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It’s no secret. I love Isis. There’s not a single album they’ve released I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed, and their latest release, Wavering Radiant (2009), is no different. What is different for this album is actually the same. Confused? What I mean is that the stylistic choices for Wavering Radiant are very similar to Isis’s previous release, In the Absence of Truth (2006), and do something like that is different. Isis has typically developed unique styles for each album. Although Wavering Radiant is more relaxed in comparison to In the Absence of Truth, the two albums are stylistically and sonically very similar. For some reason that can be a turn off to eclectic music fans. Personally, I find it more impressive to retain a self-deveoped style and create an entirely new album from it with out making you feel as though you’ve heard some piece of it before. It’s not always necessary to change what already works, even when it comes to music.

Wavering Radiant seems to have less focus on the drums than the previous album. There seems to be less use of toms and guitars are comparatively louder. This album had no line-up change, so it appears as though this is really just a subtle stylistic choice. That said, if you liked In the Absence of Truth then you’ll certainly like Wavering Radiant. Along the same lines, if you’re a metal fan who has a hard time with the harsher vocals from Isis’s earlier albums, I think Wavering Radiant is heading in a direction you’d favor.

Perhaps this is me looking for patterns that just aren’t there (because I do that), but Wavering Radiant actually has a focus on the up-beat more than usual. This actually creates a stark contrast between their dark themes that throws off your sense of what’s actually heavy so much to the point that I actually forgot this album is, relatively speaking, not that heavy. Sure, if you can’t get used to the vocals, it’s easy to immediately label this music as very heavy. Beyond that, the guitars are distorted to hell and back and somehow I sometimes get the feeling I’m actually listening to something evocative of… no joke… Pink Floyd. Talk about a mind-bender. It turns out I’m not the only that thinks that either (AMG via Mog).

Wavering Radiant brings a pleasant surprise with it as well. One of their guest musicians on the album is Adam Jones from Tool, playing additional guitar on Hall of the Dead and keyboards on Wavering Radiant. This isn’t the first time members from Tool have collaborated with the guys in Isis. Justin Chancellor played bass on Altered Course from Panopticon (2004). Maynard, Danny… you guys gonna step up for the next release? You know we all want it! On a related note, I’ve seen Isis only once and it was when they opened for Tool shortly after the release of 10,000 Days (2006). I’ve seen Tool four times now, and Isis is without a doubt the best band I’ve seen open for Tool. This may be blasphemy to some, but Isis actually had a better sound and live presence than Tool. Believe it.