Isis
Celestial

THE REVIEW

The sludge/post-metal movement is now established, affirmed, and rooted, with an ever-growing group of fans.

But with this review, we go back a bit, to 2000; when the market didn’t have much to offer yet, and the massively influential Neurosis reigned supreme - it had been only four years since the impactful "Through Silver in Blood", and I believe quite a few people were still recovering, these Isis timidly emerged.

After six years, they are one of the most acclaimed names in the vast post-metal landscape, creators of a sound as seminal as it is personal. This Celestial is their first album. 7 songs among which the 4 "sgnl>" alternate. The first thing that strikes the ear is that the band is still very young and has just taken the first steps on its personal path that will culminate four years later in the still unsurpassed (for the writer) Panopticon. Music still heavily influenced by the great Neurosis but also by the pioneers Godflesh, of whom they also recorded a cover in the same year.

The band's massive, melodic, expansive sound is already recognizable, but it's still at an embryonic state and is often dominated by the aforementioned influences and also by a somewhat weak production especially in the more "post" and less "sludge" parts (which are still the majority). A promising start to a career in continuous ascent: if you didn’t like the subsequent Isis, you won’t miss much, but for everyone else, I recommend at least a listen.