Isis - Wavering Radiant

Artist: Isis
Album: Wavering Radiant
Genre: Post-metal
Length: 54:05
Track Listing:

1. "Hall of the Dead" – 7:39
2. "Ghost Key" – 8:29
3. "Hand of the Host" – 10:43
4. "Wavering Radiant" – 1:48
5. "Stone to Wake a Serpent" – 8:31
6. "20 Minutes / 40 Years" – 7:05
7. "Threshold of Transformation" – 9:53

Just like the albums before it, Wavering Radiant isn't a dramatic leap into unknown territory for Isis, but a paced expedition. The album still relies on the sounds, concepts, and formulas that made Oceanic and Panopticon so great, but it has expanded upon them even further than In the Absence of Truth did. None of their albums makes a great leap, yet they all push the boundaries further and further. If you listened to all the Isis albums back-to-back, there wouldn't be any huge shifts, but you would end in a wholly different place than you began.
The heavy, doom-inspired riffs of Isis's earliest roots are fading into memory, and growing importance is placed upon melody, clean vocals, and the creation truly momentous textured soundscapes. That's not to say Aaron Turner's bellowing roar and the distorted chords have vanished entirely. Both serve incredibly important functions and are present in every track outside of the title track (which is little more than an interlude between two dominating tracks). But they are refined and somewhat less frequent than earlier Isis efforts. For one, the spacious soundscapes are often painted over hypnotic guitar and bass lines and pulsing, almost tribal, drum beats rather than guitar fuzz and the manipulation of distortion.
Perhaps nothing describes this album better than it's title. The album is a sonic meteor shower, radiating from neurotic origins. The cover artwork is a visual representation, albeit slightly understating the heaviness and depth (though not the impressive scale), of the music. It dances between spacey, hypnotic passages and pounding detuned riffing with the same grace and authority of previous Isis works. But it experiments a little more with melody, which paints a stark contrast to the pounding dissonance.
This is the first time that Isis has worked with producer Joe Barresi, and the results were incredible (though Isis' production has always been excellent for the type of music they play). Barresi has previously worked with the Melvins, Tool (as engineer), Queens of the Stone Age, Clutch, and Saviours. He delivered an outstanding product with Wavering Radiant, with each instrument shining when it needs and working together to create powerful and interwoven textures.
Though it took a couple listens to really fall in love with the earlier tracks, this album delivers from start to finish, and does not pull any punches. It seduces you closer with beautiful passages, before slamming you with a wall of sound and raw power. The back half of the album is where it really shines, climaxing with "20 Minutes/40 Years", which follows of the preceding track ("Stone to Wake a Serpent") excellently.
Sadly, there are some places where the album could be better. Despite the evolution of the band, Isis still draws heavily upon tried and true recipes to create this album. As a result, some tracks are predictable and you feel like you've heard portions of them before. This is as much a result of the countless other bands who have followed Isis and used their work as a roadmap to create their music as it is Isis' own fault. Given the nature of the album, I wish it flowed a little better between songs as well. The worst offender being the end of "20 Minutes/40 Years", which simply ends, before "Threshold of Transformation" picks up with one of the chunkiest and sludgiest riffs on the album.
Wavering Radiant is an excellent album that won't disappoint the Isis faithful, and is fully accessible for the masses who haven't heard Isis before. It's yet another in a string of very strong releases in 2009, helping pave the way for one of the best years of music in recent memory.

8.5/10

Unanimated - In the Light of Darkness

Artist: Unanimated
Album: In the Light of Darkness
Genre: Blackened Death Metal/Melodic Death Metal
Length: 45:47
Track Listing:

1. Ascend With The Stench Of Death 01:49
2. Retribution In Blood 06:43
3. The Endless Beyond 05:50
4. Diabolic Voices 04:52
5. In The Light Of Darkness 04:52
6. The Unconquered One 03:36
7. Enemy Of The Sun 05:49
8. Serpent's Curse 04:44
9. Death To Life 05:22
10. Strategia Luciferi 02:10

The giants of Swedish metal past are returning, and Unanimated's return is as forceful as their exit. Unanimated hasn't released a new album since 1995, but their previous efforts are cult favorites among extreme metal audiences. Their return effort honors its roots, recapturing the sound of the Swedish death scene of the early 90s, and incorporating the Gothenburg sound without submitting to it. In the Light of Darkness also emanates heavy black metal vibes, particularly in the raspy vocals, blast beats, and tremolo-picked guitars, much in line with Unanimated's previous efforts.
The production creates a slightly murky feel, enhancing the dark and heavy feel of the album, but not so much that the melody and texturing it lost. The bass is mixed very low, barely audible at times, but provides low-end support underneath the guitars. The toms and snare are easily audible (in particular the snare), but some of the cymbals and double-bass occasionally get lost in the fray of sounds. This isn't entirely negative, especially compared to the trigger-dominated metalcore acts such as The Black Dahlia Murder.
Dominating groove-oriented rhythms play with slicing, and often tremolo-picked, melodies and pound the listener into auditory submission to the raw power of the album. The riffs are powerful and dominant, but are controlled and even elegant when need be. Solos are present, but are tasteful and add to the texturing and landscape of the song. They don't ramble on longer than they should as filler content, but add a layer of melodic voicing and a powerful statement.
Micke Jansson delivers raspy vocals in a style that's as much black metal as it is death. Both powerful and chilling, the vocals are convey a dark and evil tone even beyond the guitar-work. While a not uncommon vocal style, they don't come off as cliche or stale, but fit perfectly into the style of the album.
The album beckons you in with the eerie and foreboding intro track "Ascend With The Stench Of Death" before dropping you into the tremendously powerful "Retribution in Blood." Unanimated don't leave you many places to hide from their dominating sound, aside of acoustic passages during "Enemy of the Sun," until the outro. Yet, despite it's brutal (yet never brutal for the sake of being brutal), the majesty of the album is never lost.
The sound is somewhat reminiscent of bands like Dissection and Dismember, and captures the feel of the Swedish death scene that has been missing for a while. While not a shoo in for album of the year, this is easily one of the best efforts of 2009 so far. It's time for all the little kids who've been playing around in the melodeath world to sit down because the big boys are back, and they're ready to blow you away.

8/10

The Haunted - Versus

Artist: The Haunted
Album: Versus
Genre: Thrash Metal
Length: 39:03
Track Listing:

1. Moronic Colossus - 03:51
2. Pieces - 03:50
3. Little Cage - 03:15
4. Trenches - 03:42
5. Ceremony - 03:43
6. Skuld - 02:49
7. Crusher - 03:13
8. Rivers Run - 04:32
9. Iron Mask - 03:41
10. Faultline - 03:44
11. Imperial Death March - 02:48

The Haunted are back, and so is their unique sound. On all their albums with Dolving as the vocalist, the Haunted have churned out aggressive, yet disturbing, no haunting, metal. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the albums with Marco, they were good too (especially The Haunted Made Me Do It). But Dolving provides the sound that makes the them The Haunted.
Versus is different, yet the same. Rather than continuing down the path they laid out with The Dead Eye, they took steps closer to the straight-up, no-nonsense metal of their debut. There are still some of the same tricks and sounds that were used on rEVOLVEr and The Dead Eye, such as in Little Cage, Skuld, Rivers Run, and Trenches. Other songs grab you by the neck and jam huge riffs down your throat, such as Crusher, Faultline, and Ceremony. The end product is a combination of the raw thrash authority with flares of the dark melodies and effects that they have become known for.
Dolving delivers another stunning performance, and once again you can feel his anger spilling out from his vocals. He employs a variety of techniques, including clean singing, his signature scream, and a "whisper" of sorts (specifically during Skuld).
The album was recorded "live" with everything but the vocals happening at the same time, in the same room. This helped create the raw power of the album, but it also means multiple songs start with tap-ins (Ceremony, Crusher), which gets a bit old. This same technique was used on their self-titled debut, and it tends to produce solid results. The biggest downside is that the mix levels seem to be about the same for each track (for obvious reasons), which takes away a bit of the diversity.
The drumming provides a solid basis for the album, although it's not a particularly complex. Some double-bass runs provide added thunder, but they aren't on every track (nor do they need to be). The rhythm section provides support on this album, rather than being the focus. The guitar-work is potent and heavy, but not overly intricate. Once again, with the Haunted's style of music, it doesn't really need to be. The solos are delivered in a similar to how this band always has.
The first few times I listened, this album felt like it was missing something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. I still can't, but like all of their albums have, Versus is growing on me. It gets better every time I listen. It still feels like something just isn't there, but it's not a huge factor anymore.

6.25/10

Gojira - The Way of All Flesh

Artist: Gojira
Album: The Way of All Flesh
Genre: Progressive Metal
Length: 75:07
Track listing:

1. "Oroborus" - 5:22
2. "Toxic Garbage Island" - 4:07
3. "A Sight to Behold" - 5:09
4. "Yama's Messengers" - 4:04
5. "The Silver Cord" - 2:32
6. "Adoration for None" - 3:41
7. "All the Tears" - 6:20
8. "The Art of Dying" - 9:54
9. "Esoteric Surgery" - 5:45
10. "Vacuity" - 4:52
11. "Wolf Down the Earth" - 6:26
12. "The Way of All Flesh" - 17:04

The latest effort of the French metal act, Gojira, has firmly cemented them among the metal elite. The Way of All Flesh is an instant classic that ranks among the best albums of the new century. Bold claims, I know, but this album backs it up with grinding technical brutality somewhere gorgeously linked to cerebral melodies. Gojira matured the style featured on From Mars to Sirius into a wonderful blend of the hypnotic and heavy, a realm previously dominated by Opeth. Even more impressively, they did so without calling on any of the same bag of tricks that Opeth uses.
That's not to say this album is without flaws. There are some, although most a minor and don't take much away from the songs or the album as a whole. The first half of the album doesn't seem to have the same kick and potency of the second half, and some of the riffs drag on a bit longer than they need to at various points in the album. Luckily, despite these factors, the positives of this work massively outweigh the negatives.
Heavy grinding rhythms pound their way deep into your skull, not unlike Meshuggah, through the entire album. These are balanced out with more fluttery and hypnotic sections, such as The Silver Cord and the trills in Oroborus. These are layered on top of double-bass waves from drummer Mario Duplantier. The drumming is somewhat reminiscent of the drumming on Lamb of God's New American Gospel.
Mario's brother, Joe, once again turns out a fantastic vocal performance. His unique style blends true death growls with more hardcore elements to produce a powerful yet decipherable sound. He also incorporates production effects and different techniques to produce different sounds, such as on A Sight to Behold. His vocals layer perfectly over the music. They're entrancing when they need to be, and harsh when that suits the scenario more. Randy Blythe (of Lamb of God) makes a guest appearance on Adoration for None, which has drawn a bit of controversy from fans. His vocal styling fits the mood of that section of the song well though, and adds a touch of the very aggressive to this album.
The lyrics focus on their view of death, but touch the environmental issues focused on FMtS as well (most notably on Toxic Garbage Island). They are occasionally a bit cheesy and direct ("plastic bag in the sea"), but often have some degree of depth and imagery behind them.
The bass adds depth and a very much appreciated layer of sound, although it never leaps out from behind the guitars. It adds dissonance when needed and depth and darkness at other occasions.
Although the band didn't have any massive evolutions, they refined their style further and did attempt some experimentation. One of my favorite tracks, The Art of Dying, begins with a tribal beat which ten transitions into one of the most pummeling sections of the album. As a whole, their style embraces the brutal tones and power of death metal, the rhythms of groove metal, and the structure, complexity, and layering of progressive and psychedelic music.
A fine effort that surpasses their landmark hit From Mars to Sirius. Gojira has elevated themselves to become one of the premier acts of extreme metal, and this album shows they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. A great band in their prime is a truly remarkable thing.

9.5/10