User
Soundoffs 1 Album Ratings 12 Last Active 12-02-18 5:56 pm Joined 03-05-14
Review Comments 24
| Top 25 Isis Tracks
ISIS is a tough list to create. This certainly won't please reveryone, because their stuff ranges so far depending ron the album. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the rMosquito Control and Red Sea EPs though, so I'll have rto do without. | 1 | | ISIS Panopticon
"IN FICTION" --- Perhaps their most popular track, and
rightfully so. The build-up is so
well-paced and so gradual, that you don't even see the
first four minutes go by. Not to
mention the sheer atmosphere bleeding from the
instruments. But that bass line quickly
signals a change of pace, the vocals kick in, the song
audibly tries to contain itself...
and what an massive sequence that follows. | 2 | | ISIS In the Absence of Truth
"NOT IN RIVERS BUT IN DROPS" --- While the build-up is
just on par with the rest of
their stuff, the group absolutely kills it in the latter five
minutes, making it the most
iconic ISIS moment recorded. Harris is a beast on drums
here, stealing the show on
multiple occasions. | 3 | | ISIS Melvins / Isis
"THE PLIABLE FOE" --- It might have sentimental value as
the last song recorded by the
band before their break-up, but it doubles as a very well-
thought out addition to the
Melvins split. The real fun begins four minutes in, when
the teasing ends and the main
build-up begins. The atmosphere is incredible past this
point and the twin guitars
absolutely blow my mind. Every damn time. | 4 | | ISIS Panopticon
"BACKLIT" --- Everything is just so powerful on this track.
Even the transition in the
middle can't contain its intensity, and slowly begins to
release again... damn good end
as well. | 5 | | ISIS Oceanic
"THE OTHER" --- Starts off quite gently with a nice
groove, but then proceeds to spit
in your face with this "bait and switch". The second half
of this track is where it
excels though, with its crushing riff repeating masterfully
into a build-up. | 6 | | ISIS Panopticon
"SO DID WE" --- The album doesn't even get the chance to
start, and the guitars are
blaring. But only for thirty seconds. Then a beautiful
atmosphere sets in,
overshadowed by bouts of intensity. The constant
shifting makes for a great intro to
this album. | 7 | | ISIS Celestial
"COLLAPSE AND CRUSH" --- Some good old drone starts
this one off, before slowly
coming out of it in one piece. Despite the name of the
track, it seems to be rebuilding
itself, gaining more definition until the epic conclusion. | 8 | | ISIS Celestial
"CELESTIAL (THE TOWER)" --- It's such a strange track in
retrospect, with the
scratching and the deep bass pulses, but then the giant
guitar emerges halfway into
the second minute, becoming way more prominent over
the next two minutes and
deliver that pounding riff. Then the more familiar ISIS
comes out to lead us out into
the next track. It's just so raw. | 9 | | ISIS Oceanic
"THE BEGINNING AND THE END" --- The start is catchy,
but it in no way hints at
what's ahead. The pummelling guitars and vocals
subside to deliver some lengthy
soundscape, but only a few minutes later, they return to
aid the song to come to a
fitting close. | 10 | | ISIS Oceanic
"WEIGHT" --- This track has, and always will be the post-
metal posterboy. It's just
one epic 10-minute-long build-up and climax, with a
gentle guitar, soft drumming, and
female vocals. But to think this was done so incredibly
well over ten years ago is
astounding. | 11 | | ISIS Oceanic
"HYM" --- Gallagher's guitar work is absolutely fantastic
in this one, taking us on a
massive distortion ride. Turner's vocals at the mid-
section are just bloodcurdling. | 12 | | ISIS Wavering Radiant
"HAND OF THE HOST" --- Probably one of their most
mature compositions, which
continues the album's wonderfully haunting atmosphere.
The first half is just beautiful
thanks to the echoing guitar and Turner's longing vocals;
the transition to the second
half foreshadows a much more confident and heavy end. | 13 | | ISIS Panopticon
"GRINNING MOUTHS" --- A very nice end to one of the
band's best albums. It takes a
little while to properly get it started, but the wait pays off
once the guitar and bass kick
in. The final three minutes are a knock-out. | 14 | | ISIS Wavering Radiant
"THRESHOLD OF TRANSFORMATION" --- The transition
in the first minute gives me
chills every time. They continue to push you until about
the sixth minute, where
you somehow get the impression that you're listening to
a different song
altogether. Still unsure if that's a positive thing though. | 15 | | ISIS Oceanic
"CARRY" --- This track is another slow build-up, with the
lead coming in three
minutes in to introduce the "oceanic" feel. But the track
really shines after this,
where a mix of Harris' and female backing vocals lead us
through the thick. Quite
atmospheric. And of course, a fitting conclusion follows
afterwards. | 16 | | ISIS Wavering Radiant
"20 MINUTES / 40 YEARS" --- A very doomy start to this
track segues into Harris'
calming voice, while the guitar occasionally weeps in the
distance. But as always,
tension begins to grow, and both Gallagher and Meyer
push us toward the anthemic
yell at the end. | 17 | | ISIS Wavering Radiant
"HALL OF THE DEAD" --- This is by far their most
interesting opener. The eerie
keyboards, the clean guitars, and the end tops it all off
very well. | 18 | | ISIS Celestial
"GENTLE TIME" --- Meyer takes the lead here and has
that Deftones feel in his voice, which is crazy
awesome and (unfortunately) isn't seen in later albums.
But the second half of the
track is absolutely gold. | 19 | | ISIS Oceanic
"FALSE LIGHT" --- The main riff is just plain cool. They
build on it a few minutes in,
and it just gets cooler from there on. | 20 | | ISIS In the Absence of Truth
"OVER ROOT AND THORN" --- Starts off brutally slow, but
eventually shifts into
higher gears, showcasing Turner's flexible vocals. Quite
the pleasant song as a
whole. | 21 | | ISIS Melvins / Isis
"WAY THROUGH WOVEN BRANCHES" --- Dat bass. The
track itself has an optimistic
feel to it, even though it's clear there's a lot of darkness.
The ending half is pretty
cool, and the end is even cooler. | 22 | | ISIS Wavering Radiant
"GHOST KEY" --- This one goes from being quite relaxed
and accessible, to
alternating between bouts of intensity and control. I've
said it often in this list, but
the two guitars work very well together for creating the
soundscape. | 23 | | ISIS In the Absence of Truth
"DULCINEA" --- The drums are catchy here, and the guitar
seems to follow it rather
than the other way around. The first half is pretty much
the main plus here. | 24 | | ISIS In the Absence of Truth
"HOLY TEARS" --- This one can get played out quickly. It's
redeeming quality is it's
final stretch though, which is pretty heavy and
controlled. | 25 | | ISIS Panopticon
"WILLS DISSOLVE" --- This track tries to follow the same
theme as the preceding
track, In Fiction, but lacks the atmosphere and the
consistency. Luckily, the
beginning holds up on its own and the ending is pretty
nice. | |
ericleb010
03.06.14 | Might revise the order later. | Onirium
03.06.14 | 2 is my personal favorite. | RogueNine
03.06.14 | 1 being 1 is so overused but every now and then I agree. | ericleb010
03.06.14 | Ehh, I could see why. | climactic
03.06.14 | they have the best openers | oltnabrick
03.06.14 | http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/members/1044332.jpg | PitchforkArms
03.06.14 | backlit has always been one of my favs | Relinquished
03.06.14 | so this gets featured but not his CoL list
what the fuck | bach
03.06.14 | cool to see the other. that's always been a favorite of mine | Emyay
03.06.14 | as long as it has some good tracks from oceanic and panopticon, i'm happy. so yeah, i'm happy | Relinquished
03.06.14 | 18 isn't Turner btw | laughingman22
03.06.14 | man 10 is such a jam | VinVal
03.06.14 | Ahh now isis, i like your style except the order is all fucked up and you rated the oceanic tracks way too low 24 & 25 shoulda been at least top 10 | ericleb010
03.06.14 | I could have placed Carry a little higher, but I'm satisfied with the rest. | ericleb010
03.06.14 | Whose vocals on 18 relinquished? | Relinquished
03.06.14 | keyboardbro | ericleb010
03.06.14 | Nice, thanks. | Avagantamos
03.06.14 | you should check out their EPs. poison eggs is one of my favorite isis tracks | Shuyin
03.06.14 | 10
take that zero away and we're cool | ericleb010
03.06.14 | It was actually kind of close to being further up, but I felt like the Celestial tracks needed some credit... | minty901
03.07.14 | mosquito and red sea are their best stuff dude | climactic
03.07.14 | lol no | Lord(e)Po)))ts
03.07.14 | deffs doesnt look much like my list would but i love you for including 3 | Graveyard
03.07.14 | needs 1,000 shards | Relinquished
03.07.14 | I just love that Collapse and Crush is here and descript nails it | Snake.
03.07.14 | Needs Firdous E Bareen | adace1
03.07.14 | Great list, props. | PistolPete
03.07.14 | Great song picks. I know their earlier stuff and EPs don't usually have the same impact as the studio albums but "Hive Destruction" of their Mosquito Control EP is unreal. So fucking heavy, makes a great workout song. That whole EP is nuts though. | ericleb010
03.07.14 | I'll definitely check out Mosquito Control again, seeing as you're the second to explicitly suggest it! | Funeralopolis
03.07.14 | ghost key > | Yazz_Flute
03.07.14 | Garden of Light man | InbredJed
03.07.14 | very ambitious list.
it seems like you have a lot of experience with ISIS' material, yet your descriptions are a little lacking on some songs, or just
seem to be missing any passion on others.
I would suggest you either shorten your list to the songs you actually care about most, or put a bit more into your
descriptions. | Ignimbrite
03.07.14 | It's his list, so it really doesn't matter. | InbredJed
03.07.14 | sure, never aspire
that's cool too | Yazz_Flute
03.07.14 | You're a douche this is a list on a music website. | InbredJed
03.07.14 | I ain't trying to douche, ppl give feedback on reviews.
I thought constructive criticism was always acceptable, I'm only trying to be supportive.
If that's unwarranted for lists, and should be reserved for reviews, I will retract. | RogueNine
03.07.14 | These are his own opinions so he wrote as much as he needed to. | InbredJed
03.07.14 | K, and I expressed my opinion of his opinions in a constructive way. | RogueNine
03.07.14 | d00d Ignim, glad to see you're still kicking around. | ericleb010
03.07.14 | I don't understand what's wrong with criticism. Relax guys. I admit some are lacking, and that's probably because it was after midnight when I finished this. Comparing with the CoL list I posted earlier though, I do have less of an emotional connection with these guys. So it is tougher to describe how I see these tracks.
Of course, the decision to even include a description makes the list better than most lists, IMHO. | enemyofthesundevils
03.07.14 | Red Sea! | InbredJed
03.08.14 | You''re completely right ericleb, I enjoyed the list, and that's why I chose to comment. You put a lot of effort in.
I try to put lots of effort into my lists too, and it's surprising how much energy it takes sometimes. | Ignimbrite
03.08.14 | Hi I'm drunk anps shit and I'm fuckinghere | JohnnyoftheWell
03.08.14 | We seem to find ourselves in disagreement (my list: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?memberid=538903&listid=127922) but Isis rule, so whatever | VisionsFromTheDarkSide
03.08.14 | 1 is 1, good list, 9 would be a lot higher on mine though | ericleb010
03.08.14 | Johnny, I can see that! I think I focus more on the atmosphere aspect of post-metal than the grudge portion. Maybe that's why. | VinVal
03.10.14 | the standard for featured lists s getting pretty low round hea | TheSupernatural
03.10.14 | I prefer 6 and 4 to 1 on Panopticon...
Pretty much everything on Oceanic is my favorite though | VinVal
03.10.14 | ^agreed | cleanpeter
03.11.14 | how has no one mentioned from sinking? | Muisc4Life26
03.12.14 | Awesome list! Isis rules, nuff said. | LeviofDoom
03.12.14 | Threshold of Transformation is my personal favorite, but good list anyway. | Ending
03.13.14 | Weight's gotta be 1 yo. | ryu
02.18.16 | First time ive ever seen Garden of Light missing from an Isis list.
Id have it in based on the last 4 minutes but that's just me. |
|