Backlit (Isis) (LP 2813 - 2816)

Isis  Oceanic (CD, Ipecac Recordings, 2002) ****  

Isis  Panopticon (CD, Ipecac Recordings, 2004) *****  

Isis  In the Absence of Truth (CD, Ipecac Recordings, 2006) ****  

Isis  Wavering Radiant (CD, Ipecac Recordings, 2009) ****  

Genre: Post-rock, post-metal, prog metal 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dulcinea (In the Absence of Truth)

Gear costume: Stone To Wake A Serpent (Wavering Radiant)

Active compensatory factors: Keegan introduced me to Isis via a track from Panopticon and I was sold!

  

They are a post rock/ prog metal band from America (Boston to be precise). They were active from 1997 to 2010 and Oceanic was their second album.

I've never seen their first album (Celestial) and I'm not that keen because Oceanic is described as a much more musical album than their debut and Oceanic is pretty hard hitting!

I'm not a huge fan of the growly vocals but there is no way to distinguish actual words, so the vocals become just another layer of noise. Apparently Oceanic is a concept album but that goes way over my head.

I much prefer their third album Panopticon. Less vocals and lengthier instrumental passages with a really innovative drum sound and pattern.

On In the Absence of Truth the whole album becomes an organic entity without discernible songs. There are no individual tracks listed on the packaging at all. It's quite effective; Tool do the same sort of thing.

By this stage the vocals in their songs have become more distinct for the most part, and there are more ambient passages. All good signs as the band's sound continued to evolve with a more melodic approach.

The only slight niggle would be the length of these albums in the CD era. They could do with a bit of judicious trimming.

Their final album as Isis before breaking up was Wavering Radiant. It's another quality Isis album, but it doesn't break any new ground. It even has a return to the growly vocals like Oceanic. Maybe that's why the band felt they'd done everything they'd intended to, and the band had therefore run its course.

Where do they all belong? A great marking aid for me - this and especially Pelican CDs are great for sticking on to do my marking of student work by.