SGNL>05

SGNL>05

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Boston's remarkable five-piece band Isis answers the long-standing call for a more metallic musical counterpart to Slint and For 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 taut Shellac-style riffing and big monolithic Slayer triplets, glued together by the dank, black metal touches of later Darkthrone. "Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles)" is like Master of Puppets-era Metallica covering Jesus 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 of SGNL>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 of Godflesh saves the day, organizing the battering drums, acres of guitar, and voices into a repetitive drone-metal version of a hit single. --Ian Christe

Tracks:

SGNL>05 (Final Transmission)
Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles)
Beneath Below
Constructing Towers
Celestial (Signal Fills The Void)(Remix By Justin K. Broadrick) - Justin K Broadrick

Amazon.com

Boston's remarkable five-piece band Isis answers the long-standing call for a more metallic musical counterpart to Slint and For 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 taut Shellac-style riffing and big monolithic Slayer triplets, glued together by the dank, black metal touches of later Darkthrone. "Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles)" is like Master of Puppets-era Metallica covering Jesus 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 of SGNL>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 of Godflesh saves the day, organizing the battering drums, acres of guitar, and voices into a repetitive drone-metal version of a hit single. --Ian Christe

Customer Reviews:

Awe struck..........2007-06-30

Of course, I bought this after I obtained Celestial. SGNL05 is beautiful. You won't expect the same sound from Celestial on SGNL05. The songs are ambiant and very calm, except for Divine Mother which is the best song the album. This EP is not their best, by far, Red Sea is the best but this comes in a very close 2nd. The first CD I bought was in fact Celestial and after a year I now have them all. ISIS, keep rocken on.

Not essential, but fans will revel in SGNL >05.......2007-01-21

Following shortly after 2001's full-length Celestial, SGNL > 05 is a 35-minute long EP companion to a stellar album by a band that's out-of-this world (puns very much intended). Although several of the tracks come off as little more than wandering ambient filler, the inclusion of one of the band's most finely-crafted songs ("The Divine Mother") and a paranoid remix by Godflesh's Justin K. Broadrick, makes this a title worth adding to any Isis fan's collection.

Track one, "Sgnl>05 (Final Transmission)" is an appropriately-tiled continuation of the segues found on Celestial. Not much to give praise to but something to get warmed up to, for the best is yet to come. Track two, the aforementioned "Divine Mother" sees the band showing off their Neurosis roots with droning riffs, semi-tribal drums, Aaron Turner screaming his lungs out. I love this song. I actually bought this EP prior to listening to Celestial, and in my opinion, this song is as good or better than any track on the full-length, with the notable exception of "Glisten". It follows a fairly traditional Isis blueprint (start out soft, build to infinite mass riffage, give it some room to breathe before the trademark CRUSHING crescendo), but nevertheless, it is one of the band's most finely crafted songs, especially from their early, more 'mosh-friendly' era.

It's unfortunate that the three tracks that follow can't live up to the first song's promise, but not content with treading water, the rest of the EP explores ambient textures and hollow musical spaces (without turning into a complete bore, I assure you). "Beneath Below" is reminiscient of the band's tribal jam in an echo chamber, while "Constructing Towers" is like a long, repetitive (acoustic!) funeral dirge. It goes out with an electric sear, not a fizzle, as Aaron Harris' drums usher in the final track, "Celestial (Fills the Void)", which is the aforementioned JK Broadrick remix. Considering the amount of influence Godflesh has had on the guys in Isis, it must have been an honor for him to offer up this condensced remix of the band's first album. Fortunately, the master does his apprentices proud, splicing riffs, distant vocal samples and ambient effects that make for a listen that's as soothing as it is brooding.

In short, this is far from the best introduction to Isis' material (start with Oceanic or Celestial and move up from there), but if you're a fan of the band, you probably won't be let down by this EP. It played an important part in bridging the gap between the band's first stage and their later, more ambient material, but the songs themselves are worth a damn in their own right, too. Recommended.

Isis' Best EP.......2004-09-30

I believe this is the finest EP by this amazingly innovative band. It contains 4 real songs and an intro. It is a great addition or extension of "Celestial" so if you like that, you're sure to enjoy this. And it is 35 minutes long, which is as long as some bands' full albums.

The first track is an intro, and sounds similar to Celestial's intro. Then The first real song goes on starts with a crushing riff and soon enough the vocals appear. The song continutes for a while as a sluggish, crunchy, standard Isis song, then about halfway through it; it breaks down into a clean, ominous melodic riff, something I wasn't expecting when listening for the first time, very nice refreshing change in direction in the song. It is definately one of their most solid songs overall. "Beneath Below" is a shorter, ambient track with a pummeling bass drum and very low frequency keyboard playing, it's actually not anything special. "Constructing Towers" starts off slowly with a quiet chord being strummed, then progresses on, picking up pace towards the end, until it finally deconstructs into swirling frequencies.

"Celestial (Signal Fills the Void)" is a remix of "Celestial (The Tower)," but I didn't even recognize it was a remix. This is probably the most interesting song, with ambient additions of keyboards, distant screams, and industrial noises to the rhythmic metallic chaos. This song `regresses' and slowly becomes more empty towards the end of its 10 minute duration, however adding more ethereal sounding keyboards, and finally breaking down into a single chord. It's definitely one of my top favorite Isis songs.

Be sure to check out their full length albums first, especially "Panopticon," the newest full length, which will be coming out 3 weeks from the time I wrote this. I can't wait to hear what they've done this time.

Great companion CD.......2003-07-17

Isis's "Celestial" rocked with a heavy and awesome power, they continued that CD with this one and it is a very rewarding follow up/continuation. Isis are an ever developing band and better with every CD. Buy thier incredible album "Oceanic" which is thier best album and only that this album is in the shadow of "Oceanic" just slightly it gets its 4 star rating... still this and its prelude "Celestial" are awesome.
If you dont know Neurosis try them as well they are awesome and a large inspiration to Isis.

A kick a** CD.......2003-01-03

Mesmorizing, pounding, durging, tribal, ballsy, sinister, good stuff. If you llike neurosis youll appreciate Isis

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