In the Absence of Truth

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In the Absence of Truth
In the Absence of Truth cover
Studio album by Isis
Released October 31, 2006 (2006-10-31)
Recorded June 8, 2006 (2006-06-08)–July 2, 2006 (2006-07-02)
Genre Post-metal
Length 64:49
Label Ipecac Recordings (CD)
(IPC-081)
Conspiracy (vinyl)
(CORE045)
Producer Isis, Matt Bayles
Professional reviews
Isis chronology
Live.04
(2004)		 In the Absence of Truth
(2006)		 "Holy Tears"
(2008)

In the Absence of Truth is the fourth full-length studio album by Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings on October 31, 2006.[1] Vinyl release was handled by Conspiracy Records.[2]

The album expands upon the group's previous full-length, Panopticon, further exploring lead singer Aaron Turner's clean vocals (though his former techniques more related to screaming and growling are still present as well). Musically, the album is dynamic, ranging from extended musical ambience to almost tribal drumming. Isis continue writing lengthy songs in comparison to mainstream bands; Absence is in fact Isis' longest CD, at almost 65 minutes.

The album is also Isis' most commercially successful to date, reaching #6 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.[3]

Contents

[edit] Recording and release

Details regarding the album were sparse; completion of the album was announced via a blog post on July 8, 2006.[4][5] The release date was announced as October 31, 2006, just after the release of DVD Clearing the Eye and Aereogramme collaboration In the Fishtank 14, both of which were released in September. To promote the album, Isis supported Tool on a North American tour from late August through to early October. Following the release, they went on a headlining tour of North America.

A November 8, 2007 MySpace blog post announced two upcoming singles from the album. The first will be "Holy Tears", scheduled for a December 6 release; it will include a live version recorded during the Tool tour, a video directed by Dominic Hailstone and a Lustmord/Melvins remix of "Not in Rivers, but in Drops". The second single, "Not In Rivers, But In Drops", has a January release date and will also feature a live version, video, and "Holy Tears" remix. However; a following Pitchfork Media article states that both singles are due in February.[6] Both are set to be released by Ipecac Recordings.

[edit] Reception

Overall, the album garnered positive reviews, receiving a 70% score on Metacritic,[7] but was criticised regarding certain aspects. For instance, a review in Q Magazine stated that the album uses "a powerful formula, but one the band perfected with their 2002 album Oceanic",[8] and Delusions of Adequacy feels that "In the Absence of Truth finds the band both spinning its wheels and running out of ideas".[9]

However, some reviews viewed that similarity as positive, and perceived it more as progression and evolution than repetition. Stylus Magazine repeated similar sentiments as those of the previous reviews, but did not feel that re-using a successful formula was a burden, Cosmo Lee saying "it's not Isis' fault that they sound unoriginal these days. All you have to do is pick up a copy of Decibel, open it to any page, and you’ll find someone counting the group as an influence [...] The songs are still long, the rhythms are still organic, and in general Isis still sounds like Isis". Despite having said this, the review is still very positive.[10] PopMatters repeated the views of Lee, stating Isis are "a band knowing how to execute the formula to near-perfection",[11] and Thom Jurek of All Music Guide expanded upon that point further, stating "this set is not a brave leap [...] but a further look up the holy mountain to a new plateau, a hike to sacred ground".[12] Drowned in Sound reviewer Mike Diver, however, viewed the album differently; that Isis have "pushed themselves on this album, striving to achieve something honestly different to what was released before it".[13] An IGN review described it as "unique and free from boundaries",[14] and it has been labeled as "Isis' masterpiece"[15], as well as their "most compelling work to date".[16] Writing for Alternative Press, Aaron Burgess states that "save for the brief distorted squalls of "Garden of Light" and the pummeling metallic grooves of "Not In Rivers, But In Drops," there's barely anything keeping Isis tethered to the rigid "post-metal" genre they helped inspire".[17]

“ Isis have been onto something from the very beginning and got to the edge of the abyss with Oceanic. Panopticon took an oppressive yet wonderfully curious view of its surroundings. In the Absence of Truth takes them into its dark heart squalling, whispering, crawling, drunkenly falling into its center, punching, screaming, and kicking until there is nothing left but silence. This is rock in the 21st century, anything less is cowardice. ”
 
— Thom Jurek[12]

The sound of the album drew complimentary comparisons to Tool and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, being praised for its subtlety and gradual evolution of structure.[18] However, some critical responses to the similarity with Tool were not so positive, with Jon Davenport arguing that "In the Absence of Truth plays out like some mediocre hybrid of Tool and Panopticon".[9] Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork Media posits that "the set's so finely wound that on the first few listens it seemed like the steady diet of Tool had perhaps transformed Isis into an emaciated, innocuous version of their older selves". However, he continues to suggest that the album "just require[s] close (and repeated) listening to initiate an unravelling".[19] Tracks selected as stand-outs include "Not in Rivers, but in Drops",[18] "Garden of Light",[13] and "Dulcinea", specifically praising the climax of the piece.[15] "Holy Tears" is labeled as revealing the "true, outward strength of Isis",[20] and is selected as "a beacon of light in the darkness" in a generally scathing Delusions of Adequacy review.[9]

Decibel placed the album thirteenth in its top albums of 2006, as well as jokingly awarding Tool the "Isis Rip-off Band of the Year" award.[21]

[edit] Themes

While no official lyrics have yet been released, the album seems likely to connect with Isis's past legacy of concept albums, wherein some of the lyrics (such as "She was his queen" from "Dulcinea") relate to past themes. Turner has confirmed the presence of a concept: "I won't say what the concept is, but I can give you some clues about what inspired it: Hassan-i-Sabbah, the Islamic mystic cult leader, [Miguel de Cervantes'] Don Quixote, [Mark Z. Danielewski's] House of Leaves, and [Jorge Luis Borges'] Labyrinths."[22] However; from repeated explanation of what inspired Oceanic and Panopticon, his stance changed. "Through explaining the last two albums time and time again, I just started to become weary of the topic, and I started to feel like I was losing my connection to the music and the lyrics simply from having repeated it so many times. And for me, personally, it's really important to maintain that connection as much as possible. I feel there's a lot of emphasis these days placed on explaining everything in such a fashion that there's really nothing left for the listener or reader to explore themselves. It's all spelled out. So it's interesting to leave some of that stuff open-ended so they have do to a little bit of legwork themselves."[23]

The album takes its title from a quote often attributed to Hassan-i-Sabbah: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted". When it comes to how this quote relates to the album's concept, Turner is again reluctant to reveal too much. "I'll just say that much of working on this record, for me, was about the power and nature of perception, and the ways in which it affects our behavior and the way we see the world," he says. "I'll just leave it at that, and people can draw their own conclusions."[23]

Track titles explicitly reference Hassan-i-Sabah's garden Firdous e Bareen, and Dulcinea, a character in Don Quixote.[24] In relation to Dulcinea, Turner does allow a hint at the meaning: "That is just toying with the idea of perception, and the very thin line between illusion and reality", he says.[23]

The cover artwork is described as "somewhat representational", but that the gauze-like strips don't "necessarily indicate one specific object or another".[23] However, the art is intrinsically linked to the music as ever; Turner having previously stated that "the songwriting and the artwork come from the same place".[25] It is "sort of at the heart of what [he] was writing about. And also, there's a progression of ideas from this very tightly bound, opaque mass into something that eventually starts to split up and open up and evolve into nothingness."[23]

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Isis.

  1. "Wrists of Kings" – 7:45
  2. "Not in Rivers, but in Drops" – 7:48
  3. "Dulcinea" – 7:10 (sample (help·info))
  4. "Over Root and Thorn" – 8:31
  5. "1,000 Shards" – 6:17
  6. "All out of Time, All into Space" – 3:04
  7. "Holy Tears" – 7:04
  8. "Firdous e Bareen" – 7:50
  9. "Garden of Light" – 9:17

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Band members

[edit] Other personnel

  • Matt Bayles – audio engineering, audio mixing and production
  • Ed Brooks – mastering
  • Jason Hellmann – website design
  • Mike Gerlach – assistant engineer
  • Greg Moss – live sound
  • Caleb Scofield – additional vocals on "1,000 Shards"
  • Charley Turner – additional vocals on tracks "Not in Rivers, but in Drops" and "Holy Tears"
  • Troy Ziegler – additional percussion and acoustic guitar on "Firdous e Bareen"

[edit] Chart positions

Billboard (North America)

Chart Position[3]
Top Heatseekers 6
Top Independent Albums 20

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ipecac Recordings - Isis. Ipecac Recordings. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
  2. ^ ISIS: In the Absence of Truth. conspiracyrecords.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
  3. ^ a b Isis at Billboard.com. Retrieved on January 13, 2007.
  4. ^ Summer Salutations Everyone! Fall US Tour With TOOL!. isis news and notes (2006-06-08). Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  5. ^ Maher, Dave (2006-08-22). Isis Triple Whammy: New LP, DVD, Tour. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  6. ^ Thompson, Paul (2007-11-01). Isis 10th Anniversary Bash: Two Singles, One Tour. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  7. ^ In the Absence of Truth at Metacritic. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
  8. ^ Q Magazine December 2006, pp. 141.
  9. ^ a b c Davenport, Jon (2006-11-13). Isis - In the Absence of Truth. Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
  10. ^ Lee, Cosmo (2006-11-17). Isis - In the Absence of Truth - Review. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  11. ^ Begrand, Adrien. Isis - In the Absence of Truth - PopMatters Music Review. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  12. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. allmusic ((( In the Absence of Truth > Overview ))). Allmusic. Retrieved on 2007-02-08.
  13. ^ a b Diver, Mike. Isis - In the Absence of Truth - Review. Drowned In Sound. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  14. ^ Thompson, Ed (2006-11-22). IGN: In the Absence of Truth Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  15. ^ a b Coggeshall, Wade (2006-10-28). Review of In the Absence of Truth. HCS.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  16. ^ Rice, Ben. Review of In the Absence of Truth. DecoyMusic.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  17. ^ Burgess, Aaron (2007-02-02). Review of In the Absence of Truth. Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
  18. ^ a b Good, Tom (2006-10-31). Isis - In the Absence of Truth - AbsolutePunk.net. AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  19. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (2006-11-29). Isis: In the Absence of Truth: Pitchfork Record Review. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  20. ^ Liebowitz, Matt (2007-02-21). Isis . In the Absence of Truth [prefixmag review]. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  21. ^ Mudrian, Albert (January 2007). The Top 40 Albums of 2006. Decibel. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
  22. ^ Bennet, J. "Isis: Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil." Rock Sound issue 87, August 2006. pp. 32-34.
  23. ^ a b c d e D'Andrea, Niki (2007-02-22). Covert Concepts: Inside the intellectual mystery metal of Isis. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  24. ^ Carney, Ray (2007-09-10). Aaron Harris on Isis. Alterati.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  25. ^ Young, Craig. Isis. earpollution. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.
v • d • e
Isis
Jeff Caxide · Michael Gallagher · Aaron Harris · Cliff Meyer · Aaron Turner
Albums
Celestial · Oceanic · Panopticon · In the Absence of Truth
EPs
Other releases
Live
Singles
"Not in Rivers, But in Drops" · "Holy Tears"
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