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Aug 1, 2013Bandleaders Phil Cope and Laura Pleasants show off five LPs worth of development, coming into their own on "Unspoken," "Quicksand," and "Grounded," all lessons in following the muse down a path of riff-ripened enlightenment.
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Jul 15, 2013Despite these myriad weapons and extended gestation, the record sounds like a half-step backward, and feels like a more straightforward endeavor than the band's genre-straddling, far-out Spiral Shadow.
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Kerrang!Jun 20, 2013Once again, Kylesa have made a humdinger without repeating themselves. [1 Jun 2013, p.53]
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Jun 19, 2013Fans of the characteristic Kylesa stomp will find enough of it remaining in the cracks to keep them entertained, but the originality and kinetic force of their vision has become a splutter.
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MagnetJun 18, 2013With Ultraviolet, Kylesa has retreated to a place of darkness and alienation. [No.99, p.57]
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Q MagazineJun 17, 2013They're still relentlessly heavy, just less hypnotically so. [Jul 2013, p.111]
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Jun 13, 2013Where the band’s double-drum rhythm section was once their most forceful sound, here it’s just another element in an impressively rich palette.
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Jun 5, 2013In the end, Ultraviolet’s finest moments occur when Kylesa venture farthest from their proven strengths and step into the unknown.
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Jun 3, 2013The precipice looms and, for now, the band seems content to wallow close to the edge.
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May 30, 2013While their newfound alt-rock dalliances tend to blur together in the middle for some urgent-sounding tracks marked by temper-tantrum vocals ("What goes around, comes back around," promises "We're Taking This"), they finish strong, never quite denying their metal instincts
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May 30, 2013Despite its highs, Ultraviolet is a patchwork of arduousness, with some seams still showing.
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May 28, 2013In the end, Ultraviolet may not be the best metal album of 2013, but it’s definitely the 2013 metal album you’d most be a fool to ignore.
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Alternative PressMay 28, 2013There's nothing here as flat-out beautiful as "Tired Climb" from 2010's Spiral Shadow, but Ultraviolet is both expansive and rockin' in equal measure. [Jun 2013, p.96]
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May 28, 2013If there’s something holding the album back, it’s that the band is almost too efficient and unforgiving in its editorial choices.
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May 28, 2013With Ultraviolet, Kylesa has once again established themselves in the great tradition of hard-rockers who've realized it's possible to make a "dark" album without sacrificing accessibility, further proving that heavy riffs and great hooks aren't mutually exclusive.
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May 28, 2013Its chemistry takes longer to break down, but it’s worth the effort.
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May 28, 2013Ultraviolet represents a further refinement of the new direction they've been heading in, making it not only the bands 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.
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May 28, 2013Rich and vibrant musically while raw and emotive lyrically, Ultraviolet is Kylesa's highest achievement to date.
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May 28, 2013All of this adds up to another winning album in a near-flawless discography.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Jul 10, 2013
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Jun 2, 2013