  
Cyclone Empire/Sound Pollution
Sixth album from Sweden´s closely guarded doom metal secret ISOLE is finally here, and on a new label to the band, Cyclone Empire. It is not a direct album but give it some time and you´ll see what I mean. ISOLE formed in Gävle in 1990, first as Forlorn, but changed in 2003 as the name was already occupied. Three albums with I Hate Records followed, before the band switched to Napalm Records. Danel Bryntse, guitars, vocals, Jimmy Mattsson, bass, growling vocals, Christer Olsson, guitars, vocals, and Jonas Lindström, drums, who recently departed the band, seems to be a winning line-up. To get the right drummer in place must be a painstaking duty. But it is not the first time a member leaves and Daniel and Christer are the only two remaining from 2004.
The influences of CANDLEMASS and some of their own melodic sense shows in the opening title track. The use of keyboards in doom took a while to get used to but few styles have so much to gain from an atmospheric background. We´re not talking slow speed doom either, and the riff is not muted in any way. Jimmy growls a shortie in the refrain and that is sufficient growling to me, but still rather new and fresh. A very tasteful opener indeed. The sedated “Dead to Me (The Destroyer Pt 1)” is at times is a bit of an odd bird but also a display of what ISOLE has become in terms of progression. The epic “Into Oblivion” has a ring of a riff-based “Twilight of the Gods” (BATHORY). But we get more pace changes and some growl here. The masterpiece “The Eye of Light” opens with soft ominous guitar, then the electric takes over the guitar pattern and the Swedishness mix extremely well with the melodic CANDLEMASS touches. I get the feeling of a slightly older ISOLE track with this one. For good measures they throw in “Perdition”, a decisively more old school doom track. Softer vocals, pace changes, long notes and a lot of melody makes for variation on the album. The laest inspired song “Alone in Silence” rocks from the start but has a lot in common with a chant. Moody and boring I feel forced to press fast forward for the only time. They end on a high note, luckily. “My Regret (The Destroyer Pt 2)” opens with base notes, frail guitar work and background keys. The song is the most multi-faceted on the album and I think there are even sounds of a jungle night on here? The middle section is also a surprise and it all makes for a song that dares from a band with a lot of ability. If you´re head first into doom the old fashioned way you might want to listen first, otherwise this is another one you must own as a serious doomster!
Track List
The Calm Hunter
Dead to Me (The Destroyer Pt 1)
Into Oblivion
The Eye of Light
Perdition
Alone in Silence
My Regret (The Destroyer Pt 2)
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