Kalas

Formed as an underground supergroup, Kalas—pronounced "Kah-laas"—assembles the skills of multiple esteemed Bay Area indie players: guitarists Andy Branton of Econochrist and Samain plus Paul Kott from Cruevo and High Tone Son of a Bitch, drummer Scott Plumb also of Cruevo, bassist Brad Reynolds, and, appearing without guitar as lead vocalist for the first occasion in his professional life, Matt Pike of High on Fire and Sleep renown. The endeavor first surfaced in 2003, coalescing slowly across ensuing years and demo sessions until it secured a contract with New York's Tee Pee Records and delivered its self-titled postmodern metal debut—merging the seismic alt-doom of Neurosis with longstanding metal and hard rock touchstones such as Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy—in April 2006.