Kybalion - Poisoned Ash (2020)

Primal Australian Pummeling 

The first release by Kybalion, a one man band created by the only man I know in Western Australia is a strong slab of pummeling metal with a diverse but fully integrated source of influences. Knowing what Caspian Yurisich, a father of two from Bunbury, likes, I wasn’t really surprised to see what he did here but I wasn’t expecting it to be that heavy. Caspian is known for his love for drone but he’s a peculiar dude into a lot of things.

Poisoned Ash is a four songs EP mixing the slow hard hitting riffs of doom/death with the hypnotic feel of drone/doom and it’s impressive in its minimalism. It’s stripped down heavy doom to its roots, a big machine made to crush you but also make you feel things deep inside. The drums are programmed and I never really had a problem with that unlike some purists, they sound good and add a cold, almost mechanical feel to the project. It’s a dichotomy when compared to the warm bass and the expressive riffs. Yurisich doesn’t really use lead guitars and there’s, frankly, no need to have any solos whatsoever here. The last track, the nine minutes epic “Absinthe Tide” uses melodica to conclude the album to great effects instead, it’s peculiar and original. That song also includes some melancholic or atmospheric doom elements that wouldn’t be out of place on a My Dying Bride album. “Background Man” also has a really noise/drone conclusion and it fits the manically repetitive riff well. It alternates between fast paced and crushingly slow but it’s always cohesive and well written.

Yurisich’s vocals aren’t really good but he was smart enough to throw them to the background, they sound like they’re in a really hot cave down in the deserted, savage lands of western Australia where the only thing close to being alive you can find is a snoring koala high on eucalyptus leaves (I know that’s not true but please don’t ruin my jokes for me.) His vocals are far away harsh chanting, not too dissimilar from the heaviest stoner/doom bands around in terms of intonation. Not super competent but they’re not something detrimental to my enjoyment of the album, quite the opposite. They add to the primeval or primal atmosphere of the project.

All in all, Kybalion is a breath of fresh air as far as doom/death is concerned. I can’t really think of a band that sounds like them to be honest and that’s a good thing for 2020. Take Jesu and maybe Earth, throw some primitive caveman riffs that are dumbed down purposely and you almost get their sound. Recommended for adventurous doomed explorers.

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