| ISIS | |
|---|---|
 The Piliable Foe. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Isis Isis The Band Celestial (2018) |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Genres | Sludge Metal (early), Post-Metal, Progressive Metal |
| Years active | 1997 - 2010; 2018 (As Celestial) |
| Labels | Ipecac, Robotic Empire, Hydra Head, Escape Artist, Neurot |
| Associated acts | 5ive, Jesu, Old Man Gloom, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Cave-In, Windmills By The Ocean, Blind Spring, Palms, Pression, Red Sparowes, Taiga, Crone, Cable, House of Low Culture, Zozobra, Lotus Eaters, Drawing Voices, Greymachine, Hollowmen, Sumac, Twilight, Mustard Gas and Roses, Cast Iron Hike, Ultracide, Seal Team 666, Blotter Acid Eucharist, Japanese Torture Comedy Hour |
| Website | Official Website |
Isis (sometimes stylized as ISIS) were an American post-metal metal band founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997 but later based in Los Angeles, California. They borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and intricate evolution of structure. The band's sound in their early days were punchy and abrasive yet complex as was their manic vocal delivery. The band's sound evolved by later albums with cleaner vocals and brighter, almost crystalline tones.
Releasing a total of five albums in their career, gaining significant critical acclaim and touring all over the world, Isis's last studio album Wavering Radiant was released on 5 May 2009. They disbanded in June 2010 with their final tour being alongside one of their all-time favorite bands The Melvins (also just before the release of a split EP with Melvins).
Isis' name stems from the major goddess in the ancient Egyptian mythology, later spread through the Greco-Roman world. She was worshiped as the archetypal wife and mother and she's regarded as a symbol of womanhood.
History[]
The Beginnings of ISIS: Celestial (1997 - 2001)[]
Several sessions of experimentation in Boston, led friends Aaron Turner (guitar/vocals; also the owner of Hydra Head Records and its subsidiary, HH Noise Industries), Jeff Caxide (bass guitar), Chris Mereschuk (electronics/vocals) and Aaron Harris (drums) to form Isis in late 1997. As Turner states, "Isis formed as a result of the dissatisfaction with past bands of the founding members. None of us were happy with what we were doing musically at the time, two of us lived together, we had similar tastes and similar record collections."[1] The band would perform their first show in Montreal, Canada followed by a handful of shows in Boston.[2]
Isis released a demo in June 1998 and their first EP, Mosquito Control, in October 1998, with this initial line-up. The band would tour Canada in support of the EP. Preceding this Canadian tour was an East Coast tour in the summer of 1998 where they were joined by Randy Larsen of Cable on guitar, Mereschuk left the band. Jay Randall (now of Agoraphobic Nosebleed) soon replaced him. In 1999 the band would release a CD-R EP attached with an actual sawblade known as Sawblade, featuring covers of Godflesh and Black Sabbath. In April 1999 The Red Sea would be released, with Jay Randall departing from the group not long after. Isis then recruited guitarist/keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer (formerly of The Gersch) and guitarist Michael Gallagher (formerly of Cast Iron Hike) in 1999. This lineup of Gallagher, Meyer, Turner, Caxide and Harris would remain for the remainder of the band's career.
Via Escape Artist and Hydra Head, Isis would release their debut studio album Celestial on 19 July 2000. Along with the album garnering critical praise, Isis gained national underground attention in the metal/hardcore scene through tours with Cave In and Neurosis. The band would spend time on the road with the likes of Napalm Death and Soilent Green going into 2001, leading up to the SGNL>05 EP on 6 March 2001, all of the songs being from the same sessions as Celestial and considered an extension of the album. In October 2001 it would be announced that the band would be working on new material including remixes and a follow-up to Celestial.[3]
Signing to Ipecac: Oceanic and Panopticon (2002 - 2005)[]
Following SGNL›05, the band felt a need to expand both artistically and in terms of distributive reach. The entire band were avid fans of Melvins, so their label – Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings – was instantly put forward as an ideal candidate. Turner's friend James Plotkin was already working with Ipecac, so he showed some material to Patton, who, unknown to the band, was already a fan. After discussion, they signed with Ipecac, who went on to issue the band's subsequent studio albums.[4] Isis would officially sign to Ipecac on 21 February 2001, with intents to finish their second album by May that year.[5]
Whereas Celestial was still deeply rooted in heavy metal and hardcore, 2002's follow-up, Oceanic, saw the band acquire new characteristics comparable to post-rock and ambient music, significantly aiding in the birth of the genre of post-metal in what many saw as a logical progression. While much of the material on the album retained the band's former "metallic" intensity, this departure saw the band appeal to a far wider audience; as a result. Released on 16 September 2002, Oceanic can be perceived as a turning point in the band's history as it attained significant critical acclaim. Turner himself describes it as their "quintessential album".[6] It was at the time their most successful release, receiving album-of-the-year accolades from Rock Sound and Terrorizer in 2002. In late 2003 following the band's earliest known tours of Europe, Isis relocated to Los Angeles.
The distinctive tone of material since and including Oceanic had a noticeable impact on avant-garde metal, post-rock and post-metal. This would help develop the sound of several contemporaries; Cult of Luna, Pelican, Tides, Rosetta, and Russian Circles all cite Isis as an influence. This underground success would also lead the band to touring Mogwai once attaining their attention.
2004 would prove to be one of the most productive years in the band as a whole. Two new series would begin: Oceanic Remixes (A series of remixes of songs from Oceanic, released in four vinyl volumes through the year via Robotic Empire) and Live (A series of self-released live albums still ongoing as of 2017). The first two live albums: Live 1 - 09.23.03 and Live 2 - 03.19.03 saw release this year. Amid touring Europe the band would release their third studio album Panopticon on 19 October 2004. Displaying further changes and progressions in the band's songwriting and featuring a guest spot from one Justin Chancellor (Tool), Panopticon would attain high praise like it's predecessor and bee awarded 'album of the year' accolades from Rock Sound. Panopticon also peaked at No. 47 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums charts; their first entry into any mainstream chart. Before touring the United States, the band performed a free concert at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, in a manifestation of the widespread recognition the band had acquired in artistic circles since the release of Oceanic. Reacting to the impact of Oceanic and Panopticon, Revolver named Isis the twelfth-heaviest band of all time in December 2004.
The next year would see Isis embark on their first ever tour of Japan, followed by a tour of Europe with Jesu in support of Panopticon. On 11 July 2005 the band would perform in The Netherlands with Aerogramme to which the two bands would collaborate for a project of Dutch label Konkurrent in which two artists are given two days' studio time to write and record their work. This collaborative EP would be released as In The Fishtank 14 circa September 2006 via Konkurrent.
Not in Rivers, But in Drops: In The Absence of Truth (2006 - 2008)[]
Isis would spend the spring of 2006 working on their fourth studio album to which they'd finish it on 9 July 2006. Notably the band would also play a series of special shows, including a performance on 23 July 2006 where they performed Oceanic in full at KOKO in London as part of All Tomorrow's Parties Don't Look Back season.
In The Absence of Truth would be released on 31 October that year to further critical acclaim. The record sees the band again evolving in a manner similar to Oceanic and Panopticon, this time adding new elements of electronics, song structure, drumming complexity, and vocal techniques. It sees the emergence of a more melodic sound than before, and leanings away from previous "drone" inclinations and towards more traditional metal elements, predominantly in the heavier sections. It was also their most commercially successful release, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
The band would tour North America that fall in support of the record and then follow up as a supporting at on a leg of Tool's tour supporting 10,000 Days. Tool would go into 2007 touring all over the world (Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe along with the United States) in support of their newest record, closing out the year with a special tour to commemorate the band's tenth anniversary. 2008 would see a tenth anniversary vinyl box set known as Shades of The Swarm, featuring most of the band's releases up to that point. Singles for Holy Tears and Not in Rivers, But in Drops with exclusive remixes and live tracks. The band toured Europe twice as work began on a fifth studio album.
The End of ISIS: Wavering Radiant (2009 - 2010)[]
In April 2009, the band won in the category "Best Underground Metal Act" at Revolver's 'Golden Gods' awards ceremony.[7] The band's fifth studio album, Wavering Radiant, was released shortly afterwards by Ipecac. The CD saw release on 5 May 2009 and a limited vinyl edition on 29 May 2009. It was produced by "Evil" Joe Barresi after years of working with Matt Bayles had grown "routine" for the band.[8] This album would be a further continuation of Isis' lengthy songwriting through a departure from the soft-loud dynamics common in "post" genres. Wavering Radiant would attain largely positive critical acclaim and prove to be the biggest commercial success for the band, peaking at 98 on The Billboard 200 and leaving marks on other charts.
The band would tour all over the world in support of the record with the likes of Baroness, Big Business, Tombs, Cave-In and Pelican among others. A new album in their live series (Live 5 - 07.23.06) saw release in October. Going into 2010 the band would make appearances at the Soundwave Music Festival in Australia and an appearance at Bonnaroo. The band's next tour that June (Ultimately proving to be their last) would be with Melvins.
On 18 May 2010, Isis announced their decision to break up following their final tour, with their final show to be in Montreal – the location of the band's very first show – on 23 June 2010 at Club Soda.[9] Isis collectively stated they have "done everything we wanted to do, said everything we wanted to say," and, as part of an agreement made by the band at its formation, it did not wish to be faced with the possibility that it would "push past the point of a dignified death."[10] At this final show, Turner would take a plush cat that he notably took with him on every Isis tour and throw it into the crowd following their performance, as symbolism of the band's end.[11]
Subsequent Activities and Aftermath[]
Each of Isis' members would go their separate ways with a host of different projects:
- Brent Clifford Meyer would concentrate on projects such as Taiga and Windmills by The Ocean, along with contributing to the likes of Tombs, Red Sparowes, Blind Spring and Palms.
- Jeff Caxide would stay active with Palms and Empty Flowers.
- Aaron Harris would remain active with the band Palms and Zozobra. He also maintains work as an audio engineer and producer at Aaron Harris Audio at Vista Studios in Los Angeles.
- Mike Gallagher would eventually form a solo project known as Mustard Gas & Roses, releasing Becoming via The Mylene Sheath in 2016.
- Aaron Turner would remain active with House of Low Culture and Old Man Gloom to this day, along with maintaining operations with Hydra Head Records in some capacity. Turner would start a new atmospheric sludge band known as Sumac in 2014.
In the wake of their breakup, they released a split EP with Melvins in July 2010. This split would notably feature the Japanese Wavering Radiant bonus track "Way Through Woven Branches" and the unreleased song "The Pliable Foe", and Hydra Head Records have announced that the entire series of live albums will see digital re-release from May to July 2011. On 6 November 2012 a compilation double album titled Temporal was released on Ipecac Recordings. The release contained various demo recordings, unreleased tracks and remixes from throughout Isis' history.
On 5 June 2013, it was announced that a remastered version of their debut album, Celestial would be re-issued by Ipecac Recordings with new artwork from Aaron Turner. This release was followed on 29 April 2014 with a remastered version of the album Panopticon, and on 4 November 2014 with a remastered version of the album Oceanic, both of which were released by Ipecac Recordings.
In August 2014 Isis changed their name on Facebook (Along with all other social mediums) to "Isis the band" in order to avoid any confusion with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[12]
Isis would release a seventh album in their live series entitled Live VII, recorded on 25 February 2010 in Australia. This would be released via Ipecac Recordings on 31 March 2017 and limited to 3000 copies.
Typically when approached about the idea of a reunion the members would elicit skepticism on the idea as each of the members have moved on to other respective projects.[13] On 12 June 2018 it would be announced that ISIS would perform a one-off reunion under the name Celestial in tribute to Caleb Scofield (Cave-In), who died on 29 March 2018.[14] The Caleb Scofield Benefit (Also featuring 27, Old Man Gloom, Cave-In and Pelican) was held at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on 13 October 2018.[15]
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- Celestial (2000, Escape Artist)
- Oceanic (2002, Ipecac)
- Panopticon (2004, Ipecac)
- In The Absence of Truth (2006, Ipecac)
- Wavering Radiant (2009, Ipecac)
Extended Plays[]
- Mosquito Control (1998, Escape Artist)
- Sawblade (1999, Hydra Head; Tortuga)
- The Red Sea (1999, Second Nature)
- Holy Tears (2006, Ipecac Recordings)
- Not in Rivers, but in Drops (2008, Ipecac Recordings)
Oceanic Remixes[]
- Oceanic Remixes Volume I (2004, Robotic Empire)
- Oceanic Remixes Volume II (2004, Robotic Empire)
- Oceanic Remixes Volume III (2004, Robotic Empire)
- Oceanic Remixes Volume IV (2004, Robotic Empire)
- Oceanic Remixes / Reinterpretations (2004, Daymare Recordings)
The Live Series[]
- Live 1 - 09.23.03 (2004, Electric Human Project)
- Live 2 - 03.19.03 (2004, Self-Released)
- Live 3 - 12.17.04 (2005, Self-Released)
- Live 4 - Selections 2001-2005 (2006, Self-Released)
- Live 5 - 07.23.06 (2009, Self-Released)
- Live VI (2012, Self-Released)
- Live VII (2017, Ipecac Recordings)
Misc. Releases[]
- 1998 Demo (Demo) (June 1998, Self-Released)
- Isis / Pig Destroyer (Split with Pig Destroyer) (2000, Relapse Records)
- In the Fishtank 14 (Collaboration with Aereogramme) (2006, Konkurrent)
- Clearing the Eye (DVD) (2006, Ipecac Recordings)
- Shades of the Swarm (Box Set) (2008, Conspiracy Records)
- Expanded Edition (Box Set) (2010, Daymare Recordings)
- Melvins / Isis (Split with Melvins) (2010, Hydra Head Records)
- Live I-VI (Box Set) (2012, Daymare Recordings)
- Temporal (Compilation) (2012, Ipecac Recordings)
Members[]
- Aaron Turner - Guitar, Vocals (1997 - 2010, 2018)
- Jeff Caxide - Bass (1997 - 2010, 2018)
- Aaron Harris - Drums (1997 - 2010, 2018)
- Michael Gallagher - Guitars (1999 - 2010, 2018)
- Bryant Clifford Meyer - Electronics (1999 - 2010, 2018)
- Chris Mereschuk - Electronics (1997 - 1998)
- Randy Larsen - Guitar (1998 - 1999)
- Jay Randall - Electronics (1999)
List of Known Tours[]
- 1998 North American Tour (1998)
- 1998 Canadian Tour (With Ire, Cave-In, Anodyne) (1998)[16]
- 1999 North American Tour (1999)
- 2001 North American Tour (With Napalm Death, Soilent Green) (2001)[17]
- Knut/ISIS North American Tour (With Knut, Thrones on select dates) (2002)[18]
- Oceanic North American Tour (2002)[19]
- 2003 European Tour (2003)[20]
- 2004 European Tour (2004)[21]
- Panopticon North American Tour (With These Arms Are Snakes) (2004)[22]
- EXTREME THE DOJO VOL.11 (With Converge, Mastodon) (2005)
- 2005 European Tour (With Jesu) (2005)[23]
- In The Absence of Truth North American Tour (With These Arms Are Snakes, Zombi, Dalek) (2006)[24]
- 2006 North American Tour (With Tool) (2006)[25]
- 2007 Japan Tour (With These Arms Are Snakes, Boris) (2007)
- 2007 Australia/New Zealand Tour (With These Arms Are Snakes, Laura) (2007)[26]
- 2007 North American Tour (With Torche, Intronaut, Zozobra; Jesu intended but dropped off) (2007)[27][28]
- 2007 European Tour (With Oxbow) (2007)[29]
- 10th Anniversary Tour (With 27) (2007)[30]
- 2008 European Tour (With Jakob, The Austerity Program) (2008)[31]
- December 2008 European Tour (With Torche) (2008)
- Wavering Radiant North American Tour (With Pelican, Tombs, Keelhaul)(2009)[32][33]
- Wavering Radiant Summer European Tour (With Destructo Robots) (2009)[34]
- Wavering Radiant Fall European Tour (With Altar of Plagues, Mothlite, Mammifer Dälek, Keelhaul, Circle depending on dates) (2009)[35][36]
- Wavering Radiant Australia/New Zealand Tour (2010)[37]
- Wavering Radiant Japan Tour (With Baroness) (2010)[38]
- 2010 West Coast Tour (With Tombs) (2010)[39]
- The Bride Screamed Murder North American Tour (Select dates with Melvins, Totimoshi) (2010)[40]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Feast of Hate and Fear
- ↑ L.A. Times
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Noisecreep
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ / Drowned in Sound
- ↑ Revolver Magazine via Wayback Machine
- ↑ Noisecreep via Wayback Machine
- ↑ L.A. Times
- ↑ Isis The Band
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Metal Injection
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Discogs
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Brooklyn Vegan