Posts Tagged ‘isis’

Roadburn’s Album of the Decade: Electric Wizard – Dopethrone

Posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

The votes are in, the points have been awarded and the math has been done. More than 150 of you have taken the time to forward your Top 10 list for the Roadburn Album of the Decade.

Here then is your list (and a stunning list it is). It seems that some bands suffered because they had several good albums in the decade, like High on Fire, Neurosis or Mastodon, but champions Electric Wizard did not suffer from multiple great releases and in the end stood above all the contenders. Their magnum opus Dopethrone was mentioned the most, got the most points and clearly deserved to win. Not satisfied with the top spot, they also had the number 3 album of the decade with Witchcult Today.
Neurosis was the only other band to place two different records on the list, holding spot number 2 with Given to the Rising and number 8 with Eye of Every Storm.

Needless to say, we at Roadburn are very proud that we have had both bands at our festival (listen back to their appearances here (Electric Wizard) and here (Neurosis).

ROADBURN TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE DECADE:

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

01.Electric Wizard – Dopethrone, 2000 (298)

“How do you review one of the best records you’ve ever heard? That is the challenge that  Dopethrone has presented me with. It is so hard to tell whether an album sounds good in the short term, or whether it will stand the test of time. Luckily, you can look back to the last Electric Wizard full-length Come My Fanatics… and see how that has lasted. Quite nicely, it turns out. Four years have not diminished its potency or impact. Dopethrone maintains all the good things from Fanatics… and then makes it all… well, better. There is just MORE Electric Wizard-ness packed in. Enough to convince me that Dopethrone is an all-time classic.

What is Electric Wizard-ness? It is the primal opposition of different elements: super-saturated distortion next to drugged-out ambient spaces; minimal bpm’s pitted against edge-of-sanity vocals; “essence of Iommi” riffs versus subharmonic drone. It is also a feeling, an atmosphere of sociopathic danger and bleak despair fused with the comforting warmth of fuzz. It’s the uncertainty of taking heavy drugs and the euphoria of a good trip. It is density and space. Darkness and light. Basic, visceral elements translated into music.

In truth, that is exactly what this record is. The band went into the studio with rough outlines of songs, but left the final product up to spontaneous creation. And created the complex simplicity of Dopethrone. Or is it simply complex?

One of the interesting things about Dopethrone is that it nullifies all the normal criteria for judging records. Does it have great songs? Irrelevant. The album is great. Does it have excellent musicianship? Not applicable. The instruments work together as an organic whole. Is it well-produced? Again, not applicable. The sound is a function of the playing. The atmosphere simultaneously creates and is created by the music. This is one seamless unit. This is the dopethrone. Kneel before your liege lord… and inhale deeply” — Drew Webster, Roadburn 2000.

02.Neurosis – Given to the Rising, 2007 (177)
03.Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today, 2007 (144)
04.Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf, 2002  (130)
05.Om – Conference of the Birds, 2006 (124)
06.Celtic Frost – Monotheist, 2006 (123)
07.Mastodon – Leviathian, 2004 (120)
08.Neurosis – In the Eye of every Storm, 2004 (110)
09.Isis – Oceanic, 2002 (97)
10.Wolves in the Throne Room – Two Hunters, 2007 (94)

Also in contention:

Clutch – Blast Tyrant
Sleep – Dopesmoker
Melvins – A  senile Animal
Sunn o))) – Black One | Monoliths & Dimensions
Witchcraft -  S/T
Jesu - S/T

The rules again:

-     Only discs released between 1-1-2000 and 31-12-2009 counted

-     Roadburn related

-     Number 1 gets 10 points, number 10 gets 1 point

-      Only one disc per artist

-      No re-issues

For our personal lists, please go HERE.

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Posted in Album of the Day, News, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended | 8 Comments »

Playlist: September (Aligator Descartes)

Posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

The Roadburn playlist is a monthly update from the Roadburn staff reflecting what we are spinning here in the head office. These are the records that get us through the day as we work on Roadburn Festival business and our blog.
Much as you’d expect, our playlists feature heavy rock, drone, ...read more

We need more records: Vinyl in the Digital Age: Straight From the Horse’s Mouth, Talking to Bands

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Noisecreep: Vinyl records should have been something dead and buried when the digital age took its big thick grasp, as the number one music store in the country became a digital one. But the truth is, vinyl might be a driving force, helping keep the aching music ...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 Khanate, ...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 member ...read more

Pitchfork rates Isis' Wavering Radiant: 8.5

Posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Boston-to-Los Angeles transplants Isis have maintained their position in the vanguard of post-metal by consistently exploding the idiomatic strictures that have defined heavy music with each release –the same goes for the band’s latest album, Wavering Radiant. Please read what Pitchfork.com has to say about the album:
Pin a single label, ...read more