Sawblade released in the same year as The Red Sea is yet another ep from Isis. Consisting of just four songs with a cover of Sabbath’s Hand Of Doom and a cover of Godflesh’s Streetcleaner, this is an ep that is only essential for the most hardcore and devout fan of the band.

The ep starts with the ponderous riffing of Emission Of The Signal and it almost seems like a Godflesh tribute with its motif of repetitive riffs flowing one after the other to create a heavy and impenetrable soundscape. The cover of Streetcleaner, the title song off Godflesh’s legendary 1989 album is a terrific re-interpretation and gives the song a new almost organic flavour as against the cold industrial vibe of the original.

Still, it is the cover of Black Sabbath’s classic Hand Of Doom that makes this album. While similar to the original, the band just make the song a lot heavier and Aaron Turner (vocals/ guitars) uses a vocal effect to sound like Ozzy. The overall effect is almost one of an Isis song being sung by a Ozzy clone. The discordant wall of sound style of the band is transferred onto the cover with startling effect. The ep is rounded off with the lengthy House Of Low Culture. This song is more of an ambient piece with its electronic noises and effects coming together with riffs that crawl along at a snail’s pace. Comparable to an industrial sounding Khanate or Sun O))) although a good deal more mellow than either of those two bands. The song shows off a new side to Isis but one that is best experienced in short bursts.

Like I said right at the start, this ep is hardly essential for the casual listener but if you like Isis even a little, then I think this ep should be mandatory listening.

Year Of Release – 1999
Label – Hydrahead