Review Summary: Slow, Momentous post-metal ballads that are all 10 minutes+ tend to lead one to utter boredom in some cases, however with Islands' debut album this is not the case.
I was first introduced to the post-metal scene with bands like Isis and Cult of Luna, which in my case, I instantly liked and thought were great. I thought the songs were great to listen to in almost any setting, and I also thought that every song was unique in its own way. Then I started listening to more post-metal and eventually I had to draw the conclusion that it was one of the less unique sub-genres of metal because 90 percent of the songs were hard to differentiate from other songs, even sometimes by different bands. Thus began my journey to seek out a post metal band that I would genuinely find unique. My journey has not been concluded yet and Islands' debut album has not changed my view of the genre. However, I think it remains unique among the mass of post-metal that could be considered a continuation of one song.
"Islands" starts off with "Golden Path" which slowly starts off with a generic chugging freight-train of a post-metal guitar riff that makes its way into a very ominous sounding drum/guitar instrumental. I loved this song because of the way it seemed to creep into the climax of the song and it makes one very nervous and expecting of something horrible on the horizon. The intro of the song is easily one of the most baleful things I have heard recently. This song easily pretty much defines most of the whole album save 1 other track, "Hand built View". However, It is still a fantastic track with exceptional instrumentation, which leaves very few things to be desired throughout the rest of the album. There is one track that is an exception, which is "Hand Built View" (mentioned earlier), an epic song that starts off with a rather happy sounding intro and leads into a breakdown that is very emotionally driven. This track goes against the grain of most post-metal because it has quite an almost fervent feel to it, whereas a lot of post-metal has a somber feel to it. I highly recommend this track to anyone who not only likes happy sounding music, but is a fan of instrumental/post-metal, because of its singularity.
"Islands" is a very distinctive release and though it is certainly not very popular and extremely unheard of, I have to say that this Australian post-metal band should undoubtedly be more listened-to than most popular post-metal bands nowadays. There really isn't enough music in this genre that can be set aside and looked at as truly unique, and though a few tracks on "Islands" sound similar to each other and maybe even other post metal tracks out there, it is a release that I consider to be chock-full of individuality. For example, there are tracks that aren't the typical lethargic sounding, extensive songs, that are even upbeat sounding (ie. March). These are the kinds of tracks that erase that utter boredom from listeners. "Islands", in my opinion, is one of the most underrated releases in its genre, and it definitely deserves a listen for all you post-metal fans out there.
