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Rhythm. That’s the best word to describe Isis. They are one of the heaviest bands I listen to and definitely the most rhythmically inclined. Every aspect of their music is used to drive the rhythm is various directions such that there’s rarely much of a melody or even a need for one, well at least that was their initial theme. They’ve since evolved into an even more incredible band, but the strong sense of rhythm is what sold me on Isis initially… but it was not an easy sale. Unfortunately, most listeners will quickly dismiss Isis for their unusually harsh and raw vocals. I was going down that road at first, but I didn’t give up quite so easily since I had a really solid recommendation from my friend Dave (a long time band mate of mine). This was a couple years before Opeth had really broken me in to harsh vocals, but after I got into Thursday. Isis takes vocals to another level though. You need an open mind to really grasp it, but the vocals are used more to emphasize the rhythm than giving all that much of a melody or something for you to sing. If you can’t accept that vocals have that ability, then you’ll likely never fully appreciate Isis. At this point, I wouldn’t have Isis any other way… you’ve just got to embrace the vocals. Oddly enough, Isis is a lot like a hot tub. You can’t just jump in. You have to slowly and comfortably ease yourself in. But once you’re fully submersed, it’s quite possibly the most relaxed you’ve ever been and was well worth the initial discomfort.

I’m a little sympathetic to anyone who might want to immediately blow these guys off, only because that was me at one point. But if you’re looking for some strong driving rhythms, to chill hard jam rock, to some of the heaviest shit you’ve ever heard… look no further. Anyone who knows anything about sludge rock, post-metal, or is serious about really heavy rock already knows Isis I’m sure. But, it really wasn’t all that long ago that they were just a local band and even practiced in the same giant space rental building as I have down in Allston, MA (just outside of Boston). That’s no longer the case. I think they’ve moved out to LA, and last year they even toured with Tool. Personally, I thought they sounded even better and were easily my favorite opening for Tool I’ve yet seen. My point is that they’re no longer one of those underground bands few people know, and as I said before, anyone who is serious about really heavy rock already knows Isis. So, my purpose for this post is to hopefully give a glimpse of what I saw that made Isis one of my gateway bands into a whole new genre of rock.

My first experience with Isis was Oceanic (2002), which is pretty heavy for initiation. If you’re ready to dive right in, that might a good one for you. If you’re already a big metal head like me and somehow have never heard of Isis, you could even go so far as to get Mosquito Control (1998). That’s pretty close to the rawest, heaviest rock I’ve heard. For everyone else, I think their most recent album, In the Absence of Truth (2006), is the most accessible. The vocals aren’t nearly as harsh and are little more sparse, the drums are more intricate, and there is more use of overlaying melodies. It also happens to be my favorite Isis album. I pretty much cycled through just this album, 10,000 days, and Ghost Reveries in my car for nearly six months. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be that obsessed with any album again. Since Nirav and I launched this website, I’ve been finding way too much new music to have time to listen to only three albums over and over within a given month. I guess that’s not really a bad thing though. Anyways, In the Absence of Truth is a great album for new-comers. There is one requirement though. You have to crank it. Isis is meant to be loud… you have to feel the music, quite literally.

As with Opeth, I had a pretty hard time selecting a couple audio clips. i don’t want to portray them as something they’re not, but I feel Isis is well known enough among the metal-heads that I don’t really need to cater to their needs… so I’ll just leave a hint of what I mean by harsh vocals in case I’ve actually convinced you to purchase some Isis and aren’t surprised that I may have understated what I mean by harsh vocals. It’s a tough task to select clips that really exemplify an artist. Isis is easily one of my favorite bands and I feel every serious musician can at least appreciate what it is they have to offer. So, I have actually selected three clips as opposed to my usual two. The clips will get progressively heavier in hopes to ease you in. The first clip is from Wills Dissolve off of Panopticon as its one of their more mello tracks, but flows rather smoothly into some raw heavy guitars. The second clip is from In the Absence of Truth, Not in Rivers, But in Drops. This track has some more intricate drums and a pretty slick rhythm change in the middle; which isn’t in the clip. The third and final clip is from False Light from Oceanic. This is a little more typical of some of their older stuff and was the very first Isis track I ever heard. It’s raw, it’s heavy, and some how rocks out with a combination of alternating odd metered time signatures.

For those of you who actually hear what I’m saying about Isis, but really just can’t get past the vocals, check out their collaboration EP with Aereogramme, In the Fishtank 14 (2006). Low Tide is among the 25 most played tracks in my iTunes library. It’s a very chill track that keeps the rhythmic focus that Isis is all about, but with some very soothing vocals. It’s a very relaxing song. Also keep in mind that their last two albums really toned down the harsh vocals compared to their first few releases. I believe Isis is among the most influential artists in rock (you just might not realize it), and they’re certainly one the most influential groups among my personal musical influences. It took a few albums for Isis to really develop, but their last two have done rather well for such a niche audience. Panopticon (2004) ranked #47 on Billboard’s Top Independent albums and In the Absence of Truth ranked #20 in the same category for its respective year. You could arguably say Neurosis or Tool is more influential, but I feel Isis has grown beyond their apparent Neurosis influence and were never really mistaken for Tool. Isis has turned me onto more bands than I can count, and they were my gateway into this so-called post-metal genre.