WAVERING RADIANT

Isis is a band I've always had trouble getting into, but when I started listening to this album I recalled my excitement for the first time listening to Tool's 10,000 Days. I won't go to track by track analysis, but I have to say that I've been addicted to Ghost Key. The unusual synthesizer opening, the brutal chorus and duet of the clean guitars make think of voyaging in a cold dessert in the morning. The music is very fresh here, the atmosphere is dense, the music can be extremely brutal and extremely emotional and delicate at the same time. Just listen to the ending Threshold of Transformation, that's one of the most beautiful things I've heard lately. Isis seems to prove itself as a generic band with this record and they surely gained me as a fan. I think this album with Mastodon's Crack The Skye is the most strong and rewarding album of 2009 so far. (Another strong candidates are John Frusciante's The Empyrean and Animal Collective's Merriwather Post Pavillion.) Just give this album some time, it will surely grow on you.