I’m
not going to review the support bands tonight – let’s
just say that Jesu suffered from an awful mix which strangled
any attempts at subtlety, and Bohren & Der Club of Gore’s
combination of slooooooooooow atmospherics and saxophone didn’t
quite hit home in a live setting where everyone was eagerly
anticipating the arrival of another band. That said, they
seemed like really nice chaps and they reminded me of Bladerunner,
so go and listen to them.
To business.
No surprise, but Isis were amazing. It’s been years
since I saw a band give such a tight, organic, uplifting
and fully switched on performance. There really is nothing
like seeing Isis thrashing around fully synchronised, slamming
out that earth-core riffage like nobody else. Aaron Turner’s
vocals somehow manage to be a thing of exquisite beauty,
carrying both melody and metal in perfect balance, turning
the whole thing into an emotional experience I never expected.
It’s the way the songs seem to grow themselves, as
if they’re conjured up out of the ground from some
deep mystical cavern by the movements on stage and take
control of the players, instead of the other way round.
Bloody hell, I really can’t do this justice. I give
up. I’m glad we don’t give gigs ratings, because
that sort of performance doesn’t deserve to be sullied
by mere numbers. One of, if not THE, best gigs I have seen.
