ISIS "Oceanic" LP Review

IsIs: “Oceanic” LP

  

  Atmospheric Post Metal outfit, IsIs has been very influential in the genre that they helped expand,with each album, the band has showcased their need for progression and evolution of the standard song structure. Their sound is far from generic and boring. Something I have noticed with this particular band that makes them stand out from the typical underground metal outfit is that each album deals with a theme and a story.  It doesn’t stop there however.  Each album seems to coincide with one another, like a novel with many chapters.  On “Oceanic,” the theme centers on a man who finds his true love and is driven to committing suicide after he finds out about her incestuous love affair with her brother. Guitarist/singer Aaron Turner definitely knows how to express his emotions through both angst and tranquility.  The combination of harsh and melodious clean vocals are complemented with heavy sludge-ridden riffs and melodic post rock guitars.  Isis is the perfect blend of sludge/post metal, post rock, electronica, and ambient.  To me, they sound like the heavier version of Pink Floyd, especially with the way the songs seem to flow together. I like the fact that Isis can take a set of songs and create this one long track broken into several parts. That definitely makes for a sonic masterpiece. It’s a shame they broke up, but at the end of the day, they came, they went, and they left an imprint in the music scene that won’t be forgotten.