kHz- Reality on a Finer Scale

Sounding something like the love child of Evanescence and Tool channeling Courtney Love, kHz burn through 15 tracks of angst-ridden alterna-metal and dark rock on their latest full-length, Reality on a Finer Scale. Five years in the making, the album is sometimes lyrically poignant and soft-spoken and, at other times, straightforward and to the point, making no excuses for its lack of eloquence. In fact, "It's Yours", the disc's opening track, contains some variation of "fuck" in nearly every sentence. This duality also permeates the music, blending the melodic and the aggressive.

Fronted by vocalist Raiana, whose lovely ethereal vocals sometimes morph into a metal snarl, the band is anchored by guitarist/keyboardist/programmer Pull, who has a rather prominent background in television scoring and remixing. His experience certainly shows through in the album's excellent production and tight sound. The performances are all exceptional, and certain production touches, particularly the vocal effects and layering used, work extremely well and add a lot to the ambience of the material.

The album, while very sonically consistent, has a fair stylistic range, with heavier, more aggressive numbers like "It's Yours" and "Let It Go" giving way to melodic ballads like "Empty" and "Alone" and the excellent stark ethereal psychedelia and intense buildup of "Find Your Way Part II". Other highlights include the powerful riffing of "Test My Faith", the plodding verse and eerie chorus vocals of "It", the more upbeat chorus of "Inside", and the up-tempo semi-industrial rocker "Now It Never Ends". However, there's really not one remotely bad song to be found on the album.

Overall, kHz's Reality on a Finer Scale is an excellent outing that successfully combines angst-ridden, aggressive alterna-metal with moody ethereal rock; an album that is melodic and emotional yet kicks ass and takes no prisoners. Likely to appeal to everyone from metal fans to goth rock fans to industrial audiences to a decent portion of mainstream alternative listeners, kHz's newest offering is worth checking out.