Oceanic - Isis

Advantages: Original, powerful, ground-breaking album
Disadvantages: Not "immediate" if you need your music to be catchy

"Oceanic" is about as appropriate a name as one could possibly think of for this album by avant-garde post-metal band Isis, from 2002. Think of the breadth and power of the ocean, the depth and mystery of the water, and Isis have- perhaps unwittingly, perhaps not- given this album a name that sums up their sound pretty much perfectly. What makes this piece of work particularly interesting is that it captures the band at a time which forms a bridge ...
...more polished and avant-garde direction. They had by this point evolved from being a heavier-than-anything (and quite shouty) metalcore band, into an outfit that were no longer afraid to evolve and show progressive, experimental touches to their music. Many of these tracks are by no mans short. "Weight", for example, is over ten minutes long, a meandering but beautiful piece that heads purposefully, almost menacingly towards its final crescendo. ... Read review

Advantages: 7 pieces of perfection, majetic, melodic, heavy, drippin with atmosphere
Disadvantages: Very little, some may complain it is too similiar to previous release 'Oceanic'

...Isis has truly come a long way. Initially the band started out as an extremely bombastic marriage of hardcore and metal, that was rooted somewhere between the post hardcore atmosphere of Neurosis and the sludgy pummeling sound of Godflesh and the Melvin's. This style was displayed on early e.p's such as 'the red sea' and there debut album 'celestial'. The follow up, and previous release to this one being reviewed, 'oceanic' received critical acclaim and plaudits from across the board. Oceanic, in comparison to previous Isis release's moved away from the industrial sludge of earlier release's and moved closer to there post rock influences, such as Mogwai & Godspeed you black emperor. The post rock influence had always been hinted at in previous Isis work, but it was first fully realised on the release of oceanic. The album... Read review

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