Los Angeles band Isis has reached a critical point in its hard rocking career. After years of touring and accumulating acclaim for its unique brand of mantra metal, the five-piece suddenly finds itself in a quandary; how to live up to the expectations of a fast growing fan base while maintaining the mystery of its music. On tour now in support of its fourth full-length album In the Absence of Truth, Isis’ reign is in its apex.
The ante was upped when the group’s 2006 tour with Tool coincided with the release of its latest thematic masterpiece. But Isis is not your ordinary heavy metal band. They’re more of a heady mental band. Their music is volcanic, but in the sense that it tends to flow and expand slowly like lava. “Wrists of Kings,“ Truth’s opening number, starts not with a big bang, but with a steady rumble of drums, rising synthesizers, and foreboding fret work.
Sometimes the quintet will crescendo or break things down, but that’s beside the point; Isis is all about the musical and emotional plateau. The group has a unique, disciplined way of chiseling away at a feeling to create a kind of leveled out state of expression. Some deem their approach “post-metal,“ but they just have a taste for tension over release. That they are signed to Ipecac, former Faith No More singer Mike Patton’s classy, unclassifiable record label, is apropos as it further keeps them from being pigeonholed as prototypical metal tripe.

Their sound is mammoth, as in La Brea, but they’re actually from trendy Silver Lake (by way of Boston). “It’s great living where we do, there’s a big creative community… and a lot of our friends from Boston have moved there,“ said Isis guitarist and synth slinger Clifford Meyer. “But we’ll be on the road for the next six months.“

I wondered how their music translated outside of the states. Meyer says the band is received differently depending on where they are and that language poses no barrier. “Our lyrics aren’t easily deciphered by our U.S. fans much less anyone else. In Japan, fans are respectfully silent… and in places like Poland they go out of their mind.“ The group’s even-keeled song craft seems to hit home, no matter where one calls it.

On Truth, the songwriting and artwork are framed around the famous phrase “nothing is true, everything is permitted” attributed to noted Persian mystic Hassan-i Sabbah. The group prefers audiences to interpret the theme of each album, but Meyer revealed to me the new one focuses on interpersonal relationships and individual perceptions.

“There is a political tinge to it too,“ Meyer said. “Our administration thinks what it’s doing in Iraq is the right thing to do, but we don’t. The question is, which of us is right? The theme was an interesting one to choose, and we hope it provides a point of departure for discussion.“ Is there a spiritual dimension to the new album? Is Isis a spiritual band? “Musically speaking, we’re a spiritual band,“ Meyer said. “Really we’re just normal dudes.“

Isis play Saturday at Alley Katz
10 Walnut Alley
643.2816