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ISIS - Wavering Radiant

Format: CD Label & Cat.Number: Conspiracy Records CORECD 78 Release Year: 2009 Note: Release-Date: 08.05.2009 Price (incl. 19% VAT): €14.50 Warning: Currently we do not have this album in stock! More Info "... Häufiger noch als früher wechseln sich ab der Urgeschrei, der zum Primat in uns sich richtet, und der saubere, beschwörende Gesang, der sich an den vernünftigen Gesellschaftsmenschen wendet. Dazu passend: die dröhnenden Metal-Riffs und die Ambient-Melodien. Dass Isis trotzdem nicht scheinbare Widersprüche einfach nur nebeneinander setzen, sondern auflösen und miteinander vereinbaren ist einer ihrer Verdienste. So lange wie für Wavering Radiant haben sich Isis noch nie Zeit gelassen und das merkt man: kompositorisch ist es nicht weniger als perfekt, atmosphärisch trotz allem Jam-Charakter so ausgefeilt wie lange nicht mehr. Das beste Isis-Album nach Oceanic ist ihnen damit gelungen. Die Keyboard-Linien, in manchen Momenten eine Mischung aus Pink Floyd, den Doors und Brian Eno und doch ganz anders, addieren zum bisherigen Sound eine helle, ätherische Note.Wie viele Stimmungen sich in einem Song wie Threshold of Transformation abwechseln! Das ganze archaische in uns, alles melancholische und verzweifelte, alles mächtige, philosophische, spirituelle von Ewigkeit träumende und Kleinlichkeit lebende, all das kann man in diese Musik projizieren. Es lässt den Hörer Platz: vielleicht ist es das, was Isis unvergleichlich macht..." [Purerock.de] "Isis kombinieren an emotionaler Dichte nicht zu überbietende Soundwall-Epen, die sich jeder Kategorisierung verweigern. Dabei legen sie verstärkt Augenmerk auf Melodien und (noch) mehr Atmosphäre. Vom Sound ihrer Anfangstage, der sich an Noise-Göttern wie beispielsweise Neurosis orientierte, haben sie sich mittlerweile verabschiedet und entfesseln ihren ungeheueren Druck ohne die Zuhilfenahme von Metal-Stereotyen. Das ganze unterfüttert die mittlerweile komplett in L.A. ansässige Band wiederum mit einem in sich schlüssigen philosophisch-politischen Background und macht ein weiteres Mal, dass sie nicht nur eine der außergewöhnlichsten Bands unserer Zeit sind, sondern in ihrer Kombination aus verschiedensten Einflüssen alternativer Musik DIE Band der Stunde. www.myspace.com/sgnl05" [label info] "The music of ISIS is a suitable metaphor for their 12-year career: patient, meticulous, fraught with tension and gradually building towards an apex of seismic proportions. From the hypnotically bludgeoning down-tuned riffs of their early years to the gracefully sprawling passages on their pivotal sophomore album Oceanic and continuing through the intricate rhythmic textures and increased melody of 2006's In The Absence of Truth, ISIS have successfully navigated the process of growing and evolving without disavowing their initial vision. There is no consensus among ISIS's cult-like fan base as to which album serves as the ultimate document of their art. Each record is a piece in the puzzle. Consequently, to brand their latest offering, Wavering Radiant, as the pinnacle of their achievements would be folly. Yet it's a tempting proclamation. The factors that defined ISIS in the past are still present, but the band manipulates its tactics and strategies with a refined sense of purpose and a heightened knack for nuance. They've extrapolated on the polar nature of their music, it's simultaneously their most challenging and accessible music to date. While Wavering Radiant is finely structured, dynamically varied, and melodically developed, it's also unpredictable, expansive, and densely layered. Every ISIS endeavor is an active listening experience--requiring an aficionado's ear for subtlety and a scholar's grasp of the larger picture but Wavering Radiant manages to provide instant gratification while also harnessing the slow burn of a classic, revealing the full extent of its mysteries only after repeated listens. Rare is the record that finds the individual players as compelling as the sum of their parts, and ISIS has achieved just that. While the monolithic guitars of Aaron Turner and Michael Gallagher remain a primary fixture in the ISIS soundscape, the dueling instrumentalists continue to develop and expand upon their interplay. Together they evoke the emotional range of Wagner: brooding, triumphant, vengeful, and morose. Aaron Turner's vocals are more prominent than ever. But in keeping with the egalitarian nature of their art, the vocals continue to serve as flourishes rather than a focal point. Clifford Meyer's multi-instrumentation duties play a stronger role this time around as well. His atmospheric textures are still present, but he unlocks new horizons for the band with Fender Rhodes, electric organ, and the occasional psychedelic guitar lead. Jeff Caxide's bass playing still covers a broad spectrum, from providing melodic counterpoints to the guitars to conjuring Peter Hook's chorused bass leads. Wavering Radiant finally gives Caxide his due, allowing his various approaches to further accentuate the music's shifting moods while anchoring the melodies into the formidable rhythm section. And here drummer Aaron Harris once again shows his expansive depth in technique and ability. From esoteric tabla passages to authoritative syncopated punctuations, Harris transcends the basic metronomic function of the drum set to imbue the percussive element of the band with a heightened sense of drama and power. Wavering Radiant finds every component of the ISIS armory coming into equal play. Grandiose without being over-indulgent, epic without compromising focus, ISIS have resurrected the art of prioritizing the album over the individual songs. Wavering Radiant, though divided into seven pieces, is essentially one composition. It's difficult to listen to the record without feeling the ghost of an era in rock music where musicians weren't afraid to take chances, weren't concerned with pandering to short attention spans, and weren't compelled compact their material into a radio-friendly format. With producer Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Melvins, Enslaved) behind the boards, the recording displays a sonic range and tonal depth in perfect step with the broad range of the band's capabilities. This is an audiophile's dream: rich in headphone candy, goose-bump inducing in its crescendos, majestic in its beauty, humbling in its devastating power." [label description] www.conspiracyrecords.com