This is the series where I share with you some great bands from my music collection that should be more famous. This post contains bands that start with the letter K according to my iTunes. It was pretty painful cutting it down to 10 since it seems there are a lot of great K artists.
Karma To Burn
I love this band. K2B, as they’re colloquially called, are fairly unique in that most of their songs titles are numbers and they’re all instrumental. They broke up for a while when their members went on to do other things, but they got back together and they’re currently on tour. I’m always hoping for more.
Origin: Morgantown, West Virginia
Genre: Desert rock, stoner rock, instrumental rock
Years active: 1997–2002, 2009–present
Keelhaul
Excellent band name aside, these guys rock. They’ve been around forever, though they aren’t as productive as they could be. They have an EP called You Waited Five Years For This? Their latest album is called Keelhaul’s Triumphant Return To Obscurity, which is hilariously, sadly true. They should be more famous, because they are awesome.
Origin: Cleveland, Ohio
Genre: sludge metal, math metal, mathcore, metalcore, technical metal
Years active: 1997–present
King Tubby
Even though you’ve probably never heard of King Tubby, you’ve heard his influence. In the 60’s, he was one of the first people to use mixers and primitive early effects units to create remixes and the dub sound. Every remix you’ve ever heard is partly due to this man’s experimentation. He was mainly a producer, but he did a lot of musical collaborations until his premature death.
Origin: Kingston, Jamaica
Genre: reggae, dub
Years active: 1974-1989
Kings Of Nuthin’
Kings of Nuthin’ were once friends of mine. I was on tour with them in the early 00s. The were a force to be reckoned with, especially live. Sadly, their lead singer killed himself a few years ago, so there will never be any more.
Origin: Boston, Massachusetts
Genre: psychobilly, rockabilly, punk rockabilly
Years active: 1993–present
Knut
Knut and Keelhaul go together in my mind a lot. I listen to one, I want to hear the other. Perhaps because they both have been around forever, they rock and they’re both mighty fine examples of mathcore. Go out and buy Terraformer, then pick up Challenger. You will not be disappointed.
Mathcore, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, is a kind of technical metal that uses unusual time signatures and complex rhythms with both metal and hardcore punk influences. I dunno, there’s a lot of math involved. Let’s just say, if you were to learn guitar, Knut or Keelhaul wouldn’t be a good place to start.
Technical metal is not quote unquote metal, like “well, this is ‘technically’ metal I suppose,” but technical as in complex and technically involved.
Origin: Geneva, Switzerland
Genre: sludge metal, math metal, mathcore, metalcore, technical metal
Years Active: 1994-present
Kodo Demon Drummers (Ondekoza 鬼太鼓座)
If you ever get a chance to see them perform, do it. I don’t care how much it costs. I was lucky enough to see them live and I will always remember it. They are astonishing. If they don’t give you goosebumps, you’re dead inside. They’ve been around since the 60s and have an ever rotating cast, but they are always amazing.
Origin: Sado Island, Japan
Genre: Japanese Taiko drums, percussion ensemble
Years Active: 1969–present
Koloto
Koloto is actually only one woman and her sound is pretty unclassifiable. It blends electronica with world music and a little post rock thrown in for good measure. Plus, xylophone. Her only album to date was released in 2014.
Origin: Canterbury, England
Genres: instrumental, world, electronica
Years Active: 2014–present
KozybunX
These guys are so unheard of that I couldn’t even find a video or website for them anywhere. The best I could do is this compilation (which I don’t even own, but would like to now). I cued it up for you, but in case it didn’t work, their song starts at 3:6:22. I have no idea who they are or where I got their demos, but I like it.
Origin: ?
Genre: stoner rock, desert rock, doom, psychedelic rock, sludge
Years Active: ?
Kylesa
Oooh, Kylesa. ❤ I cannot get enough of this song. It’s my absolute favorite by them. I love the rockin’ sound of the music and the male singer’s voice mixed with the girl’s ethereal voice. They’ve gone through a lot of lineup changes, but they’re still very good.
Origin: Savannah, Georgia
Genre: Sludge metal, psychedelic rock, stoner rock
Years Active: 2001-present
Kyson
Kyson is composer/producer/vocalist Jian Kellet Liew. A little electronica, a little hip-hoppy and more than a little trip-hoppy, this is some excellent background music.
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Genre: electronica, electronic rock, trip-hop
Years Active: 2010–present
Fish Of Gold 