Isis - Panopticon

Clearly I have been missing out on an essential band!

You should see my diamond-studded Crunch For Life pimp chalice, ned.

Put that back in your pants.

Tarentel are instrumental post-toasted shoegeezery

Leather Hyman are post-dustbowl sound effect rock

Elluvia are post-satie sadboy bedsit goth

Aaron promised he'd mail me both live Isis CDs, but they haven't showed up yet. Anybody heard either of those?

I really like that early ISIS ep, though... Mosquito Control, I think? Nice raspy vocals they lost down the line for whatever reason, very dirty, crunchy sound overall, and it's over before you get bored. Oceanic was solid but seemed like something they would later refine, which is why I'm looking forward to this new one.

xpost

thx alan

1) isn't old man gloom an isis offshoot? i've only just heard of them, actually: my mate (who got me into isis) has been raving about them. AFAIK it's bits of isis and converge.

2) i've seen isis and pelican live - both at tut's in glasgow - and they rocked like the sun. especially isis. one of the best gigs i've ever seen. sure, you're not gonna be jumping up and down to it. but ... woah, i love that stuff live. it's like standing stock still in the eye of the storm.

3) post-metal. definitely.

4) i can't wait to hear the new one. when's it actually *out*? next month?

Yeah, OMG is an Isis offshoot (members of Isis, Converge, and Cave In). For them, I like Seminar III best. Takes their whole formula and ssssssssssssssssssssstretches things out, which I wish they'd do more.

Erk. I really hope this isn't the case. One of the reasons I love Oceanic so much is that it sounds like Mogwai would if they actually, y'know, rocked a bit.

Isis live on the Celestial tour (opening for Botch!) was fucking unbelievable. Endless roaring drones, massively heavy, and in the middle, a theremin/didgeridoo duet. Totally hypnotic and crushing. I haven't seen them live since then, but I'm gonna go again the next time they come through NYC.

Wrong! ILM-tested at number 89 with a bullet!

Shoegazery without heaviness is like a day without sunshine.

YES, MOSQUITIO IS VERY KILLER. CRUNCHY AND HEAVY. I REALLY LOVE IT, THX FOR THE TIP.

also:

Richie OTM, the new Lamb of God is tremendous.

i agree, my reaction to a lot of the "reinterpretations" was "hmm, that was interesting", like the Tim Hecker versions of Carry. But some stand out, like the ver of False Light with the female vocals, or the Mike Patton track, well, because he's Mike Patton.

Also, Lamb of God fans: please stop spamming in every ILM thread thanks.

-- william (nerdballx...), October 2nd, 2004

fuuck! it's sold out, and i missed it!

Rather than an album with eight eight-minute tracks, I'd like to hear them do an album with four fifteen-minute tracks. A lot of their songs feel as though they have buckets of life left in them, even by the seven or eight minute mark. They have a knack for landing the right sequence riff progressions in order to stretch things out in this way without seeming monotonous.

"Ambient Thrash"

That about explains Isis' sound. I've listened to the Isis albums probably about as much as any in the past couple of years and I still have no idea what the vocalist is even saying, which doesn't really bother me at all. Neurosis seems to be a bit more concerned with the lyrical narritive of their music, although the lyrics are still pretty obscure.

Panopticon is awesome. I love how they used repetition in the layering and arrangement of the guitars. It is kind of like Autechre's Amber being played through a bunch of Mesa Boogies, which is great.

I got Beyond by Cult of Luna last year and it never caught on with me like Neurosis or Isis. There was some people in some of the other threads about these kind of bands who really dug that one. It was why I searched it out, but after a handful of listens, it never made it back into my cd player.

I just got the first EP by Pelican today and am getting ready to put it in the player.

Ya damned punk! ;-)

The new Mortiis is better though.

**note to ned :: bass player from Tool guests on one track on 'panopticon'.

voting closes 12 am Thursday US Eastern Time [so that is 5am UK time]

The Global Progressive Rock Top Discs of 2004 Music Poll
http://www.misterpoll.com/1724849044.html

Some other albums that you can also vote for include albums by these artists:

Ahvak, Animal Collective, Blackfield, Guapo, Mastodon, Matthew Shipp, Nels Cline and Tuxedomoon.

it's a fine, fine album (the fourth track - waiting for you - is just immense) but it doesn't quite scale the same giddy heights as panopticon, which is a strong contender for the prestigious and highly contested title of "grimly fiendish album of the year".

when are isis coming to britain next? i'm hoping they'll play the february ATP ... come to think of it, i was told the line-up for that was being announced this week. hmm. ach well: i'll keep my fingers crossed.

i love the way they each look like they're in a different band. no uniformity of appearance at all.

I really wish I had went to see Red Sparowes now. That's my fave album of this year.

Just found a top-10 list from 2004, and Panopticon crowns the list at #1. I don't think that's changed, really, and I can't think of a record that tops it from that year, for me at least. Yet.

Anyway, still great, yes.

http://kreationrecords.net/isis-%C3%82%E2%80%93-panopticon-rare-2-x-lp-limited-to-35-copies-only-p-17142.html

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=660467707334730&id=158503560864483&stream_ref=10

On April 29th Ipecac Recordings will be releasing a remastered version of our record 'Panopticon.' It will also contain new artwork, and a 12 page booklet.

From Aaron Turner:
“After some years away from the material, Panopticon now feels like the most optimistic of all the Isis albums, dark as the subject mater may be. Giving voice to my concerns about the loss of privacy and the deterioration of personal freedom through the lyrics on the album made those subjects weigh less heavily on my mind.
Something about the sound of the songs feels open and bright to me as well – post-millennial depression and pre-apocalyptic paranoia hadn’t yet taken hold I suppose. Panopticon also feels like a turning point to me in the trajectory of Isis, and serves as a personal place-marker for me in terms of how the world of music and music consumption was shifting radically around that time.
Things have certainly become cloudier since then and more uncertain – in that way the subject matter of Panopticon also now seems a bit premonitory.”

From Aaron Harris:
“I got the check disk from the manufacturer the other day and listened to Panopticon all the way through to make sure things were good to go. It was like taking a journey back in time. When Isis was playing these songs regularly I wasn’t able to enjoy them as a listener. Now that I haven’t played these songs in years they’ve taken on a whole new identity for me.
Mika Jussila did an amazing job with the re-master. The record has more detail and dynamics now. I feel that re-masters sometime ruin the integrity of records, but I feel that fans will really appreciate this re-master, and maybe find a new appreciation for Panopticon, as I have.”

More info and previews to come.

http://www.theprp.com/2014/04/22/news/stream-of-remastered-version-of-isis-backlit-available/

Didn't think Panopticon needed remastering, but okay, I'm impressed.

yeah this is enormous. helps that it's the best track on the album

... I'm not convinced this remaster sounds any different from the CD I already had.

This is actually a (great) post rock record with metal influences, though it seems the consensus view is vice versa.

it's their most shoegazy album