Isis

Isis is for the metalheads. Isis is for the metal-haters. You know those parts in a Tool song when everything breaks down and fat layers of saturation bounce off each other before another dramatic riff comes down the pike that's 10 times bigger and better than the last? That part of Isis is for the metalheads. For the haters: Thankfully, Isis has no Maynard James Keenan. What they do have on the new Panopticon and 2002's divine Oceanic is a layer of vocals deeper into the mix, complementing and contrasting the detailed attention to sculpture, tension and mood that echoes such modern mood warriors as Mogwai, Mono and Tarentel. This Humpday miracle is not one to sit out. Isis performs with These Arms Are Snakes and Yakuza.