Posts Tagged ‘hydra head records’

Self-titled Magazine: Aaron Turner Revisits Isis’ Entire Catalog

Posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

As sad as we are to see Isis go, the band’s imminent breakup—set to commence after their current tour—isn’t the least bit surprising. A quick scan of Decibel’s final Isis cover story written by self-titled contributor J. Bennett all but confirmed it five months ago, with each of the members interviewed in their own abodes and hinting at other projects on the horizon.

Frontman Aaron Turner, for one, has been busy trying to balance way too many other commitments for a while now, from art direction gigs and the day-to-day operations of his label Hydra Head Records to such part-time collaborations as Jodis, Greymachine and Mamiffer.Well, part-time in the past, at least.

As you’re about to see, Turner has a stack of post-Isis records on tap, but that’s not to say he isn’t incredibly proud of Isis’ slow-but-steady evolution over the past decade. In the following exclusive—and exhaustive—feature, Turner takes us on a tour of the band’s entire catalog, including their rare early recordings and the one record he’s still disappointed by.

“I’d shudder to hear the original again”Mosquito Control Escape Artist, 1998Our third recording as group; the first two being a demo and what you could consider a demo of the demo. I think we were starting to find our voice on Mosquito Control. Specifically, “Life Under the Swatter” was the beginning of a path on which we would synthesize heavy riffing with complex rhythmic patterns and textural / subdued passages… though it was still presented in a pretty jagged form here.

This was also the last recording which contained multiple members from our early lineup, or songs which were written in part by them. There are things on this record that certainly would not have have been written were it not for those people, and it represented a set of voices that was no longer apparent in the subsequent recordings.

I think this record took about three or four days to record and cost around $600. Too bad we were never able to make a record this cheaply again. The first mix was pretty bad in my opinion, but that was corrected a few years later when we remixed and remastered the whole thing. I’d shudder to hear the original again I’m sure.”

Continue reading: PRIMER: Aaron Turner Revisits Isis’ Entire Catalog, and Shares a Project-By-Project Breakdown of What’s On Tap Next | self-titled magazine :: s/t daily.

Tags: aaron turner, hydra head records, isis, Self-titled Magazine
Posted in 2010, Interviews, Roadburn Recommended | 2 Comments »

Isis Call It Quits

Posted on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

ISIS have decided to call it quits, the band have offered the following statement regarding their decision: ISIS has reached an end. It’s hard to try to say it in any delicate way, and it is a truth that is best spoken plainly. This end isn’t something that occurred over ...read more

Album of the day: Harvey Milk – S/T

Posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: I’ve gone over my history with Harvey Milk in greater detail before, but for context’s sake, the condensed version is thus: Once upon a time, I was a no-nothing mainstream metalhead who had grown tired of the crap I listened to. Then I discovered Harvey Milk ...read more

Kayo Dot Unveil New Album Details

Posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

After 3 studio albums, Kayo Dot, are back with another, entitled Coyote. It is due to be released on April 6th 2010 by Hydra Head Records. The new album has again, been engineered by Randall Dunn (Sunn O)). Continue reading:  KAYO DOT UNVEIL ALBUM DETAILS!! | Terrorizer.com. Here’s the PR ...read more

Album of the day: Keelhaul – Triumphant Return to Obscurity

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Hellbound: Perhaps because their last release, Subject to Change Without Notice was released six years ago, coupled with the music industry’s short-term memory loss – not really anyone’s fault, as a plethora of albums are released every week – the understated brilliance of the Cleveland, Ohio quartet ...read more

Keelhaul’s Triumphant Return To Obscurity available for streaming

Posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Triumphant Return To Obscurity, the new album from Keelhaul, is available for streaming at this location. Triumphant Return To Obscurity, out on Hydra Head Records, “picks up on the band’s progression as if they were steadily releasing records throughout their six year hiatus. The pace is precise, the instrumentation is ...read more

CraveOnline reviews Greymachine’s Disconnected

Posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009

On the exact opposite end of the scale are the Greymachine and their new album Disconnected which is a brutal and ugly album. How ugly? Imagine a low flying plane cruising over the remnants of a burned out city filled with desperate people killing each other for basic survival. Take ...read more

Khanate and Isis members form Jodis; debut album announced

Posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009

Jodis is the new band between Khanate’s James Plotkin, Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Lotus Eaters), and Tim Wyskida (ex-Khanate, Blind Idiot God). James Plotkin describes the sound of Jodis as “expansive, tonal, minimal, or all of the above. It has been described to me as a more relaxed ...read more

Pitchfork rates Khanate – Clean Hands Go Foul: 7.6

Posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Clean Hands Go Foul, the fourth and likely final full-length from late experimental metal outsiders Khanate, deserves a warning label: “Not recommended for those with mild-to-severe mental disturbances,” it could read before countering, “Well, just promise not to hurt anyone, OK?” Its brittle, monstrous tones shake whatever space they enter. ...read more

Pitchfork news: Jesu + Isis = Greymachine

Posted on Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Basic physics:  When the frontmen of two of the heaviest bands in the world get together, they are guaranteed to make something extremely fucking heavy. Jesu mastermind and former Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick and Isis leader Aaron Turner have teamed up to form Greymachine, along with fellow Jesu / Godflesh ...read more