Iration, Kanaka Fyah, et Tunnel Vision

With a name that could not possibly be further opposed to the general perception of reggae - it’s about as easy to imagine Bob Marley becoming irate about something as it is to picture the members of Slipknot sitting down for afternoon tea and a nice slice of cake - Iration set out to give the genre a much-needed shot in the arm in 2004, when they began playing shows in the small college town of Isla Vista. The rock edge they brought to their music commanded the attention of locals, and that propelled them to national attention within the genre when their debut full-length, ‘No Time for Rest’, topped the Billboard Reggae Charts in 2007. They opened for Pepper on tour the following year, their first nation jaunt within the U.S.

They followed up their debut with records including 2010’s ‘Time Bomb’ and 2013’s ‘Automatic’, although the latter was not released before the departure of co-lead vocalist Kai Rediske, who worked on the album. A vague statement on the band’s website, suggesting that he departed to “pursue other interests”, has failed to quell speculation that tension between Rediske and the band’s other singer, Micah Pueschel, led to the split.