Release! Isolert — World In Ruins
Isolert’s newest album is out. You may remember then from my writing about their 20 min split with Human Serpent. This release sounds markedly different. The production is a lot more refined than it was with Everything Dies. Whereas Everything Dies was more of a low-fi atmospheric endeavor World In Ruins sounds much more like a formal studio album.
Let’s talk about the opening track for a second. I’ve decided to steer away from giving you a time-stamped breakdown of every track in favor of a short, and quick description. This track, “Fire, Ash, Blood” hits you straight in the face from the outset. I had one of those cherished moments in heavy metal fandom where I hit play and the sudden onslaught of loud guitars and blast beats made me jump and reach for the volume nob to turn it down a little. This track really brings the bleak blackness of black metal with some nice more punk-rock-inspired sections. They bring the lead play too. There’s a lot of nice melodic tapping to enjoy.
The second track, “Burn Them” sounds like it’s being chewed up and spat out by a blood-thirsty mythical demon. Have I talked enough about the punk rock/Thrash vibes of this album yet? It’s all a nice mix of black metal staples interspersed with more steady punk/thrash rhythms. This track brings some nice doom metal inspired elements as well. The track clocks in at a little over 4 mins. Brevity is wit sometimes and I agree with this track. Vocal variety shines here too.
This album is the real deal. Authentic black metal. The drum work on the 5 minute “As We Die” is a nice evolutionary milestone in the album. It’s mature, but slightly complex playing that helps to pace the song and back the more emotionally driven sections.
I pre-ordered this album after listening to No Hope, No Light … Only Death a little over a month ago. I thought I was getting World in Ruins right away. It’s been a long time since I pre-ordered an album. The last album I pre-ordered was Hypnotize by System of a Down. Kinda dates me I know. I’m just grateful that music like this is still being made.
The track “Extinction” strides confidently into the speakers at a nice slow pace. It really feels like the midpoint of the album sonically. That doesn’t keep it from exploding in your vicinity like a well-placed grenade though. I was a punk kid in high school. My favorite band was Agnostic Front. I really appreciate Isolert keeping the more punk-inspired riffs in. I really respect Isolert for their ability to weave two distinct styles together. It really reminds me of the mid-2000’s Cradle of Filth songs, only more inspired by old school black metal from the second wave.
You’d think that an epic 7-minute track would build up slowly right? That’s not true of “Staring At A Path Towards Nowhere.” It does slow to a lighter pace but man Isolert really knows how to rip you in half from the outset. It’s kind of reminding me of Behemoth in the vocal department. It’s all so emotional and Raw sounding. It’s not hard to listen to at the same time if you’re familiar with contemporary metal conventions. I love the emotion of the lead play on this track toward the end. Sounds like the ending credits for a movie really.
The title track does what I expected “Staring At A Path Towards Nowhere” to do. It builds up tension before slitting your throat with a shard of broken glass. The vocals are just familiar enough to sound good, but they’re also unique in their own way. Some of it sounds very human. It’s like you’re hearing someone cry out in pain. It’s a good bit of drama. I keep coming back to Cradle of Filth. It’s very reminiscent of their work in parts. I was starting to lean more towards the atmospheric side of things as far as my personal tastes go. And, what do you know? They included some acoustic in this track as well. It’s not a lot but it accompanies some samples of the sound of fire burning. It really gives this track a campfire feel.
What can I say that already hasn’t been said about this album so far? Only that it closes with a nice epic 10-minute track. This track, “Light…Has Abandoned Us” starts out with an atmospheric vibe and fists your face in between brief breaks. The drums play with the melody nicely and make it change pace frequently. It’s amazing how the drumbeat alone can change the pace of a song. I always love it when a drummer plays with the rhythm constantly. This track dies and slowly rots its way back to life only to slowly wither away and die.
I hope you enjoyed this little look at World in Ruins. If you’d like to see more of this kind of content follow Metal Scribes here and on Twitter. You can find a DRM-less digital copy of this on Band Camp
Picture sourced from:
World In Ruins. (2020, August 17). Isolert. https://isolert.bandcamp.com/album/world-in-ruins
