View source for To Walk a Middle Course

{{Infobox album
| name       = To Walk a Middle Course
| type       = studio
| artist     = Kylesa
| cover      = To Walk a Middle Course.JPG
| alt        =
| released   = March 22, 2005
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = {{flatlist|
*[[Sludge metal]]
*[[alternative metal]]
*[[stoner rock]]
}}
| length     = 40:05
| label      = [[Prosthetic Records|Prosthetic]]
| producer   = Alex Newport
| prev_title = [[Kylesa (album)|Kylesa]]
| prev_year  = 2002
| next_title = [[Time Will Fuse Its Worth]]
| next_year  = 2006
}}
'''''To Walk a Middle Course''''' is the second studio album by American [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Kylesa]]. Released on March 22, 2005, by [[Prosthetic Records]], it was produced by English record producer Alex Newport, who is known for his projects [[Fudge Tunnel]] and [[Nailbomb]]. <ref>{{cite book | title=New Wave of American Heavy Metal |  page=190 | publisher= Zonda Books | isbn= 0958268401 | last=Sharpe-Young | first=Garry}}</ref>
==Music and composition==
''To Walk a Middle Course'' incorporates elements of [[sludge metal]],<ref name="p4k">{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12807-static-tensions/|title=Kylesa: Static Tensions|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]}}</ref> [[alternative metal]]<ref name="allmusic-review"/> and [[stoner rock]]. The album features a variety of metal and non-metal influences, including [[doom metal]], stoner rock, [[punk rock]], and [[gothic rock]]. [[AllMusic]] critic Alex Henderson wrote, "Elements of [[Neurosis (band)|Neurosis]], [[Eyehategod]], [[Orange Goblin]], and [[Black Sabbath]] assert themselves, as do elements of the [[Melvins]], [[Lydia Lunch]], and [[X (American band)|X]]. Kylesa often employ the punky male vocals/punky female vocals contrast that worked so well for X in the '80s, although they're a much heavier band."<ref name="allmusic-review"/> [[Blabbermouth.net]]'s Keith Bergman stated that the band "are all about throwing murky riffs, bottom-of-a-well screams, and lugubrious rhythms into a dour punk stew that name-checks everyone from old Neurosis to [[Amebix]] to Eyehategod to [[Unsane (band)|Unsane]]. <ref name="blabber"/> ''Exclaim!'' critic Jill Mikkelson thought that the record has "prolonged, tension-building moments that sound similar to [[Keelhaul (band)|Keelhaul]], mid-tempo riffing reminiscent of [[Mastodon (band)|Mastodon]] and more emotionally driven, rock-chord progressions that add dynamic to the mud."<ref name="exclaim"/>
==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="allmusic-review">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r733065|pure_url=yes}}|title=To Walk a Middle Course - Kylesa|publisher=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref>
|rev2 = [[Blabbermouth.net]]
|rev2score = 6/10<ref name="blabber">{{cite web| url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/to-walk-a-middle-course/ | title= Kylesa - "To Walk A Middle Course" | work=[[Blabbermouth.net]] | accessdate=July 5, 2017 | last=Bergman |first=Keith}}</ref>
}}
The album generally received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. [[AllMusic]]'s Alex Henderson wrote: "Kylesa can be very dissonant, noisy, and discordant, but they aren't that way all the time; moments of sensory assault can easily be followed by passages that are moody, eerie, and darkly atmospheric." Henderson further stated that the record "isn't as consistent as it could have been, but more often than not, Kylesa's risk-taking pays off on this intriguing, if uneven, effort."<ref name="allmusic-review"/> Keith Bergman of [[Blabbermouth.net]] commented: "After a few tracks, Kylesa's zanily unpredictable mishmash of sound becomes… well… predictable. You'll get the idea after ten minutes — this sort of dirty, dreadlocked psychedelia blown out of the basement of an abandoned punk squat, hoarsely shouted, with riffs that sound apocalyptic in a blown-tube-amp kind of way."<ref name="blabber"/> ''[[Exclaim!]]'' critic Jill Mikkelson wrote: "This record will appeal to fans of stoner rock but isn't anything special."<ref name="exclaim">{{cite web| url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/kylesa-to_walk_middle_course| title= Kylesa - To Walk a Middle Course | work=[[Exclaim!]] | accessdate=July 5, 2017 | last=Mikkelson |first=Jill | date=May 1, 2005}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{{Track list
|title1 = In Memory
|length1 = 4:29
|title2 = Fractured
|length2 = 2:43
|title3 = Train of Thought
|length3 = 3:29
|title4 = Motion and Presence
|length4 = 4:26
|title5 = Welcome Mat to an Abandoned Life
|length5 = 3:38
|title6 = Bottom Line
|length6 = 2:48
|title7 = Eyes Closed from Birth
|length7 = 3:56
|title8 = Shatter the Clock
|length8 = 4:46
|title9 = Phantoms
|length9 = 6:15
|title10 = Crashing Slow
|length10 = 3:35
}}
==Personnel==
;Kylesa
* Phillip Cope – guitar, sampling, vocals
* Laura Pleasants – guitar, vocals
* Corey Barhorst – bass, sampling, vocals
* Brandon Baltzley – drums
;Production
* Alex Newport – audio engineer, production
* Louie Teran – mastering
* Drew Speziale – cover art
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Discogs master|88655|type=album}}
{{Kylesa}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2005 albums]]
[[Category:Kylesa albums]]
[[Category:Prosthetic Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Alex Newport]]