Sgnl 05
Boston's remarkable five-piece band Isis answers the long-standing call for a more metallic musical counterpart toSlintandFor Carnation, and succeeds without holding back on the metal or playing too bluntly to finesse the art-rock. The roaring opener, "SGNL>05 (Final Transmission)," is a monumental waltz that flickers between tautShellac-style riffing and big monolithicSlayertriplets, glued together by the dank, black metal touches of laterDarkthrone. "Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles)" is likeMaster of Puppets-eraMetallicacoveringJesus Lizard, two of the original influences of Slint metal. "Beneath Flow" is a brief, mysterious, clanking exploration that leads into the tempered doomscape of "Constructing Towers," the powerful orchestral centerpiece ofSGNL>05. In the midst of turning melancholy, and ambling into a very original investigation of heaviness, Isis are light on emotional frames of reference, but a pretty and poised remix of "Celestial (Signal Fills the Void)" by Justin Broadrick ofGodfleshsaves the day, organizing the battering drums, acres of guitar, and voices into a repetitive drone-metal version of a hit single.--Ian Christe