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Archive for Isis

The Visionaries: Journey to the Center of Aaron Turner

Posted in Interviews, The Visionaries with tags Aaron Turner, Hydra Head, Isis, Jussi Lehtisalo, Mammifer, MOOR Mother, Old Man Gloom, Pharaoh Overlord, Sumac on 12/10/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

If an ultra-prolific music maker writes and plays songs in the woods, do they really exist if no one can hear them? Not if they release the music in the form of records, one supposes. But it is kinda the case these days with Aaron Turner, the former frontman for Isis; member of Sumac, Old Man Gloom and Mammifer; collaborator of Pharaoh Overlord; father; illustrator; swimmer; and deep thinker. Join Treble for a journey into the mind of one of the most fascinating and prolific underground artists of the last 25 years.

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From the Vault: Isis’ Aaron Turner Called Revolver’s Golden Gods Awards ‘Demeaning,’ ‘Ridiculous’

Posted in Interviews with tags Aaron Turner, Adam Jones, Golden Gods Awards, Hydra Head, Isis, Mammifer, Maynard James Keenan, Pelican, Revolver, Tool on 10/17/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

[This article was originally published on Indiepit on June 18, 2009.]

Methodical. Serious. Fulfilling.

Those are three words that aptly describe Isis, one of the best things to happen to prog-metal since Maynard James Keenan first shook hands with Adam Jones in 1989. The band’s carefully calibrated, efficient – read: not a single note gone to waste – songwriting and live presentation have, over the course of their dozen-year history, graduated Isis to untouchable status. It’s gotten to the point where fans talk about Isis’ music as if it were a religion: each album an obligatory mass, each song a sermon that feeds both the mind and soul.

Coming off a string of their biggest concerts to date – and with their new album, Wavering Radiant, still sitting pretty on Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” lineup (it’s been months) – the sludge-slingers are at the top of their game. And best of all, as they’ve proven with each subsequent release, they just might find a way to top themselves the next time around too.

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Pyramid Mass Reveal Influences Behind Their Sick New EP

Posted in Interviews, Lists with tags Colin Marston, Gravesend, Hella, Isis, Mastodon, Mortiferum, Plebeian Grandstand, Pyramid Mass, Robert Fripp, The Police on 03/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Earlier this month, Richmond, Virginia’s Pyramid Mass dipped a ladle into their cauldron of blackened sludge, progressive metal, thrash, black metal, hardcore, avant-garde—Jesus, need we go on?—and poured a heaping helping of their lethal stew into a bowl beautifully named Gargling Rot. The wretched EP, issued by Ossien Records, contains five songs that would make for great house music in Guantánamo Bay. In other words, it’s killer.

Mastered by the legendary James Plotkin of Khanate, Gargling Rot is the chaser to 2023’s Monolith, the debut by the band consisting of Matt Wild (drums/vocals), Nick Crider (guitar/vocals) and Joey Anderson (bass/vocals/synth). The EP commands strict attention from start to finish, even though no matter how hard you concentrate on what Pyramid Mass are doing, you won’t be able to make sense of it. What better way to guarantee repeat spins of a record.

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Best Albums Of 2002

Posted in Lists with tags Bill Hicks, David Cross, Fugazi, Interpol, Isis, Liars, Melvins, Pentagram, Queens of the Stone Age, Sparta, System of a Down, the Flaming Lips, the Icarus Line, the Reigning Sound on 02/03/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

GOLD

1. Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
2. Bill Hicks – Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1 – Pittsburgh ’91 and Love, Laughter & Truth reissues (Rykodisc) Continue reading →

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Isis’ Aaron Turner In ’02: Oceanic Is ‘The Best Material We’ve Ever Written’

Posted in Interviews with tags Aaron Turner, Bad Wizard, Cable, Cast Iron Hike, Cave In, Dälek, Fugazi, Isis, Mike Patton, Mogwai, Neurosis, Scissorfight, Sonic Youth, the Cancer Conspiracy, Thrones, Tool on 01/08/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Last week saw the publish of a post drawing possible connections between what many consider to be Isis’ ultimate masterpiece, Oceanic, and one of the most important novels to come out of the 20th century, Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness at Noon.” Keeping the Oceanic momentum going, here’s an interview I conducted with the band in October 2002, just weeks after the album came out. Continue reading →

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Isis’ Oceanic: Mystery Revealed?

Posted in Essays, Features, What You Readin' For? with tags Aaron Turner, Isis on 01/01/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Almost eight years after Isis pulled back the curtain on what stands as their strongest release to date, Oceanic, debate over its lyrical content lingers like an ebbed wave on the shore. Continue reading →

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