appears similar to a lap steel guitar. I believe it somehow works in conjunction with the theremin, and keyboard, but I couldn’t tell you how. Cope states that the rest of the band refers to this assortment as his “space station.”
One final note, props to Kylesa for putting together such a diverse lineup. It’s great when bands are selfless enough to arrange a bill that will accommodate many musical tastes and most likely introduce their audience to something new. Kylesa has made a habit out of doing this and I was happy to see some bands that I may not have seen otherwise.
About The Author
