Isis

Isis continues the agonising wait for their first full-length with another portentous EP comprised of three new songs and their 1998 demo, simply entitled The Red Sea. Continuing along the lines of last year’s debut Mosquito Control EP (on Escape Artist), The Red Sea is equal parts Neurosis, early Godflesh and Melvins in a combination of sounds that is wholly Isis. Singer/guitarist Aaron Turner comments on the differences. “The Red Sea obviously isn’t as concept driven as the Mosquito Control EP, there’s definitely still an underlying concept, it just isn’t as overt. Musically, I think it’s a little more together, more focused, the songwriting is better and so is the recording. Our line-up this time around is more solid, when we did Mosquito Control we had just lost our other guitarist so I played all the guitars, which worked out fine, but we had just gone through a line-up change, which isn’t the best time to record.” While the Mosquito Control EP helped establish Isis in the extreme underground with almost unheard of haste, it brought with it expectations to match and a stigma to shed, primarily because the only band new school metal/hardcore fans know that plays slow, dark, brooding metal with electronics is Neurosis. “I don’t know how people are going to receive [The Red Sea], hopefully it’ll help distance us from the Neurosis comparisons a little bit. Because, I think it definitely has its moments that break further away from that sound, some of it’s a little faster, a little more technical, a little less doomy. Overall, I’m happier with The Red Sea, but the LP is going to put both of our EPs to shame.”