The year after their debut, Isis returned with another ep called The Red Sea. The ep consists of 7 songs and clocks in at just over 35 minutes.

The ep starts with the cold industrial vibe of Charmicarmicat Shines To Earth where cold industrial noises and distortion give it a very Godflesh vibe (think Pure). After this though, it’s pretty obvious that Isis has started to carve out an identity of their own. It’s still fair to say that they were heavily influenced by Neurosis and Godflesh but those influences had begun to blend in seamlessly with a more progressive Tool like sound. There are vague bits of melody floating around this tasty little ep and some very cool bass grooves pop up every now and then, although hidden in the mix.

While The Minus Times starts the ep off in aggressive fashion, it is the title song with its big fat discordant riffs and some laid back ambient rock textures combining to create an absolute monolith of a song. Other stand out tracks include the noisy percussion driven Smiles and Handshakes and the wall of noise that is Ochre.

Like Isis have been doing right from the time of their debut, the band take the ideas expressed in the Mosquito Control ep and expand upon it. The riffs build slowly till the listener is wrapped up in a sea of riffs that flow seamlessly into one another. The music is almost like slowed down hardcore at times and the band pummel you into submission with their slow, brooding yet incredibly heavy music.

At this point in the band’s career, comparisons seem superfluous. There was very little music around that sounded like this and while Bloodlet’s The Seraphim Fall album comes to mind as a close reference point, it is still nothing like Isis. I prefer the debut over this but The Red Sea sees the band progressing further along their own path and finding their own identity as they move away from the comparisons to Neurosis that have dogged them through their career.

Year Of Release – 1999
Label – Second Nature