Panopticon - Isis

Isis are well known within many circles, their debut, Celestial, garnered great praise from metal critics for its monolithic heaviness, signature sound and a mysterious theme that strayed far from the typical doomy gothica of the genre. It was an amazing album, but then they released "Oceanic", a rare crossover album that transcended genre boundaries and gained widespread critical attention with its somber, narrative post-metal. Panopticon continues along the same trajectory, shedding unnecessary aggression and striving for a more universally palatable sound. Make no mistake, Panopticon is heavy, but its heaviness is defined by weighty, low tuned ...  Read the complete review

Panopticon is the third album from Boston based post rock outfit Isis, released on October 14th from Ipecac records. The album art, a series of expanded satelite imagery is used to give an idea of the Panopticon, an omniscient entity of containment, derived from philosopher Jeremy Bentham's concept and design of the same name. There are quotations on the sleeve from technologists Rheingold and Steffen, which reintroduce the idea of 'the tower' a notion first explored in their debut album 'Celestial.' From the first track, the brutal, unnerving clash of instruments, distorted guitar, clean vocals and relentless drums make it obvious that Panopticon ...  Read the complete review

After their excellent 2002 progressive sludge album 'Oceanic' there was a widespread feeling that there was no way that US post-metal band 'Isis' could top it, and though this has proved to so far be true their 2004 follow-up album 'Panopticon' is nevertheless an excellent progressive metal album in its own right. Whereas 'Oceanic' was themed around the seas, Panopticon's title refers to an 18th century social philosophy theory whereby prison inmates who are watched by an unseen watcher are coerced into conformity by virtue of their being under under omniscient observation. Essentially then the album is about a kind of ethereal perception from realms above, ...  Read the complete review

Isis are the leading band in the post-metal movement pioneered by the likes of Neurosis, and it's with their third album 'Panopticon' that the style really comes together. Based somewhat in the nineties post-rock of Mogwai and others (gotta love music critics and their ridiculous coining of genre titles), this music represents a mix of tempos, styles and emotions, all thrown together into drawn-out tracks that are just that little bit too unpredictable to prevent the listener from ever getting too relaxed, even in the frequent softer moments. This works excellently as background music, but is certainly not confined to such duties, though I was glad to hear the ...  Read the complete review