Isis - 21/03/04 - Whelan's, Dublin
By Paddy Walsh
Isis are a band that attempt to convey emotion through music rather than words. Instead of a vocal pattern to match a mood, it is the riffs that are responsible for putting forth an emotional weight to connect with the listener. 2003's Oceanic album was the culmination of this; a vast, epic and powerful journey through mainly instrumental swaths of crushing yet strangely affecting riffs. How they would manage to capture that same feeling live had me filled with a certain degree of apprehension prior to this gig; would the songs become lifeless in the live setting, a mere collection of riffs as opposed to songs?
Fortunately, my fears were swiftly allayed once the band came onstage and launched into 'The Beginning and the End', the opening track from Oceanic. It immediately became apparent that Isis were an even more unique proposition than even I had first thought. The heaviness and emotional sway of their music remained intact, only the impact was far greater. The riffs sounded huge - at times the whole venue felt like it was going to collapse under the strain from such precise noise. Yet somehow the guitars never became too entangled within each other's lines, something which could easily have happened considering the use of three guitarists for certain songs. The vocals (what little of them there were, anyway) sounded top notch, although for the first couple of numbers they were somewhat buried beneath the layered guitars.
Isis played a set beyond musical pretensions. They saw no need for banter or audience interaction, without even so much as song introductions. It was as if a certain heavy momentum had formed from the moment they started to play, and the band felt that if they stopped at all before the end this would be lost. And who am I to argue? Finishing with a beautiful rendition of 'Carry', its slow and careful build-up climaxing in a crescendo of awesome riffs and pained vocals, Isis were simply stunning.
By Paddy Walsh
Isis are a band that attempt to convey emotion through music rather than words. Instead of a vocal pattern to match a mood, it is the riffs that are responsible for putting forth an emotional weight to connect with the listener. 2003's Oceanic album was the culmination of this; a vast, epic and powerful journey through mainly instrumental swaths of crushing yet strangely affecting riffs. How they would manage to capture that same feeling live had me filled with a certain degree of apprehension prior to this gig; would the songs become lifeless in the live setting, a mere collection of riffs as opposed to songs?
Fortunately, my fears were swiftly allayed once the band came onstage and launched into 'The Beginning and the End', the opening track from Oceanic. It immediately became apparent that Isis were an even more unique proposition than even I had first thought. The heaviness and emotional sway of their music remained intact, only the impact was far greater. The riffs sounded huge - at times the whole venue felt like it was going to collapse under the strain from such precise noise. Yet somehow the guitars never became too entangled within each other's lines, something which could easily have happened considering the use of three guitarists for certain songs. The vocals (what little of them there were, anyway) sounded top notch, although for the first couple of numbers they were somewhat buried beneath the layered guitars.
Isis played a set beyond musical pretensions. They saw no need for banter or audience interaction, without even so much as song introductions. It was as if a certain heavy momentum had formed from the moment they started to play, and the band felt that if they stopped at all before the end this would be lost. And who am I to argue? Finishing with a beautiful rendition of 'Carry', its slow and careful build-up climaxing in a crescendo of awesome riffs and pained vocals, Isis were simply stunning.
