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Isis - Wavering Radiant
| Slantmagazine |
| No one does foreboding like Isis. On Wavering Radiant, the band plays through a series of long, gloomy pieces, punctuating the oppressive atmospherics with flashes of shimmering melody and gripping thrash-metal. But even with such theatrics, Isis's songs have a way of working around a mood rather than barreling into it. Everything about the album suggests ambiguity, uncertain hopes and fears conveyed via unconventional song structure and implicit lyrical descriptions. For lesser musicians, this level of experimentalism might prove disastrous. But Isis has been honing their post-metal technique for over a decade, and they've reached a point where realizing their creative vision doesn't require them to shortchange the elements that make more conventional rock music compelling. The music's emotional resonance doesn't just survive the art-house treatment, it's stronger for it....full text |
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| Allmusic |
| Hall of the Dead" opens Isis' fifth album, Wavering Radiant, with a slow, ominous sound as if signaling the start of a science fiction/horror movie, before the band kicks in forcefully. "Threshold of Transformation" concludes the disc with the same strategy in reverse, as the band's stately hard rock suddenly gives way to a quieter, moody theme after more than nine minutes. And right in the middle of the album comes the becalmed under-two-minute title track, prefaced by more ambient music at the end of the first ten minutes of "Hand of the Host." Thus there is a structure to Wavering Radiant, which is hardly a typical heavy metal album, even if it has many of the trappings of one. The raging guitars of Aaron Turner and Michael Gallagher are certainly typical of the style, as is the locked-in rhythm section of bassist Jeff Caxide and drummer Aaron Harris, while Turner alternates between normal singing and the sort of heavy metal growl that sounds like a wounded bear. (The vocals are mixed a notch or two below what would be required for there to be a chance of comprehending their meaning, another familiar metal procedure.) But a big difference is provided by keyboardist Clifford Meyer, who provides texture, filling up the overall sound and also adding ethereal touches that sometimes make Isis reminiscent of Pink Floyd, especially as the lengthy tracks stretch on into their seventh and eighth minutes. Wavering Radiant works as a single piece of music rather than a series of songs, and it is cohesively played by an ensemble that is more interested in the dark majesty of metal than its potential for expressing anger....full text |
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| Spin |
| Isis' last few albums -- which weaved between heavy ambience and ambient heft, usually erring on the side of spaciness -- made the Los Angeles–based band absurdly influential post-metal icons. But here, they temper the sun-staring and remember to thrash now and then for the brainy geeks who have been down since day one. Songs are still suite-sized, but this is the toughest and catchiest Isis record since their 1999 debut full-length, Celestial. Here, they soar and attack in equal measure: widescreen escapism for an age of diminished expectations....full text |
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