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Isis: Wavering radiant
10/08/09 || The Duff
Just going to throw you in the deep end here as my introductory paragraph was about as superfluous as Lil’ John to the music scene. Some have stated that “Wavering Radiant” is the smallest evolutionary step for Isis, and I would disagree with this in quite a big way. Whereas “In the Absence of Truth” was an amalgam of “Oceanic”, “Panopticon” and whatever influence they garnered touring with Tool, this album sees the band dumping the catchy heaviness that Tool are most renowned for and siding with more of a stripped down sound – quoted as being an attempt to come across on CD as they do live, I’m not sure peeling away some of the layers is exactly what they needed to do, as the tracks off “In the Absence of Truth” sound bigger and better in a live setting, leaving the CD versions seriously under-represented; still, this here is the new one, and I’m guessing the strength of the album is to come chiefly from the music and less from the “larger than life” walls of sound.
That’s where this album fails to really grab me; of course, Isis are still experts at their craft, writing some incredibly uplifting material (as well as some of their most sombre) combined with the feeling that the music is vibrant, awash with atmospheric noise (they’ve mastered their use of the peculiar ambient-driven electronics, as well as added some rather striking keys unusual for the band that sound like Deep Purple or The Doors), but the arrangements are sorely lacking – there is no continuity to this album (both within the songs and from track to track), which is unfamiliar ground when discussing a post-rock band. This has been described as the band’s “pop” album, which is very bizarre, because aside from the lack of enthralling structure, this is probably one of their least memorable albums, bringing back the heavier Neurosis worship of their early days; this I would stress is a good thing, but there is a simplicity that makes it tough from a metaller’s standpoint – it’s a bit of a failure for both things it’s trying to be.
“Wavering Radiant” sounds like genius mixed with half-finished ideas that never left the jam-sessions – it’s obvious how these bands operate when writing, probably more free-n’-easy than many other forms of metal, but in the past the finished product would always have an exceptional sense of flow; this is not the case with Isis’ latest because it seems the album has been rushed (apparently nothing was left on the cutting-room floor, a first for an Isis record). The real magic of the album is dwarfed by drawn out segments that fail to go anywhere, everything appears slightly jumbled together making the band fall behind other stalwarts Cult of Luna, Pelican and originators Neurosis, who are still releasing some of their best material. Finally, Aaron Turner’s placid vocals, although bordering the ethereal in parts, for the most part are starting to repeat themselves over the course of three albums – when he enthuses himself it sounds very fitting and emotional, but then there’s the “I’m awaiting an anal-probing” style of excitement that is all too familiar to any Isis fan, and it makes the album less enthralling.
In the end, this is still a solid Isis album, but as a grower, the rewards are slightly luke-warm. It could end up just snagging a place in my top five at the end of the year, but I doubt it; it’s like seventy-five percent of the ideas are aural bliss, but no connecting thread. I also reckon they should have opened with the closer, but that’s neither here nor there. The production is all fine, quite dry, I’m growing exhausted of the “water-effect” they play into the ground, Jeff’s bass lines seem unusually less predominantly interweaving and the middle “instrumental” offers sweet fucking nothing, but aside from all this the band has advanced considerably all the while remaining on fairly safe ground, and it couldn’t come at a more ill-timed moment – this could have been their major breakthrough, but instead of, in my mind, wowing the fans they already had and growing an increased fanbase from there, they’ve played it all out rather tepidly. Nothing quite wrong, but another album of this sort will leave Isis unremarkable.
- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Ipecac
- Website: www.isistheband.com
- Band
- Aaron Turner: guitars, vocals
- Bryant Clifford Meyer: guitars, synth, vocals
- Michael Gallagher: guitars
- Jeff Caxide: bass
- Aaron Harris: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Hall of the dead
- 02. Ghost key
- 03. Hand of the host
- 04. Wavering radiant
- 05. Stone to wake a serpent
- 06. 20 Minutes/40 Years
- 07. Threshold of transformation
