I Ate Your Microphone - Review - 04/03/2004 |
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| A vicious debut full length from this English metalcore duo leaves its mark on the scene. Forming in 1999 in Chester, England as a three-piece act, ISOR have since eliminated their third member to become a duo as they endeavour to create some of the most vicious metalcore conceivable. Dave Merricks and Nick Hemingway perform deeply aggressive music in the vein of Botch, Drowningman and The Dillinger Escape Plan; and with two of those now defunct and the third seemingly perpetually delaying the release of any new material, quite a market has opened up for the likes of ISOR. Highly competent and technical at all times, their fusion of breakneck riffs amidst shuddering bass spikes and sandpaper-throated cries threatens the boundaries of conventional song-writing in an invigorating display of violence; occasionally casting away the haste in favour of more laid back electro-acoustic moments which allow for a breathing space amongst the tempestuous carnage. Intensity is something of a constant within "Post Mortem Peep Show", a work which amalgamates the ideas and experience brewed throughout the three self-released EPs earlier in the bands career, while exploring new heights of blistering metal in what is probably their most essential output thus far. With diverse tempo changes ranging from gradually festering mayhem in it's calmest moments to relentless battering in the more extreme sections, "Post Mortem Peep Show" lives up to it's macabre billing with a whole host of noteworthy instances. While variety in this area can often be a little difficult to attain, that is refreshingly not the case with ISOR's album: the ten tracks here all showcase different sounds and ideas, offering much repeat value in the process for the listener who feels like taking them on. The song titles on this album offer much of a hint as to the feel of the music, shown through the likes of '18 Wheel Massage' and 'I Know What Rhymes With Orange'. The impossibility of the latter phrase of course reflecting back to one of the most famously brilliant albums ever to hit this genre, "Calculating Infinity" by The Dillinger Escape Plan. While ISOR's sound is by no means a clone of what has come before them, that benchmark is of course a height to which any band remotely close in style will be expected to try and achieve if they are to become similarly lauded. ISOR's "Post Mortem Peep Show" should take them well on the way towards that goal, as it is undoubtedly one of the most exciting metalcore debuts in recent times. 4/5 [Chris] I Ate Your Microphone - (USA) www.IAYM.com |
