OCEANIC

Moving away from the metal and hardcore punk sonorities that prevailed in their debut album "Celestial" in 2000 and influenced by bands like Neurosis, Melvins or Godflesh, from which they pick up sonic references, Isis delves into more abstract territories and generous atmospheric displays very emblematic of Post Rock, to release "Oceanic" (2002), the second album of their discography.

The Bostonians, guided by the guttural and dosed voice of their leader Aaron Turner, privilege in "Oceanic" the construction of dilated and depressive landscapes that are broken by the gradual irruption of distorted and dark guitar riffs by Turner himself and Mike Gallagher, very present in the opening "The Beginning and the End", in the thick half-time of the intriguing "The Other", in the metal power of "False Light" and in the mysterious and disturbing "Carry".

On the other hand, the ambient experimentation reaches an enigmatic, tense momentum with the watery, brief "-" and "Maritime", and the industrial, lingering "Weight", a trio of instrumental tracks (Maria Christopher's subtle, whispery vocals add an interesting tinge of sensitivity to "Weight") linked by Bryant Clifford Meyer's electronic bridges and Aaron Harris's raw, boxy percussion.

And combining a dense atmospheric melancholy with stormy developments marked by oversaturated guitars and Turner's harsh and anguished vocal discharges, "From Sinking" and "Hym", possibly the best track on the album, reaffirm the parsimoniously demolishing character of "Oceanic", one of Isis' best works and a Post Metal reference.

4 stars

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