The Kahless Clone are back with their second EP “Our Never-Ending Loneliness,” the follow up to their fantastic debut EP “An Endless Loop.” The band is led by Novembers Doom guitarist Vito Marchese but is certainly not the same musically as that band. The Kahless Clone is more dark post metal versus the progressive doom of Novembers Doom. I really enjoyed the first EP so I was quite interested to see where the band would go from there.

The EP starts with “I Would Leave All of This Behind, and so Would You” and while I like the keys and spacey vibe of the track, it has one thing that I completely hate…that super heavy sub bass thud sound. It’s used within the “chorus” and drives me nuts. Unless you are doing hip hop, I can’t for the life of me think why you’d do it. It’s a shame because it’s a good track but I skip it after the bass hits a few times.

“I Can Almost Reach You” is next and once again, I love the synth on this one. The main melody line is a nice, clean synth and it works perfectly. Keyboardist Ben Johnson really showcases his taste on this track. In addition to the synth, there’s some piano parts and a backdrop of mellotron as well. Great track.

At some point, I should credit Vito with something right? I mean, the guy is a friend and he’s the name draw for The Kahless Clone. Ok then, Vito did a great job of getting Johnson in the band. Hahaha! But to be fair, the guitar parts on the whole EP range from crunchy chorus to tasty melodies. “If Only We Had More Time Together…” is a good example of that.

The biggest problem is the drums. Yes they SOUND programmed. The snare sound is good but the cymbals just never sound right. It’s weird! Sadly, they sound less organic-like than on the first EP. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not, but it keeps the music at more of an arms distance.

The album closes out with two solid tracks “This Is All Falling Apart” which is very hooky and my favorite track on the EP and then the closer “Is This What You Wanted?” which is a mellower piano driven acoustic track. So it’s ALMOST what I wanted, but I did give a pass to the drums on the first EP with hopes that not only would that change but perhaps the sound might be more organic overall. Not so much.

“Our Never-Ending Loneliness” has some AWESOME riffs and even more amazing keyboard moments. The songs are shorter than last time and the electronic percussion is counterproductive. It’s definitely worth everyone checking out as this is a talented bunch, even Vito.

Rating: 7.5/10

Tracklist:

1. I Would Leave All of This Behind, and so Would You
2. I Can Almost Reach You
3. If Only We Had More Time Together…
4. This Is All Falling Apart
5. Is This What You Wanted?

Release Date: 3 November 2017
Bandcamp: thekahlessclone.bandcamp.com/album/our-never-ending-loneliness