Isis (sometimes stylized in all uppercase) was an American post-metal band from Boston, Massachusetts that was active from 1997 to 2010. After some early personnel changes, the band's lineup of vocalist-guitarist Aaron Turner, bassist Jeff Caxide, drummer Aaron Harris, guitarist Michael Gallagher, and keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer remained consistent for all five studio albums.
With roots in hardcore punk and doom metal, the band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. The band released most of its material under Ipecac Recordings. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins. They reformed in 2018 as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to the late Cave In bassist-vocalist Caleb Scofield.
Isis is considered by music critics to be influential pioneers in the post-metal genre. Oceanic was named one of the best albums of 2002 by Pitchfork and one of the best metal albums of all time by Rolling Stone.
History Formation, Celestial, and other early releases (1997–2001) In Boston, several sessions of experimentation led friends Aaron Turner (guitar/vocals; also the owner of Hydra Head Records and its subsidiary, HH Noise Industries), Jeff Caxide (bass guitar), Chris Mereschuk (electronics/vocals) and Aaron Harris (drums) to form Isis in the autumn of 1997. As Turner stated, "Isis formed as a result of the dissatisfaction with past bands of the founding members. None of us were happy with what we were doing musically at the time, two of us lived together, we had similar tastes and similar record collections." The band began playing out in early 1998, and recorded a demo at Salad Days Studios with Mike Hill shortly thereafter. After an East Coast tour where they were briefly joined by guitarist Randy Larsen of Cable, they recorded their debut EP Mosquito Control with Kurt Ballou at God City Studios. Mereschuk left the band shortly after, and by October 1998, Michael Gallagher (formerly of Cast Iron Hike) and Jay Randall (of Agoraphobic Nosebleed) joined the band. This lineup toured in support of Mosquito Control before working on The Red Sea, which was recorded by Ballou at God City in February 1999. Jay Randall's time with the band was brief, and Isis recruited guitarist/keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer (formerly of The Gersch) to replace him. After releasing their full-length debut entitled Celestial (2000) and its sister EP, SGNL›05 (2001, on Neurot Recordings), Isis gained national underground attention in the metal/hardcore scene through tours with Cave In and Neurosis. Isis remained with this lineup until their dissolution in 2010.
For the SGNL›05 EP, they contacted Godflesh member Justin Broadrick through their friends in Neurosis to remix the title track from Celestial, which they used as the EP's closer. Following SGNL›05, the band felt a need to expand its ambit, both artistically and in terms of distributive reach. The entire band were avid fans of Melvins, so their label – Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings – was instantly put forward as an ideal candidate. Turner's friend James Plotkin was already working with Ipecac, so he showed some material to Patton, who, unknown to the band, was already a fan. After discussion, they signed with Ipecac, who went on to issue the band's subsequent studio albums.
Oceanic (2002–2004) Whereas Celestial was still deeply rooted in heavy metal and hardcore, 2002's follow-up, Oceanic, saw the band acquire new characteristics comparable to post-rock and ambient music, significantly aiding in the birth of the genre of post-metal in what many saw as a logical progression. While much of the material on the album retained the band's former "metallic" intensity, this departure saw the band appeal to a far wider audience; as a result, Oceanic may be the group's most noted album to date, and is widely considered a turning-point in the history of the band. Turner himself describes it as their "quintessential album". It was at the time their most successful release, receiving album-of-the-year accolades from Rock Sound and Terrorizer in 2002, In late 2003, Isis relocated to Los Angeles.
The distinctive tone of material since and including Oceanic had a noticeable impact on avant-garde metal, helping develop the sound of several contemporaries; Cult of Luna, Pelican, Tides, Rosetta, and Russian Circles all cite Isis as an influence. This underground success attracted the attention of the likes of Mogwai, with whom they have toured on numerous occasions.
Oceanic Remixes/Reinterpretations was released in 2004, featuring reinterpretations of songs from Oceanic by a number of influential artists requested by the band. Both Oceanic and Oceanic Remixes feature vocals by Maria Christopher of the band 27. The album featured another remix by Justin Broadrick, who has supported Isis on tours with his band, Jesu, which is signed to Hydra Head Records.
Panopticon (2004–2006) 2004 saw the release of Isis' third album, Panopticon. It signified a further progression many had predicted since Oceanic, with a more advanced post-rock feel to the music both structurally and in terms of sound. Justin Chancellor of Tool makes an appearance on the track, "Altered Course". Overall, it was a very well received album, being awarded 'album of the year' accolades from Rock Sound and reaching No. 47 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums charts; their first entry into any mainstream charts. Before touring the United States, the band performed a free concert at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, in a manifestation of the widespread recognition the band had acquired in artistic circles since the release of Oceanic. Reacting to the impact of Oceanic and Panopticon, Revolver named Isis the twelfth-heaviest band of all time in December 2004. On July 23, 2006, they performed Oceanic in full at KOKO in London as part of All Tomorrow's Parties Don't Look Back season.
Clearing the Eye, the band's only DVD, documenting performances over the past five years throughout the world, was released by Ipecac on September 26, 2006. Also in September 2006, a collaboration with Aereogramme entitled In the Fishtank 14 was released as part of a project of Dutch label Konkurrent in which two artists are given two days' studio time to write and record their work.
In the Absence of Truth (2006–2008)
The band finished recording their fourth full-length album, In the Absence of Truth, on July 9, 2006. It was released on October 31, 2006, on Ipecac. The record sees the band again evolving in a manner similar to Oceanic and Panopticon, this time adding new elements of electronics, song structure, drumming complexity, and vocal techniques. It sees the emergence of a more melodic sound than before, and leanings away from previous "drone" inclinations and towards more traditional metal elements, predominantly in the heavier sections. It was also their most commercially successful release, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts.
Isis were the opening act for Tool's late 2006 North American tour in support of their new album, 10,000 Days. This led to increased exposure for the band; however, the band members are not particularly comfortable with fame, and tend to keep their affairs private. Turner has stated that "We never imagined that Isis would become as successful or as popular as it has", and confesses: "[Fans] taking a deeply personal interest in who I am, it fucking freaks me out. And I really do feel like sometimes when I get approached, I'm retreating into my shell."
Wavering Radiant and breakup (2009–2010) In April 2009, the band won in the category "Best Underground Metal Act" at Revolver's Golden Gods awards ceremony. The band's fifth studio album, Wavering Radiant, was released shortly afterwards by Ipecac. The CD saw release on May 5, 2009, and a limited vinyl edition on April 29, 2009. It was produced by "Evil" Joe Barresi after years of working with Matt Bayles had grown "routine" for the band.
The album's sound continued Isis' legacy of lengthy songwriting, and presents a slight departure from the soft-loud dynamics which characterised previous releases. Critical appraisal was largely positive; it went on to place well on a handful of best-of lists at the close of the year.Lists Wavering Radiant appeared on included: Commercially, it was Isis' most successful release ever, breaching the Billboard 200 for the first time and gaining international chart presence.
Extensive touring followed the album's release, taking in headlining shows across the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia with bands including Baroness, Big Business, Cave In and Melvins. The tour took in the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, as well as the Soundwave (Australian music festival) in Australia.
On May 18, 2010, Isis announced their decision to break up following their final tour, with their final show to be in Montreal – the location of the band's very first show – on June 23, 2010. Isis collectively stated they have "done everything we wanted to do, said everything we wanted to say," and, as part of an agreement made by the band at its formation, it did not wish to be faced with the possibility that it would "push past the point of a dignified death."
Post-breakup In the wake of their breakup, they released a split EP with the Melvins in July 2010, featuring the Japanese Wavering Radiant bonus track "Way Through Woven Branches" and the unreleased song "The Pliable Foe", and Hydra Head Records have announced that the entire series of live albums will see digital re-release from May to July 2011. On November 6, 2012, a compilation double album titled Temporal was released on Ipecac Recordings. The release contained various demo recordings, unreleased tracks and remixes from throughout Isis' history.
In 2011 Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris and Bryant Clifford Meyer sought out to continue creating music together and formed Palms featuring Chino Moreno of Deftones on vocals and guitar. The resulting self-titled debut album was released on June 25, 2013.
On June 5, 2013, it was announced that a remastered version of their debut album, Celestial would be re-issued by Ipecac Recordings with new artwork from Aaron Turner. This release was followed on April 29, 2014, with a remastered version of the album Panopticon, and on November 4, 2014, with a remastered version of the album Oceanic, both of which were released by Ipecac Recordings.
In August 2014, Isis changed their name on Facebook to "Isis the band" in order to avoid any confusion with the Islamic State.
The band reunited for a one-off show on October 13, 2018 (under the name "Celestial") at a benefit for the family of Caleb Scofield, the Cave In bassist who died in a road accident seven months earlier.
Musical style and influences
According to Taylor Markarian of Loudwire, "ISIS tend to focus more on letting the instrumentals tread winding pathways than attacking with straightforward riffs and vocals." Turner cites Swans, Melvins, Tool, Godflesh, and Neurosis as influences to Isis' sound, saying "those bands laid the groundwork for us [...] we're part of a recognizable lineage." Early releases were derided as imitative of Neurosis, and he admits that the comparisons weren't "completely unjustified". However, material since (and including) Oceanic has not been so often likened to Neurosis; in fact, it has become the case that it is Isis who are being imitated in a burgeoning post-metal scene.