IN THE ABSENCE OF TRUTH

This is the culmination of everything Isis has helped to develop. The atmosphere, the dynamics, the punchy beats, the climaxes, everything the band has been known for, are all at their strongest points on In the Absence of Truth. From the start of the album, with the tom beat and slowly increasing density leading to a serious groove and onward to the crushing riffs of post-metal fame, you know this is going to be something else.

The sound is clearly Isis, but there are some differences prevalent on this album. First, there is an added stress on the rhythm which results in some awesome drum & bass grooves, tribal beats, and more exciting builds & heavy sections. Second, the vocals are a bit different here. They still get the same relatively low levels in the mix, but there are more sung parts, and while vocals have never been Isis' strong area, they work out well here. Third, there is a more prevalent sonic and electronic element to the music. This is most obvious in the tracks "All out of Time, All into Space," a 3-minute soundscape and "Firdous e Bareen, which is an instrumental track with a constant electronic rhythm/soundscape at varying levels throughout the song.

It's hard to pick highlights on this disc, everything from the tribal intro in "Wrists of Kings" to the beautiful melodic closing in "Garden of Light," this album is huge and awesome and so on. This band just keeps getting better. I think to myself how much I love this sound, but I'm very curious to see if they can re-invent their sound again and stun me like they have here.