"The Years, They Passed, And So Did We"

Wednesday night, a bit buzzed, I sit down to relax on the computer before heading back onto the xbox 360 to eventually belligerently play video games with my friends. Searching various forums I contribute to, I see a thread titled "Oh my fucking god.........". Highlighting it, I see it has to do with Isis. A show review, of course! Hardly.

I had to read it a few times, not realizing it was copy/pasted from somewhere, and especially not realizing it was at one point typed up by a member of Isis. The consumption of alcohol did not help my understanding of two large paragraphs and a 'Goodnight' from the band. After it struck me, I gazed into the monitor for 5 minutes without moving. Isis have broken up.

Should I be in disbelief? I knew it was inevitably coming. I just hoped for one more full length. The band has had an amazing career over the 13 years they were together, and although I've only been a huge fan since 2007, I've listened to each release so many times that I was able to fully appreciate such a catalog of music and truly understand how they've influenced and literally changed the lives of music lovers. But never before has a band this quickly influenced me in nearly the same ways.

It's almost hard to describe exactly what Isis do to me when I sit down and listen to their music. How can something indescribable be such a consistent and apparent factor on all five full length albums? Never before have I been so drawn into the sound of a record where I have to stop whatever I am doing and just LISTEN to and feel the music, at least this hasn't happened since a Tool record. In general, Isis are a band that should require attention, but as I sit on the computer, Isis do not just settle for background music.

For every listen, a roller coaster of emotions. I'm engulfed with the feelings of power, sadness, anger, triumph, all at different moments, and at some points, I feel all of these things at once, as if some uninvented emotion has been contrived only through listening to this band. No song since Tool's "Lateralus" has made me nearly break down into tears until almost every time I hear "So Did We". Even at the end of their career, the finale of Wavering Radiant, "Threshold of Transformation" picks me up to the highest of my aggression and then catapults me down into a spiraling hole of despairing beauty, leaving me speechless, with every single listen.

Witnesses Isis live three times was something special, and I feel the need to make it happen one last time, even if I go alone (I wouldn't want to cry in front of my friends at a metal concert). We still have Isis to look forward to as the band plans on releasing a final EP, and more live material in the future.

With that said, I will always love this band with all my heart, and although I was with them for only the end, they will continue to influence and inspire me musically, and throughout every day life for as long as I have my ability to hear. Thank you, Isis.

"Don't look back, Press on."

- 'Hall of the Dead', Isis

A Nice Surprise: Dead Letter Circus

1	Here We Divide
2	One Step
3	Big
4	The Space on the Wall
5	The Long Hour
6	Cage
7	Reaction
8	The Drum
9	The Design
10	Next in Line
11	Walk
12	This Is the Warning

I love it when people on the internet are aware of my musical tastes and recommend bands and CDs to me. Yesterday somebody told me to check out Dead Letter Circus's debut LP, This Is the Warning. The first thing I thought was "What a horrible band name", but of course just like you shouldn't judge a book by its' cover, you especially shouldn't judge a band by their name (See: Tool, dredg).

So after acquiring the album I started it up rather quickly as I had nothing to do all day but listen to music. Thirty seconds into the opening song "Here We Divide" I knew the recommendation would be somewhat worth it. As the final seconds faded out, the recommendation was ever so appreciated. What was I hearing?! This is amazing! I had to do more research, and upon looking around a bit, I found they were UNSIGNED, which then brought me to realize that this may be one of the best unsigned bands you'll ever hear.

So what does it sound like? It sounds like a mix between dredg, Incubus, Karnivool, Strata and more name drops that I can't put my finger on. It's the most refreshing alternative rock album I've heard in a very, very long time. There are electronics going on, vivid reverb guitar leads, energetic bass and drum rhythms, unbelievably dramatic and catchy choruses all at the same time, and one hell of a vocalist.

The album isn't very diverse but that is actually one of the more fun qualities about it, and I'm sure that like with most bands, any future releases will have a bit more depth and diversity. What is almost shocking about this record is that although it is very samey throughout, each song is great, one after another.

I now pass this recommendation on to you. Listen to this and enjoy it. I don't think many people can dislike this. It's just not possible.

Favorite songs: "Here We Divide", "One Step", "Walk"