Isis - Oceanic (Remastered) '2015

Tracks list

Oceanic is the next logical step for Isis after the ugly, grandiose Celestial,
the Aaron Turner-led outfit's second full-length looking simultaneously inward
and outward, reaching into the nether regions of outer space while still keeping
its feet firmly earthbound. Yes, it's an ambitious record, one that isn't
immediately consumed and digested — rather, it consumes and digests the
listener with grand and hypnotic waves of sound. Songs blur together as
aggressive, post-hardcore guitar riffery trades with lengthy, meditative bouts
of electronic exploration, a technique that would result in plodding,
pretentious mush in less capable hands. Instead, Oceanic successfully mirrors
the dense, unimaginable power of its namesake, combining the minimalist metallic
art of Godflesh with the bipolar mood swings and Black Sabbath muscle of West
Coast brethren Neurosis. Turner's deathcore growl-shouts serve to puncture the
instrumental tension that balloons slowly and painstakingly inflates throughout
the album's 63 minutes, with ex-Dirt Merchants singer Maria Christopher
occasionally drifting hazily into the arrangements. "Weight," at nearly 11
minutes, doesn't necessarily move as much as it evolves toward its goal,
starting with lazy, but purposeful, melodic whale songs before logically
concluding with Christopher's repetitive dub vocal and a droning organ
suggesting spiritual rebirth. Only Isis could get away with writing hardcore
hymns about the inevitability of elemental forces and pull it off with such
conviction and attention to detail. The album may initially seem to exist in
hazy head space, but clarity comes with further submergence, assuming you're
willing to lay back and float, letting the water take you into both conscious
and subconscious realms. Oceanic is a masterfully complex symphony of majestic
noise and melody, an all-consuming trip into the earth and mind that defies
genre and, often, description — simply put, a triumph. [Oceanic was also
released on CD.] ~ John Serba

Tracklist:
1.01 - Isis - The Beginning and the End (8:02)
1.02 - Isis - The Other (7:15)
1.03 - Isis - False Light (7:43)
1.04 - Isis - Carry (6:45)
1.05 - Isis - Untitled (2:05)
1.06 - Isis - Maritime (3:04)
1.07 - Isis - Weight (10:45)
1.08 - Isis - From Sinking (8:24)
1.09 - Isis - Hym (9:08)

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