Just last night I might have got a call from Aaron Turner, head of Hydra Head Records and frontman for metal heavyweights Isis, in which he provided me information about the May 5 release of the new Isis album, Wavering Radiant, on Ipecac Recordings. This is now the second in a series of interviews between me and Turner. Enjoy.
Aaron Turner: Hey, is this Kid Midnight?
Kid Midnight: Speaking.
AT: Great, I have some new information to pass on... but keep it secret, keep it safe...
KM: Sure, sure, I won’t have it published anywhere... [smiles devilishly]
AT: Excellent. I don’t want to excite the world too much.
KM: I understand. Lay it on me, big daddy.
AT: Alright, well, as you know, we’re releasing a new album, Wavering Radiant, May 5 on Ipecac Recordings. We see it as our most cohesive and challenging work yet. It’s our first full-length in two years, and we really hope that it marks yet another push towards the unexplored, solidifying our career in adaptation and transformation. Acting as the culmination of 12 years spent unleashing backbreaking riff-age and sonic explorations of light & dark, Radiant sees our colossal five-some moving beyond the visible spectrum of rock and the realm of the uninspired. Blissfully melodic, frighteningly dense, the album is an epic conflict between worlds of beauty and the darkest of demons.
KM: WOW! That sounds pretty heavy, man. How long did it take for you to write that description?
AT: Longer than it took to record the album. Moving on. If any of our fans, or any other interested parties, want to get a peek at the new album, they can head to http://www.dailyrindblog.com/audio/isis_20minutes40years.mp3 and check out the track “20 Minutes/40 years.”
KM: Excellent, first taste is free right?
AT: Well... with the musical climate we exist in, let’s hope that most people don’t get the whole thing for free, right?
KM: Exactly. I know that I’ll be “buying” the whole thing when it comes out.
AT: …?
KM: Just joking, I only download metal bands that I’m ashamed to like.
AT: GOOD!
KM: What else can you tell us?
AT: The album is 54 minutes long; the shortest track is under two minutes; the longest track is 11 minutes. Each individual “song” is really more like a part of one massive whole. It’s epic. The whole album is the sum of years of experimentation, varying influences and the organic infusion of each band members’ personality.
KM: You know, you’re not nearly as mysterious this time around. We definitely have a healthier relationship when we share what we’re feeling...
AT: Yeah... here’s the tracklist... I gotta go... [click]
KM: Oh, okay... [one tear slides down left cheek]
Wavering Radiant tracklist:
1. Hall Of The Dead
2. Ghost Key
3. Hand Of The Host
4. Wavering Radiant
5. Stone To Wake A Serpent
6. 20 Minutes / 40 Years
7. Threshold Of Transformation
Tourdates:
05.15.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
05.16.09 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
05.17.09 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
05.19.09 - Austin, TX - Emo's
05.20.09 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
05.21.09 - Houston, TX - Meridian - Red Room
05.22.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
05.23.09 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
05.25.09 - Orlando, FL - The Social
05.26.09 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
05.27.09 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbit's
05.28.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
05.29.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
05.30.09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
05.31.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
06.02.09 - New York, NY - The Filmore at Irving Plaza
06.03.09 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
06.04.09 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
06.05.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise
06.06.09 - Montreal, QC - The National
06.07.09 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Theatre
06.09.09 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
06.10.09 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre
06.11.09 - Detroit, MI - Small's
06.12.09 - Chicago, IL - The Bottom Lounge
06.15.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
06.16.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
06.18.09 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
06.19.09 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
06.20.09 - Seattle, WA Neumo's
06.22.09 - San Jose, CA - The Blank Club
06.23.09 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
06.24.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
