Year: 2020
Total Time: 40:23
Label: Nihilistische KlangKunst
“World in Ruins” well, in the dawn of 2021 I’d say…almost. The nihilistic message of the Greek blacksters ISOLERT suits the desperation and disappointment that filled the world in 2020 and their album reflects very successfully the aforementioned overall atmosphere with the artwork by VisionBlack projecting a captivating visual first impression.
The trio from the Greek city of Volos play the traditional black metal forms but as with most Greek bands they have the extra melodic element (check out the beautiful guitar part during the outro of the fifth track “Starting at a path towards Nowhere”) and the epic sound coming from mid-tempo passages, harmonized leads and vocal built-ups (“World in Ruins”).
Their second full length has seven tracks and I feel that it’s structured in a way that its musical narration leads to the final track the 10-minute magnum opus “Light… Has Abandoned Us”. Even though we’re not talking about a concept album here, in a way it evolves like a film with many different scenes that construct a logical and sentimental urge to reach the end fulfilling an internal purpose. Or at least that’s what I think…
Nick S. (drums, vocals), Panagiotis T. (guitars, vocals) and Apostolos K (guitars, bass) deliver with body and soul. The desperate vocals on “Burn Them” are overwhelming. The rhythmic interchange between half and common time (“As We Die”), the interesting atmospheric interludes and the contrapuntal guitar riffs (“Staring at a Path Towards Nowhere”), the harmonic surprises (“Extinction”) and the overall tightness of their playing are elements that establish the Greek trio on the front line of the international scene.
Their sound is interesting. It’s compressed but not overly “burnt”. There’s clarity to the drumming, the multi-layered vocals stand out beautifully and the guitars and bass build successfully the familiar to the genre wall of sound without being lost into a soup of vague noise. The orchestration has a vital role in the endeavor to keep things interesting (check out the middle section of “Burn Them”) and the vocal lines are always very wisely interpreted in a style of “call and response” adding to the album’s interesting aesthetics.
This review is long overdue. And that’s because every time I’ve listened to the album, not only have I noticed new things but I had the feeling it was working its way inside me in mysterious ways: it’s dark, it’s vicious and at the same time it has a bitter sweet melancholy that roots in your soul. I keep going back for a re-listen the past two weeks and I think I will keep doing so for the years to come.
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Yiannis Tziallas
Related Link: ISOLERT – Bandcamp Page
