WAVERING RADIANT

Isis

Experimental/Post Metal

4.01 | 218 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Wavering Radiant is another one of those albums that I bought purely on a hunch...well, the early positive reviews might have played in a bit as well.

Do you know the feeling when many different people recommend you to check out a specific band and then you wait until they release a new album only to be completely disappointed? It is only then that you find out that only a specific portion of the band's discography is actually worth checking out. I don't know about you but I've definitely had quite a few of those moments!

Just like many times before, I was constantly reminded to hear Isis but never really bothered until they released a new album in 2009. Once again, I approached the whole matter with high hopes and expectations but this time I'm happy to announce that my approach finally payed off! I don't know the exact statistics regarding these type of events. For me personally, this was a one out of seven chance making it a 14% probability.

Let me begin by proclaiming that this is one highly satisfying album experience. Wavering Radiant may not be the most original recording out there since I'm sure that Isis were heavily influenced by Tool, but considering that it's not often Tool releases an album it's nice to have this Toolish-approach to hold us over while we wait for the real deal. Isis only borrows the best bits from Tool, meaning no filler tracks (I'm a bit on the fence about the title track), cryptic philosophic lyrics or, most importantly,...*drum roll*... constantly reminding us of our ignorance!

The music flows fluently from the start to the very end which is both great and a bit worrying considering the lack of any real stand-out moments. Ghost Key is the most memorable performance thanks to the melodic keyboard lead and the build-up section in the beginning of the track but it's not a stand-out moment per se. Hand Of The Host and Threshold Of Transformation are the album's two longer pieces and although both are pretty solid in their own way they both end up serving as mere atmospheric transitional pieces that glue the album together.

Wavering Radiant can be considered an excellent introduction to this band. Although it might be difficult to accept the fact that Isis sound so Toolish here. Still, expanding on another band's sound has probably never sounded better than this!

***** star songs: Ghost Key (8:31)

**** star songs: Hall Of The Dead (7:41) Hand Of The Host (10:45) Wavering Radiant (1:50) Stone To Wake A Serpent (8:33) 20 Minutes / 40 Years (7:07) Threshold Of Transformation (9:53)

Rune2000 | 4/5 | 2010-4-4

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