Kallias – First Ascent

I always love discovering a new and innovative progressive death metal or technical death metal band. I’ve always been keen on the extreme genres but among those, the progressive niche has always gifted me with the most unique, eclectic and unexpected treats. It’s become very challenging for musicians to find an identity of their own in today’s ever-evolving artistic climate, without risking to just re-hash someone else’s work. But many still find a way to stand out as themselves, sometimes even despite very obvious influences. And Kallias is my latest discovery of this sort.

The U.S. based quartet recently dropped their debut album, “First Ascent”, and I was fortunate enough to stumble into it just around the time of the release. Since then, I’ve been growing increasingly fond of it every day. As is the case with a lot of progressive music, the album is a grower, and one can’t properly praise or criticize it without first intently listening to it a number of times. But it’s certainly also the case that there are just enough engaging elements to make your first experience a pleasant one and leave you wanting to come back for more!

What first struck me about the writing style on “First Ascent”, was the precise, calculated nature of the rhythmic structures, almost worthy of the math-metal label. The first track, “Irrational Fear” creates this impression with the trippy syncopated guitar riffs and the flat, monotone effects used. At first I worried that the album would sound too clinical and lack any expressive value. But shortly, the fast death metal drumming makes its way into the mix, and it becomes clear that the coupling of groovy prog metal sections with outbursts of technical extremity is at the core of Kallias’ sound. The rhythmic component is undeniably influenced by Meshuggah, whether it be a faster death metal song like ‘The Dark Machine’ or a more groovy and eclectic one, like ’21 Grams’.

Kallias – Irrational Fear (feat. Jeff Loomis)

But Meshuggah is specifically targeted at the tough, rugged individuals who love to have their minds, bodies, and souls bombarded by borderline incomprehensible rhythmic supremacy 24/7 (hey I just figured that could be a time signature). Kallias, on the other hand, deliver their mind-warping rhythmic abilities in measured doses and alternate them with atmospheric elements, beautiful lead guitar sections and blistering death metal fury to create a more complex yet more easily digestible musical puzzle that can more easily appeal to broader audiences.

The band also lists Decapitated among their influences, and the pulverizing delivery of blast beats in songs like ‘The Dark Machine’ and ‘Lungta II: Everlasting’ makes it clear why. However, the modern edge to their sound as well as the use of jazzy elements would sooner have me compare them to Obscura and Beyond Creation. Particularly the clean guitar moments (‘The Approach’, ‘Nine in Time’, ‘Lungta I: The Path’) remind me of Beyond Creation’s latest record. The somber mood in some of these sections as well as some of the more monochrome riffs also point to why the band lists Opeth as an influence. When all these names are flying around, you should know by now that the album is quite aj exquisite cocktail of different musical ideas.

Bassist Chris Marrone delivers a strong jazzy influence to the sound while also bringing forth that modern day tech-death bass sound in certain moments (’21 Grams’, ‘Matter Eater’). Drummer John Paul Andrade displays incredible versatility by bringing together appropriate grooves and techniques for all the previously mentioned genre influences and combining them into a cohesive flow without any contrast coming across forced or out of place. On top of this, guitarists Colin Cook and Nicole Papastavrou bring their riffing abilities together to create a rich, heavy as well as melodic metal sound. And then it’s time for the lead sections. The solos come across either as shreddy and technical (‘The Dark Machine’) or beautifully melodic (‘Mater Eater’). And complementing their own abilities, there are 3 guest slots from incredible guitarists to deliver solos in their own iconic styles. We have Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy) on ‘Irrational Fear’, Rafael Trujillo (Obscura) on ’21 Grams’ and Gregg Burgess (Allegaeon) on ‘Nine in Time’.

Kallias – Lungta II: Everlastingg

The vocal delivery also exceeds expectations from a death metal album, since it consists of both clean and harsh vocals brought together in a very interesting manner. Marrone has a hard rock style singing voice which would probably come across out of context if it weren’t purposely slitted into the groovy bits of the music. And for the extreme sections, Nicole Papastavrou gives some excellent dry screams. Either voice on its own would probably not cut it to fit the wide range of influences in the instrumental, but the cleverly thought out alternation, and sometimes even synchronization of the two, covers all nuances of the emotional spectrum that the music requires.

To wrap up the album, the 2-part ‘Lungta’ shows their ability to mix influences at its best. After an atmospheric clean guitar intro (part 1), the song goes from a rock’n’roll beat, which weirdly makes sense, into technical death metal, complex progressive sections and some low rumbling riffs that almost come across doomy. It pushes everything that the band has delivered throughout the album to new levels, and once the album is done, the only thing you feel compelled to do is hit ‘repeat’. “First Ascent” is an extraordinary display of clever composition, diverse technical abilities and ingenious combinations that stands as a unique voice in the progressive death metal scene!

Track List:

1. 1. The Approach (00:45)
   2. Irrational Fear (ft. Jeff Loomis) (04:57)
   3. Disembodied Existence (04:26)
   4. Matter Eater (05:26)
   5. The Dark Machine (04:42)
   6. 21 Grams (ft. Rafael Trujillo) (05:52)
   7. Nine in Time (ft. Gregg Burgess) (02:55)
   8. Lungta I: The Path (01:13)
   9. Lungta II: Everlasting (06:51)