WAVERING RADIANT

Isis doesn't waver. After 5 albums of promising but somehow unsatisfactory albums, their 6th shows their will to grow and to succeed in writing the best post-metal album they can. Thumbs up for that.

The album starts excellently. The main riff of Hall of the Dead is both intriguing and dead catchy. Very Tool-alike, which isn't that surprising maybe if you enlist the Tool guitarist to riff along. The vocals alternate between hoarse shouting and basic clean vocals with long held tones. Not the most dynamic vocals around but here at least they work pretty well. They arranged the track with some refreshing organs. It's as good as post metal gets really.

Isis usually has the greatest trouble avoiding quality dips on their albums. Their style sticks too much to its genre formulas to remain engaging enough for entire albums. So my appreciation is usually diminished by a couple of weaker tracks. Ghost Key and Hand of the Host however still pass my scrutiny with ease; especially the tight musicianship is outstanding. Isis provides for a thick sound full of clearly audible chorused bass, beautifully textured guitars and great steady drumming. Sometimes they get a dreamy psychedelic mood going that reminds me of the late 80's shoegazers. Great atmosphere.

By the time Stone To Wake A Serpent makes its appearance, things start sounding too much of the same for me. There are still some shrewd instrumental sections but some of the riffs and vocals don't engage the entrancing vibe that music like this needs. The track overstays its welcome by at least 2 minutes. Also 20 Minutes/40 Years could have worked better if the vocalist had been gifted with a more appealing and confident voice, he has so much trouble staying in tune that he ends up sounding insecure, nasal and slightly whiney. The vocal line itself is quite fairly adequate though. The album ends with Threshold of Transformation, a tremendous wall of post-metal and one of Isis better songs here.

Throughout the years I have kept following Isis in the hope they would overcome their flaws and produce a truly excellent album. They come very close to that here and have certainly crafted their best album. Good enough to warrant a 4 star rating this time.