Isis (theband) - a discussion

[Gumbo72203]

So.  I really just want to talk about Isis.  I hope some of you do too.  I love them, and think they are probably the best metal band (although Rosetta certainly factors greatly into that equation).  

 

I got into my car after being at my friend's house tonight, and was stoked to have remembered that I had "In The Absence of Truth" in my CD player.  Now, I freak out over "Oceanic" just as much as you all do, and that record is rightfully heralded.  However, I think that ITAOT is the band's creative pinnacle.  It is the culmination of all of their development, coming together in an utterly transcendent and glorious piece of art.  It is their most progressive record yet, evidenced by tracks like "Firdous E Bareen."  Otherwise, you have the more obvious post-rock elements, the lush sonic textures giving ground support to everything, the low-tuned guitars, Aaron's pile-driving hardcore vocals, etc.  This is most exemplified, I think, by the closing track, "Garden of Light".  That ending, man.  What's even COOLER, is that the ending is foreshadowed in "Dulcinea", starting around 3:40 in.  What's also cool about "Garden of Light" is that during the intro, we are shown another callback musical element, in the guitar sound used in "Low Tide" from their Aereogramme collaboration; that high sparkly guitar sound that kind of beeps and bubbles with it's reverb and vibrato.  It's kind of like a laser sound, I guess.  You know what I'm talking about.  

 

Anyway, I just hope some of you geek out hard enough over their music to get off talking about stuff like this, wherever the topic drifts    

[DecayToDeath]

I'm a Panopticon guy myself, but isn't this an Everything Else-type thread?

[Sad Heart]

There's a god damn post rock / post metal thread, dude. We don't need a thread for every band. 

[Sad Heart]

There's a god damn post rock / post metal thread, dude. We don't need a thread for every band. 

[Gumbo72203]

I feel like that would muddy up that thread.  We don't need a thread for every band, sure.  But I want my Isis thread

 

19 minutes ago, DOMAN127 said:

I'm a Panopticon guy myself, but isn't this an Everything Else-type thread?

A)  Panopticon is such an odd album for me, because the first 3 songs are absolutely astonishing.  Will's Dissolve is a very creatively-written piece of music, but from that song on, the album just doesn't really grab me.  It's very interesting.  

 

B )  Is it?  maybe you're right.  i wish we could move stuff.  

[Sad Heart]

You think talking about a post metal band in a post metal thread would 'muddy' it up? What...? Do you think that you can only talk about the genre in general and no specific band? Haha. What the hell would we talk about then? Cmon, man. 

[Derek™]

32 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

Panopticon is such an odd album for me, because the first 3 songs are absolutely astonishing. 

Panopticon is flawless from start to finish.  I didn't care for it as much as Oceanic or even Wavering Radiant for a long time, but something about its flow and grooves clicked a couple of years ago and I stand by it as my top pick.

[unknown pleasures]

1 hour ago, Dave Grohl said:

There's a god damn post rock / post metal thread, dude. We don't need a thread for every band. 

It's exceedingly difficult to stop the march of Isis.

 

[Dominic_]

20 minutes ago, unknown pleasures said:

It's exceedingly difficult to stop the march of Isis.

 

Damn, now if we could only get America to indirectly fund this ISIS instead...  

[Die Laughing]

lol at message board OCD

[NapalmBrain]

Love the first 3 albums, can't get down with his vocal style on the last 2 albums he does this thing that sounds like 311 and it ruins everything for me, thanks @GHOSTDRONES for pointing it out haha, it's like my friend who pointed out that Slint's song "Washer" sounds like kermit the frog now I can't unhear it

[Gumbo72203]

7 minutes ago, NapalmBrain said:

Love the first 3 albums, can't get down with his vocal style on the last 2 albums he does this thing that sounds like 311 and it ruins everything for me, thanks @GHOSTDRONES for pointing it out haha, it's like my friend who pointed out that Slint's song "Washer" sounds like kermit the frog now I can't unhear it

Thankfully I never listened to 311 haha.  Aaron's clean vocals I love because they're so unique and weird sounding.  The sad thing is that he couldn't often hit those notes live with any consistency the way he could with his screaming.  

 

The other thing that I meant to post last night is that, after listening to ITAOT, it makes sense to me that they called it quits after Wavering Radiant.  That album is so awesome, but there really wasn't a huge creative leap forward in it's material I feel.  They kind of plateaued.  The only thing that would be new would be the addition of those big "peak" riffs with the heavy low notes, as found in "Ghost Key" and "Hand of the Host".  

 

But I just love how ITAOT truth mixes the trippy lush textures so well with the heavy assault stuff.  It's really a perfect album to listen to if you are, shall we say.... in a certain headspace.  

[GHOSTDRONES]

54 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

Thankfully I never listened to 311 haha.  Aaron's clean vocals I love because they're so unique and weird sounding.  The sad thing is that he couldn't often hit those notes live with any consistency the way he could with his screaming.  

 

The other thing that I meant to post last night is that, after listening to ITAOT, it makes sense to me that they called it quits after Wavering Radiant.  That album is so awesome, but there really wasn't a huge creative leap forward in it's material I feel.  They kind of plateaued.  The only thing that would be new would be the addition of those big "peak" riffs with the heavy low notes, as found in "Ghost Key" and "Hand of the Host".  

 

But I just love how ITAOT truth mixes the trippy lush textures so well with the heavy assault stuff.  It's really a perfect album to listen to if you are, shall we say.... in a certain headspace.  

ITAOT is the band's lowest point, 311 vocals notwithstanding,  and the members of the band all have mentioned how disappointed with it in that it was the 1st record where they did not write together (they were spread out between LA, Boston, and Atlanta). Even touring on the record was weird; I saw them more than 30 times from the demo stage forward, and they seemed the least cohesive during this period.

 

I do enjoy some things about ITAOT, but if I am going to spend an hour listening to a record, I will listen to any of the other Isis releases barring the split with Pig Destroyer.

 

Love this band... though,  I do not think that I would ever want a new record from them. Seeing them live again would be awesome. 

[GHOSTDRONES]

1 hour ago, Gumbo72203 said:

Thankfully I never listened to 311 haha.  Aaron's clean vocals I love because they're so unique and weird sounding.  The sad thing is that he couldn't often hit those notes live with any consistency the way he could with his screaming.  

 

The other thing that I meant to post last night is that, after listening to ITAOT, it makes sense to me that they called it quits after Wavering Radiant.  That album is so awesome, but there really wasn't a huge creative leap forward in it's material I feel.  They kind of plateaued.  The only thing that would be new would be the addition of those big "peak" riffs with the heavy low notes, as found in "Ghost Key" and "Hand of the Host".  

 

But I just love how ITAOT truth mixes the trippy lush textures so well with the heavy assault stuff.  It's really a perfect album to listen to if you are, shall we say.... in a certain headspace.  

I will use this double post to add something. 

 

 Wavering Radiant was the breakup album. They new that they were breaking up while writing it. ITAOT saw to that in some ways. The band was fraying apart due to creative differences,  but it felt like they wanted to go out on a high note. Wavering Radiant is a refined version of ITAOT.

Edited September 11, 2016 by GHOSTDRONES

[GHOSTDRONES]

Stupid message board

Edited September 11, 2016 by GHOSTDRONES

[GHOSTDRONES]

1 hour ago, NapalmBrain said:

Love the first 3 albums, can't get down with his vocal style on the last 2 albums he does this thing that sounds like 311 and it ruins everything for me, thanks @GHOSTDRONES for pointing it out haha, it's like my friend who pointed out that Slint's song "Washer" sounds like kermit the frog now I can't unhear it

I never said it sounded that way on Wavering Radiant haha... but ITAOT totally does. 

 

It was weird because Turner's clean singing did not sound like that on either Panopticon nor Oceanic.

[NapalmBrain]

1 minute ago, GHOSTDRONES said:

I never said it sounded that way on Wavering Radiant haha... but ITAOT totally does. 

 

It was weird because Turner's clean singing did not sound like that on either Panopticon nor Oceanic.

haha I hear it there too though!

 

I agree and why I probably love those 2 the most

[Gumbo72203]

17 minutes ago, GHOSTDRONES said:

ITAOT is the band's lowest point, 311 vocals notwithstanding,  and the members of the band all have mentioned how disappointed with it in that it was the 1st record where they did not write together (they were spread out between LA, Boston, and Atlanta). Even touring on the record was weird; I saw them more than 30 times from the demo stage forward, and they seemed the least cohesive during this period.

 

I do enjoy some things about ITAOT, but if I am going to spend an hour listening to a record, I will listen to any of the other Isis releases barring the split with Pig Destroyer.

 

Love this band... though,  I do not think that I would ever want a new record from them. Seeing them live again would be awesome. 

It's funny how people can have such different views on things.  I know what you're saying about the writing thing, because Aaron has mentioned in interviews that it was harder because they were split up.  But I think the material on that album speaks the greatest.  The variance in the component elements and the creativity is just unparalleled for me.  

 

I don't remember if it was that record, or Wavering Radiant though where Aaron Turner was like "This was the first album where I didn't play the whole song... and punched in parts.  Before, I would play the entire track, and if I messed up at the end, we re-did the whole take.  This time, we would splice in different sections from different takes.  If I messed up, we would go back and I would re-record just that one part.  The producer said that's how records are done these days."  
 

Not the exact wording, but the concept is the same.  I don't remember if it was ITAOT or Wavering Radiant he was referring to though, because in the DIY documentary, there is studio footage of them recording "Wrist of Kings" (!!!!!!) and they're all together in a room.  

[GHOSTDRONES]

2 minutes ago, NapalmBrain said:

haha I hear it there too though!

 

I agree and why I probably love those 2 the most

See I love Oceanic and Panopticon, but Celestial holds a special place in my heart as my favorite.  

 

And that crazy bass boom on Signal 5 is mindblowing.

[Gumbo72203]

1 minute ago, GHOSTDRONES said:

See I love Oceanic and Panopticon, but Celestial holds a special place in my heart as my favorite.  

 

And that crazy bass boom on Signal 5 is mindblowing.

Celestial holds a special place for me because that's the album that got me into them.  I downloaded "CFT", "Collapse and Crush" and "Deconstructing Towers" off of fucking Napster when I was in like 8th grade or something.  Well, that and "Life Under The Swatter" and "Hive Destruction" from the Mosquito Control EP.  Their sound back then was just SO absolutely gnarly.  The heaviest thing.  

 

My early favorite part of their music is that groovy bridge section in "Life Under The Swatter"...   the "duh nuh-nuh-nuh dah DUN dahhh  da-da-da-da dun dun dahhhhh"

[GHOSTDRONES]

2 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

It's funny how people can have such different views on things.  I know what you're saying about the writing thing, because Aaron has mentioned in interviews that it was harder because they were split up.  But I think the material on that album speaks the greatest.  The variance in the component elements and the creativity is just unparalleled for me.  

 

I don't remember if it was that record, or Wavering Radiant though where Aaron Turner was like "This was the first album where I didn't play the whole song... and punched in parts.  Before, I would play the entire track, and if I messed up at the end, we re-did the whole take.  This time, we would splice in different sections from different takes.  If I messed up, we would go back and I would re-record just that one part.  The producer said that's how records are done these days."  
 

Not the exact wording, but the concept is the same.  I don't remember if it was ITAOT or Wavering Radiant he was referring to though, because in the DIY documentary, there is studio footage of them recording "Wrist of Kings" (!!!!!!) and they're all together in a room.  

I always viewed ITAOT as a valiant attempt that misses and Wavering Radiant as the rectification of that miss. ITAOT for you shows the band reaching out and expanding while for me its a conceptional mess that is unfocused... though I do love the lyrical ideas on the record.

 

What you are talking about on recording logically makes sense on WR because they used Joe Baresi instead of long tine producer Matt Bayles.

 

 

[Gumbo72203]

20 minutes ago, GHOSTDRONES said:

I always viewed ITAOT as a valiant attempt that misses and Wavering Radiant as the rectification of that miss. ITAOT for you shows the band reaching out and expanding while for me its a conceptional mess that is unfocused... though I do love the lyrical ideas on the record.

 

What you are talking about on recording logically makes sense on WR because they used Joe Baresi instead of long tine producer Matt Bayles.

 

 

Right, but for some reason I'm thinking it was still Matt who was insisting on the change.  I can't remember... I'll have to find that interview sometime.  

 

It's funny you see Wavering Radiant that way, because to me they are opposite.  ITAOT is so richly detailed and perfectly recorded for me.  It hits all the dopamine spots in my brain, and gets me off so hard haha.  Especially when you add some herbal accompaniment.  Which I don't do often, at all... but when I do.... man, there is really nothing that hits the spot for me quite like ITAOT.  

 

You can see the similarities though, between the albums, because what I realized last night while listening to "Wrist of Kings" is that on those last 2 albums, a lot of the drawn-out sections are really just the band alternating back and forth between 2 chords, with everybody else filling in licks and peripheral details to make it more rich and layered.  But on Wavering Radiant, that method of writing is stripped down to be true even for the heavy sections....  the guitar riffs on Wavering Radiant often lack for me, because they're so basic.  Like the verses on "Ghost Key" for instance.  Granted, you have other awesome riffs that just destroy like "Threshold of Transformation" but the way a lot of the heavy riffs on WR are written just seem too simple and basic for me.  It's an odd notion.  

 

Because if you listen to Wrist of Kings or Holy Tears, the clean sections in the middle are just Cliff holding down 2 chords, and alternating back and forth between them.  

 

Although I suppose you could make the argument that that style goes all the way back to "Celestial" because that song has that outro that's just the 2 strummed chords.....

[Gumbo72203]

20 minutes ago, GHOSTDRONES said:

I always viewed ITAOT as a valiant attempt that misses and Wavering Radiant as the rectification of that miss. ITAOT for you shows the band reaching out and expanding while for me its a conceptional mess that is unfocused... though I do love the lyrical ideas on the record.

 

What you are talking about on recording logically makes sense on WR because they used Joe Baresi instead of long tine producer Matt Bayles.

 

 

Right, but for some reason I'm thinking it was still Matt who was insisting on the change.  I can't remember... I'll have to find that interview sometime.  

 

It's funny you see Wavering Radiant that way, because to me they are opposite.  ITAOT is so richly detailed and perfectly recorded for me.  It hits all the dopamine spots in my brain, and gets me off so hard haha.  Especially when you add some herbal accompaniment.  Which I don't do often, at all... but when I do.... man, there is really nothing that hits the spot for me quite like ITAOT.  

 

You can see the similarities though, between the albums, because what I realized last night while listening to "Wrist of Kings" is that on those last 2 albums, a lot of the drawn-out sections are really just the band alternating back and forth between 2 chords, with everybody else filling in licks and peripheral details to make it more rich and layered.  But on Wavering Radiant, that method of writing is stripped down to be true even for the heavy sections....  the guitar riffs on Wavering Radiant often lack for me, because they're so basic.  Like the verses on "Ghost Key" for instance.  Granted, you have other awesome riffs that just destroy like "Threshold of Transformation" but the way a lot of the heavy riffs on WR are written just seem too simple and basic for me.  It's an odd notion.  

 

Because if you listen to Wrist of Kings or Holy Tears, the clean sections in the middle are just Cliff holding down 2 chords, and alternating back and forth between them.  

 

Although I suppose you could make the argument that that style goes all the way back to "Celestial" because that song has that outro that's just the 2 strummed chords.....

[74R]

10 hours ago, Gumbo72203 said:

We don't need a thread for every band, sure.  But I want my Isis thread

[hammertime]

I was a teenage metalhead, then got into hardcore and punk in college.  So the Mosquito Control EP was a big deal for me when it came out because it sounded like legit metal coming out of the hc scene.  I saw them at Michigan Fest in 2000 and fell even deeper in love.  I haven't kept up with them in years though...I think Panopticon is the last album of theirs I've owned.