While bands like
Neurosis and
Godflesh might have laid the foundation for what would be called post-metal, it was
Isis that built the house, not only codifying the conventions of the genre, but continually redefining them with each successive album. When the band announced they were calling it quits in 2010, it was an announcement that reverberated throughout the world of experimental metal, but it would not be the last anyone would hear from them. Giving fans one last chance to drink from the well before it dries up completely,
Temporal explores the deeper corners of the bands catalog with a collection of B-sides, demos, and remixes. While B-sides like "Way Through Woven Branches" and "Pliable Foe" from the band's vinyl-only split with the mighty
Melvins, or covers of
Godflesh's "Streetcleaner" or
Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom" from the hard to find
Sawblade EP, will appeal to fans who weren't able to get their hands on those pieces of ephemera the first time around, the real gold here is the demo tracks. On their albums, and even live,
Isis were a band that worked with careful, calculated precision, with each moment of every song executed with a sense of purpose that gave their work a very deliberate feeling. This makes it interesting to hear the band working out ideas and figuring things out as they go. Raw cuts of songs like "Wills Dissolve" "False Light," and "Carry" will give listeners a new appreciation for all of the time and sweat that went into creating these sonic monoliths while shedding some light on the painstaking construction involved in some of
Panopticon and
Oceanic's most powerful moments. Though none of this will be particularly useful to anyone who isn't already familiar with the band (and if you're one of those people, run out and buy
Oceanic and
Panopticon right now), but for the initiated,
Temporal makes for an essential and illuminating listen. ~ Gregory Heaney
