By the time Isis came on stage, the crowd was overflowing with anticipation. They wasted no time in getting started beginning their set with “Hall Of The Dead”, which set the theme for the rest of the night with dark undertones and lyrics, mixing in both a growling type of screaming with singing, coupled with both great riffs and powerful drumming, as well as soft and calming sections. They were able to fit 8 songs into their setlist, as well as 2 more for their encore, which is impressive considering the band’s average song length is more than 7 minutes.
When they started playing “Hand Of The Host”, the opening song from their latest album, Wavering Radiant, the crowd couldn’t contain themselves any longer as they formed a mosh pit almost the size of the entire non-alcoholic section of the floor and began to aggressively mosh. So aggressively, in fact, that by the next song someone had been shoved so hard, he went flying into a friend of mine who then went crashing into a security barricade. Despite all that though, the crowd was visibly having a great time, and they were all lost in the music.
Not nearly enough people know about these kinds of experimental bands, and personally I believe that’s really a shame because there is a lot of good music that people are missing out on. Hopefully Isis comes back to town soon so that Toronto can get another chance to disconnect from reality and enter another world.
Concert Review: Isis, Pelican, and Tombs@ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
Isis, a post-metal band that incorporates lengthy songs with a seemingly psychedelic themed sound that takes you to a place where your mind can wander and all your worries are forgotten. Accompanied by similar themed – though sans-vocals – Pelican, and the lesser-known Tombs, the crowd was in for a great night of head banging.
The first opening band, Tombs, caught everyone off guard as they came on and started playing almost instantly. With jazzy yet punchy drumming, as well as the occasional blast beats, they had the attention of the crowd fairly quickly, though it was obvious this unknown band was making a first impression on most of the crowd.
Pelican, a well-known name in the world of post-metal, delivered with doom themed songs that took the crowd to a barren and hostile world, and occasionally returned them to their place in the concert hall for a nice uplifting moment amidst the gloom. With no vocals, and not too much in the form of eye candy happening on stage during the long psychedelic resting moments, it allowed the fans to close their eyes and zone out as they enjoyed the music, only to be brought back to reality to head bang for a bit as the song progressively built up and then tossed them back into their fantasy world with a calming finale.
Concert Review: Isis, Pelican, and Tombs@ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
Isis, a post-metal band that incorporates lengthy songs with a seemingly psychedelic themed sound that takes you to a place where your mind can wander and all your worries are forgotten. Accompanied by similar themed – though sans-vocals – Pelican, and the lesser-known Tombs, the crowd was in for a great night of head banging.
The first opening band, Tombs, caught everyone off guard as they came on and started playing almost instantly. With jazzy yet punchy drumming, as well as the occasional blast beats, they had the attention of the crowd fairly quickly, though it was obvious this unknown band was making a first impression on most of the crowd.
Pelican, a well-known name in the world of post-metal, delivered with doom themed songs that took the crowd to a barren and hostile world, and occasionally returned them to their place in the concert hall for a nice uplifting moment amidst the gloom. With no vocals, and not too much in the form of eye candy happening on stage during the long psychedelic resting moments, it allowed the fans to close their eyes and zone out as they enjoyed the music, only to be brought back to reality to head bang for a bit as the song progressively built up and then tossed them back into their fantasy world with a calming finale.
Concert Review: Isis, Pelican, and Tombs@ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
Isis, a post-metal band that incorporates lengthy songs with a seemingly psychedelic themed sound that takes you to a place where your mind can wander and all your worries are forgotten. Accompanied by similar themed – though sans-vocals – Pelican, and the lesser-known Tombs, the crowd was in for a great night of head banging.
The first opening band, Tombs, caught everyone off guard as they came on and started playing almost instantly. With jazzy yet punchy drumming, as well as the occasional blast beats, they had the attention of the crowd fairly quickly, though it was obvious this unknown band was making a first impression on most of the crowd.
Pelican, a well-known name in the world of post-metal, delivered with doom themed songs that took the crowd to a barren and hostile world, and occasionally returned them to their place in the concert hall for a nice uplifting moment amidst the gloom. With no vocals, and not too much in the form of eye candy happening on stage during the long psychedelic resting moments, it allowed the fans to close their eyes and zone out as they enjoyed the music, only to be brought back to reality to head bang for a bit as the song progressively built up and then tossed them back into their fantasy world with a calming finale.
Concert Review: Isis, Pelican, and Tombs@ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
Isis, a post-metal band that incorporates lengthy songs with a seemingly psychedelic themed sound that takes you to a place where your mind can wander and all your worries are forgotten. Accompanied by similar themed – though sans-vocals – Pelican, and the lesser-known Tombs, the crowd was in for a great night of head banging.
The first opening band, Tombs, caught everyone off guard as they came on and started playing almost instantly. With jazzy yet punchy drumming, as well as the occasional blast beats, they had the attention of the crowd fairly quickly, though it was obvious this unknown band was making a first impression on most of the crowd.
Pelican, a well-known name in the world of post-metal, delivered with doom themed songs that took the crowd to a barren and hostile world, and occasionally returned them to their place in the concert hall for a nice uplifting moment amidst the gloom. With no vocals, and not too much in the form of eye candy happening on stage during the long psychedelic resting moments, it allowed the fans to close their eyes and zone out as they enjoyed the music, only to be brought back to reality to head bang for a bit as the song progressively built up and then tossed them back into their fantasy world with a calming finale.
