Ultraviolet (Kylesa album)

Ultraviolet is the sixth full-length studio album by American sludge metal group, Kylesa. It is also the group's third album to be released through Season of Mist.

Ultraviolet
Album cover artwork by Sean Beaudry
Studio album by
Kylesa
ReleasedMay 24, 2013 (EU)
May 28, 2013 (US)
RecordedOctober 2012 - December 2012
The Jam Room, Columbia, SC
GenreSludge metal. psychedelic rock
Length38:50
LabelSeason of Mist (CD, vinyl, digital)
SOM275
ProducerPhillip Cope
Kylesa chronology
From the Vaults, Vol. 1
(2010)		 Ultraviolet
(2013)		 Exhausting Fire
(2015)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[2]
Allmusic[3]
The A.V. Club(B+)[4]
Consequence of Sound[5]
CraveOnline[6]
Decibel[7]
Exclaim![8]
Loudwire[9]
Metal Storm(8.0/10)[10]
Metalsucks[11]
Outburn(9/10)[12]
Paste(8.7/10)[13]
Pitchfork(7.0/10)[14]
PopMatters[15]
Punknews.org[16]
Slant Magazine[17]
Spin(7/10)[18]

Writing and recording

Writing for Ultraviolet was done periodically throughout the span of two years, unlike previous albums which were written and recorded during shorter periods of time.[19] In an interview with Echoes And Dust, Philip Cope stated it was the first time he played the theremin a lot for an album, as well as incorporating instruments such as synthesizers and a skateboard guitar for the recording.[19] According to Cope in an interview with HEAVY, "The biggest difference with Ultraviolet is that everybody now pretty much plays multiple instruments and we let everybody do what they want. Nobody has a particular role; no one has to play just guitar or just drums."[20] It was also noted that Cope took on more of a "director" role during the recording process, with Laura Pleasants contributing more vocals compared to previous efforts.[21][22]

Theme

Speaking with Bearded Gentlemen Music, Cope stated that the album cover was done by Sean Beaundry. Explaining the imagery of the scarab beetle, Cope stated "I thought that it fit pretty well with this album, you know, just kinda look at it as scarabs basically being dung beetles that make things out of shit." continuing, "We kinda had a huge pile and we’re making an album out of it. There’s other symbolism like that on there as well."[22]

The album title "Ultraviolet" is a reference to reaching for the intangible, towards something we know is there, but cannot see.[23] In an interview with eMusic, Cope explains, "I wouldn’t be doing what I do now if I wasn’t reaching for something more — even if I don’t know exactly what that is."[23]

Promotion and release

The group released three tracks from Ultraviolet: "Quicksand", "Vulture's Landing" and "We're Taking This", prior to the album's release. Eventually, the album was made available for streaming in its entirety through Metal Hammer.[24] It was ultimately released on May 24, 2013, in Europe and on May 28, 2013, in North America in CD, vinyl and digital download formats through Season of Mist.[25] A coinciding North American headlining tour with Blood Ceremony, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf from May 28 to June 22, 2013 in support of the release was scheduled as well.[26]

Reception

The aggregate review site Metacritic assigned an average score of 78 out of 100 to the album based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Praising the album as one of the group's strongest efforts, Gregory Heaney of Allmusic remarked, "With such a layered and melodic sound, Ultraviolet represents a further refinement of the new direction they've been heading in, making it not only the band's most accessible work to date, but also their most purposefully written and solidly constructed, putting it in the running for the best album of their career."[3] In regards to the band drawing more from their various influences, Sammy O'Hagar of Metalsucks commented, "Kylesa have never been shy about the fact that they’re a multi-headed beast, but Ultraviolet may be the truest expression of the wildly varying nature of the band’s personality thus far."[11] CraveOnline's Iann Robinson lauded the effort as an "acid trip", stating, "Ultraviolet is the inside of the Monolith, the theme in God’s mind’s eye and a commanding, visceral record that invites us to think, feel and experience the music all at once."[6] At Outburn, Jeff Treppel called this "possibly the best release yet from a consistently great band, but then, that's the case with every new album they put out."[12]

In a somewhat mixed response, Pitchfork's Grayson Currin expressed, "Ultraviolet rarely feels singular or confident; it’s the sound of a band attempting to underline its claims to distinction." He continued, "But when Kylesa allows those extrinsic factors to emphasize their momentum rather than detract from it, they are unstoppable..."[14]

On the day of the album's release, Stereogum named the record their "album of the week".[27]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Exhale"3:02
2."Unspoken"4:47
3."Grounded"3:13
4."We're Taking This"2:41
5."Long Gone"3:26
6."What Does It Take"2:04
7."Steady Breakdown"4:48
8."Low Tide"3:35
9."Vulture's Landing"3:15
10."Quicksand"2:34
11."Drifting"5:25
Total length:38:50

Personnel

Ultraviolet album personnel adapted from CD liner notes.[28]

Kylesa

Guest musicians

  • Jay Matheson - bass on "Exhale", "Quicksand", and "Drifting"
  • Brett Kent - keyboard on "Drifting"
  • Steve Sancho - percussion on "Low Tide"

Production

  • Philip Cope - producer, engineering
  • Jay Matheson - engineer
  • Steve Slavish - assistant engineer
  • Jamey Rogers - assistant engineer
  • Zac Thomas - assistant engineer
  • Greg Slattery - studio assistant
  • Brett Kent - studio assistant
  • Dave Harris - mastering at Studio B, Charlotte, NC

Album artwork

  • Shaun Beaudry - illustrations
  • Casey Mckinley - layout

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Billboard 200[29] 173
Billboard Hard Rock Albums[29] 14
Billboard Heatseeker Albums[29] 4
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gollark: OOP isn't *that* apioformic.

References
  1. "Critic Reviews for Ultraviolet - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  2. Gregory Heaney (May 22, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet Review". About.com. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. Tom Campagna (May 27, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet". Allmusic. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  4. Jason Heller (May 28, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  5. Jon Hadusek (May 21, 2013). "Album Review: Kylesa – Ultraviolet". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  6. Iann Robinson (April 18, 2013). "Review: Kylesa's 'Ultraviolet' is a Full-Fledged Acid Trip". CraveOnline. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  7. Begrand, Adrien (June 2013). "Kylesa, Ultraviolet". Decibel. 104: 98.
  8. Natalie Zina Walschots (May 24, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  9. Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (May 30, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet". Loudwire. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  10. BoxCar Willy (May 24, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet review". Metal Storm. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  11. Sammy O'Hagar (April 10, 2013). "Kylesa's Ultraviolet: Light My Way". Metalsucks. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  12. Treppel, Jeff (2013). "Kylesa: Ultraviolet (Season of Mist)". Outburn. Octavia Laird and Rodney Kusano. June/July 2013 (69): 62. ISSN 1542-1309. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  13. Jason Ferguson (May 28, 2013). "Kylesa: Ultraviolet". Paste. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  14. Currin, Grayson (May 30, 2013). "Kylesa: Ultraviolet | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  15. Dean Brown (June 3, 2013). "Kylesa: Ultraviolet". PopMatters. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  16. thepopeofchili-town (May 28, 2013). "Kylesa - Ultraviolet". Punknews.org. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  17. Jordan Mainzer (May 24, 2013). "Slant review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  18. Kory Grow (May 30, 2013). "Kylesa, 'Ultraviolet'". Spin. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  19. Sander (May 2013). "Interview: Phillip Cope from Kylesa". Echoes And Dust. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  20. Damo (May 9, 2013). "Kylesa's Philip Cope Interview". HEAVY Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  21. BuickMckane (May 28, 2013). "Kylesa In The Ultraviolet Light". Metal Underground.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  22. Phil Maye (May 15, 2013). "Interview: Phil Cope of Kylesa". Bearded Gentlemen Music. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  23. J. Edward Keyes (March 28, 2013). "Interview: Kylesa". eMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  24. Merlin (May 17, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Hear New Kylesa Album 'Ultravoilet' Right Here". Metal Hammer. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  25. "KYLESA To Release 'Ultraviolet' In May". Blabbermouth. February 26, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  26. Chris Coplan (March 28, 2013). "Kylesa announce North American tour dates". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  27. Tom Breihan (May 28, 2013). "Album Of The Week: Kylesa Ultraviolet". Stereogum. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  28. Ultaviolet (CD liner). Kylesa. Seasons of Mist. 2013.CS1 maint: others (link)
  29. Ultraviolet - Kylesa Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
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