Back in 2006, I had the pleasure of seeing Kayo Dot play End Hits’ basement, which was one of the best record stores that ever graced this city. I wasn’t very familiar with the Boston, Mass. band beyond a handful of songs from the two LPs available at the time. However, I was a big fan of frontman Toby Driver’s previous group, the metallic avant-garde weirdos Maudlin of the Well, so I figured I’d catch his latest project’s show.
I was happy that I did. Kayo Dot’s performance not only went down as one of my all-time favourite gigs, but by far the loudest I had ever seen in Ottawa. By the last song, a man sitting cross-legged on the floor was actually covering his ears in pain. I guess I should have done the same, but the awe-inspiring noise was hypnotic as it was oppressive.
As the years went on, Kayo Dot continued putting out records that mostly built on the experimental progressive metal style established by their first two albums.
Despite occasionally rising to roaring decibels, their output generally stayed at low volumes. This was fine and dandy, but I never stopped yearning for a release that captured the intensity of that claustrophobic performance.
I dropped those hopes when I saw the press release for Coffins on Io. Peppered with bands that allegedly influenced the LP, it was an unusual smorgasbord of name dropping: pop icon Peter Gabriel, post-punkers The Sisters of Mercy, art rock pioneers Roxy Music, gothic metal titans Type O Negative? Just what kind of album was Kayo Dot working on?
It turns out to be a pretty good one. Coffins on Io definitely sounds like them, only now played through a gothic rock filter. The band’s distinctive winding song structures are still actively present in the record’s 49-minute run time, but they’re now brimming with sounds more commonly found in progressive rock and post-punk troupes.
For example, the galloping “Offramp Cycle, Pattern 22” is filled with Davie Bowie-esque vocals and synthesizer lines that wouldn’t feel out of place on an old Genesis LP, while the brooding opener “The Doves of Mortality” almost sounds like Type O Negative worship.
After years of hearing bands claim influences that their musical output barely resembles, it’s refreshing to find one that actually does. Instead of just copying the aforementioned groups, Kayo Dot uses their sounds to simply accent their own. While it’s not the abrasive masterpiece I’ve always craved from them, Coffins on Io still stands out as one of the most refreshing rock albums of 2014. If that Ottawa performance traumatized the cross-legged man, this record could bring him back.
