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Avg: 3.5 (251 ratings)
- Date Released: April 21, 2009
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: Ipecac Recordings / The Orchard
On their latest, Isis shimmer and glimmer as often as they growl and pound
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We Say...
Five full-length studio albums into a twelve-year career, Isis have pretty much found their niche, and that niche lies somewhere between Tool's angst-filled prog-isms, Mogwai's majestic art-rock instros and Sunn 0)))'s ambient metal drones. Wavering Radiant doesn't so much mess with the formula as refine it; as on 2006's In the Absence of Truth, leader Aaron Turner is singing as much as growling, and the guitars shimmer through chorus pedals as often as they rattle the windows with brutal distortion. With the exception of the spacey title track, all of Wavering Radiant's cuts clock in at seven minutes and beyond, and all take their sweet time to reveal their mysteries; repeated headphone listening sessions are definitely recommended. Highlights include the ringing "Hall of the Dead," the ominous "Stone To Wake a Serpent" and the scorching "Threshold of Transformation," but this is a record that's meant to be experienced as a whole, not sliced and diced into individual tracks. The album's lone misstep is "Ghost Key," which is marred by a recurring flute/keyboard motif that sounds like it was lifted straight from an early '90s Zamfir record; thankfully, the track's pummeling drums and distorted guitars eventually blow the new age stench out of the room.
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They Say...
"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.
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| 01. |  |
Hall Of The Dead |
7:39 |
|
| 02. | |
Ghost Key |
8:29 |
|
| 03. | |
Hand Of The Host |
10:43 |
|
| 04. | |
Wavering Radiant |
1:48 |
|
| 05. | |
Stone To Wake A Serpent |
8:31 |
|
| 06. | |
20 Minutes / 40 Years |
7:05 |
|
| 07. | |
Threshold Of Transformation |
9:53 |
|
07 Total Tracks, 54:08 Total Length
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Credits
- A. Harris - Arranger // A. Harris - Producer // A. Harris - Artwork // A. Harris - Design // A. Harris - Group Member // Jun Murakawa - Assistant // A. Turner - Arranger // A. Turner - Producer // A. Turner - Group Member // Marcella Gallagher - Arranger // Marcella Gallagher - Producer // Marcella Gallagher - Group Member // Adam Richard Jones - Guitar // Adam Richard Jones - Keyboards // C. Meyer - Arranger // C. Meyer - Producer // C. Meyer - Group Member // Adam Fuller - Assistant
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