Oceanic (Isis album)

The album themes are considered to be an expansion on the bands 1999 EP The Red Sea, which includes themes of water throughout, death, emotional detachment, incest, and suicide.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Oceanic is a concept album (presumably told non-chronologically, or told through memories) about a man who, on the brink of emotional emptiness and numbness, finds a female counterpart who, prematurely, completes him (“The Beginning and the End"). However, he soon discovers that she has had a long-term incestuous relationship ("False Light", "Weight") with her brother throughout the man's relationship with her. ("Hym", "The Other"). After discovering this, it drives him back into his emotionally comatose state, and he subsequently commits suicide by drowning himself in the ocean.("from sinking sands, he stepped into light's embrace").

The entire story is described by frontman Aaron Turner in a radio interview and in more nebulous terms in the album's booklet.{{cite web

|first = Scott

|last = Kelly

|title = The Show

|publisher = Combat Music Radio

|year = 2006

|url = http://www.combatmusicradio.com/The_Show/TheShow061305.mp3

|access-date = January 24, 2008

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191232/http://www.combatmusicradio.com/The_Show/TheShow061305.mp3

|archive-date = September 30, 2007

|df = mdy-all

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|first=John | last = Serba | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r605063|pure_url=yes}} | title = Oceanic – Isis | website=AllMusic | access-date=July 23, 2011}}

| rev2 = Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal

| rev2score = 8/10{{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |last2=Perri|first2=David|author-link1=Martin Popoff |title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s |publisher=Collector's Guide Publishing |year=2011 |location=Burlington, Ontario, Canada |isbn=9781-926592-20-6 |page=244}}

|rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=Omnibus Press |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

| rev4 = Metal Storm

| rev4score = 9.3/10{{cite web | url=http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=1011 | title=Isis - Oceanic review | publisher=Metal Storm | date=18 August 2005 | access-date=14 February 2021}}

| rev5 = OndaRock

| rev5score = 8/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.ondarock.it/rockedintorni/isis.htm|title=Isis - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto|website=OndaRock}}

| rev6 = Ox-Fanzine

| rev6score = 8/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.ox-fanzine.de/review/oceanic-cd-29655|title=Review|first=Ox Fanzine, Solingen|last=Deutschland|website=www.ox-fanzine.de}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7Score = 9.1/10{{cite web|last=Ott|first=Chris|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4135-oceanic/|title=Isis – Oceanic|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=November 30, 2012|date=September 22, 2002}}

| rev8 = Rock Hard

| rev8score = 8.5/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhard.de/reviews/isis-oceanic_262923.html|title=ISIS - Oceanic|website=ROCK HARD Heavy-Metal-Magazin}}

| rev9 = Sputnikmusic

| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|last=Hartwig|first=Andrew|url=http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=223|title=Isis – Oceanic (staff review)|website=Sputnikmusic|access-date=January 27, 2011|date=January 16, 2005}}

| rev10 = Stylus

| rev10Score = A−{{cite magazine|last=Jarvis|first=Clay|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/isis/oceanic.htm|title=Isis – Oceanic|magazine=Stylus Magazine|access-date=January 27, 2011|date=September 1, 2003}}

}}

The album’s style marks a distinct departure from their previous sound; up until this point, Isis had been characterised by crushing, distorted guitars and a coarse, unforgiving tone. With this album came the introduction of lengthy periods of clean guitar, large amounts of ambient noise and female vocals; a notable post-rock influence, first hinted at on SGNL>05 and Celestial. This transition was retrospectively labelled by FACT's Robin Jahdi as "one of the more eye-opening musical metamorphoses of the decade";{{cite magazine|url=http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2510&Itemid=84|title=Isis: Wavering Radiant|last=Jahdi|first=Robin|date=May 8, 2009|magazine=FACT Magazine|access-date=May 15, 2009}} it has been described as "seminal".{{cite magazine|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14404/reviews/4136824|title=Isis: Wavering Radiant|last=Savage|first=Milton|date=May 13, 2009|magazine=Drowned in Sound|access-date=May 23, 2009|archive-date=May 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516232801/http://www.drownedinsound.com/releases/14404/reviews/4136824|url-status=dead}} As Ben Richardson notes in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the album's release "fomented an explosion of glacial, Neurosis-inspired instrumental 'post-metal'";{{cite news |issue=11|volume=44|url=http://www.sfbg.com/2009/12/16/some-kind-mastodon|title=Some kind of mastodon|last=Richardson|first=Ben|date=December 16, 2009|newspaper=San Francisco Bay Guardian|access-date=March 24, 2011}} likewise it has been described as "the standard by which all post-metal albums have been judged since".{{cite magazine |last=Vulcic|first=Vuk|title=Isis|magazine=Rock-A-Rolla|date=March–April 2009|issue=19|pages=18–23}} It has retrospectively been labelled a "masterpiece".

As one reviewer notes, the album is in "a place somewhere between metal and hardcore and post-rock, a place where crunching guitars and hoarse, tuneless vocals and slow spaciness all converge and create something big and mean and delightful".{{cite web| last = Wu| first = Brandon| url = http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/display.php?rev=isis-oce| title = Review of Oceanic| work = Ground and Sky| access-date = November 9, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061114181308/http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/display.php?rev=isis-oce| archive-date = November 14, 2006| url-status = dead}} The change of style proved trying for some long-standing fans, but beneficial in garnering a greater fanbase and the Neurosis-Godflesh comparisons began to weaken. The eschewing of sludgecore elements, and increased focus on atmospherics and post-rock elements whilst still retaining metal and hardcore elements led to the album being labelled by many as post-metal, and essentially as being the genre's progenitor.{{cite web| last = Thompson| first = Ed| url = http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/747/747458p1.html| title = Review of In the Absence of Truth| work = IGN| access-date = December 18, 2006| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110713004755/http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/747/747458p1.html| archive-date = July 13, 2011| df = mdy-all}} Some critics attribute it to having truly formed the genre, out of a previously nebulous definition. This leaning, in the direction of post-rock, was greeted with great critical acclaim; the presence of female vocals proved popular with many reviewers, and songs featuring those vocals are generally seen as stand-outs. Those songs include "The Beginning and the End", "Carry" and "Weight", all of which feature Maria Christopher of 27.

Oceanic was named Terrorizer number one album of 2002,{{cite magazine |title=Albums of the Year|magazine=Terrorizer|date=November 2002|issue=104}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm#2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223075217/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm#2002 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 23, 2006 |title=Terrorizer Albums of the Year 2002 |publisher=Rocklist.net |access-date=October 24, 2011}} and in Drowned in Sound's "Our 66" introspective of the best albums of the past six years, it placed fifth.{{cite web| last = Diver| first = Mike| url = http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/1254995| title = DiS is 6: Our 66, the top six| work = Drowned in Sound| access-date = January 2, 2007| archive-date = November 28, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061128042010/http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/1254995| url-status = dead}} Pitchfork Media ranked it as 2002's 31st-best record, rating it as having “more depth than its touted predecessor”.{{cite web|title=Top 50 Albums of 2002|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5888-top-50-albums-of-2002/|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=March 30, 2011|date=January 1, 2003|first=Chris|last=Ott}} It was greeted with great critical acclaim from not only niche magazines, but also from popular music reviewers, such as AllMusic. In some ways, this release pushed Isis to the fore of their genre, and enabled them to branch out to new fans.{{cite press release|title=Isis > Biography |publisher=Southern Records |url=http://www.southern.net/southern/band/ISIS0/biog.php |access-date=November 11, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109093149/http://www.southern.net/southern/band/ISIS0/biog.php |archive-date=January 9, 2007 }} Beyond yearly accolades, it ranked fourth in Decibel's "Top 100 Albums of the Decade" special issue.{{cite magazine|last=Stewart-Panko|first=Kevin|title=4: Isis – Oceanic|magazine=Decibel| date=November 2009 |issue=The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade}} In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked it at #72 on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-113614/|title=The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time|first1=Christopher R.|last1=Weingarten |first2=Tom|last2=Beaujour |first3=Hank|last3=Shteamer |first4=Kim|last4=Kelly |first5=Steve|last5=Smith |first6=Brittany|last6=Spanos |first7=Suzy|last7=Exposito |first8=Richard|last8=Bienstock |first9=Kory|last9=Grow |first10=Dan|last10=Epstein |first11=J. D.|last11=Considine |first12=Andy|last12=Greene |first13=Rob|last13=Sheffield |first14=Adrien|last14=Begrand |first15=Ian|last15=Christe |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 21, 2017}}

Some fans and critics will point out that the album had a notable influence on the metal/post-rock scene in the years following. In 2004, Cult of Luna released Salvation; taking a similar stylistic departure from previous LPs Cult of Luna and The Beyond as Oceanic took from preceding albums SGNL>05 and Celestial. The band itself cites Isis as an influence, and a review in Terrorizer posits that Oceanic covered "fairly similar aquatic terrain" as their release Salvation.{{cite magazine|last=Martin|first=Jim|title=Review of Salvation|magazine=Terrorizer|issue=124|date=October 2004|page=68}}

The album was remixed in a series of four vinyl EPs, named Oceanic Remixes/Interpretations Volumes I-IV and released on Robotic Empire Records in 2004 and 2005. Contributors included Mike Patton, Venetian Snares and Justin Broadrick. These tracks, and an additional track by Tim Hecker, were compiled into a two-CD release on Hydra Head Records, entitled Oceanic: Remixes & Reinterpretations.

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Isis

| title1 = The Beginning and the End

| length1 = 8:02

| title2 = The Other

| length2 = 7:15

| title3 = False Light

| length3 = 7:42

| title4 = Carry

| length4 = 6:46

| title5 = -

| length5 = 2:06

| title6 = Maritime

| length6 = 3:03

| title7 = Weight

| length7 = 10:46

| title8 = From Sinking

| length8 = 8:24

| title9 = Hym

| length9 = 9:14

}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

;Band members

• Jeff Caxide – bass guitar
• Aaron Harris – drums
• Michael Gallagher – guitar
• Bryant Clifford Meyer – electronics, guitar, vocals on the first section of "Hym"
• Aaron Turner – vocals, guitar, album art and layout

{{col-break}}

;Other personnel

• Matt Bayles – audio engineering, audio mixing and production
• Mélanie Benoit – album photography
• Ed Brooks – mastering
• Maria Christopher of 27 – vocals on "The Beginning and the End", "Weight" and "Carry"
• Jason Hellmann – album photography
• Ayal Naor of 27 – additional instrumentation on "The Beginning and the End" and "Weight"

{{col-end}}

{{update section|date=August 2021}}

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite web|title=商品詳細|url=http://www.diwproducts.com/prd.php?DYMC114|publisher=Daymare Recordings|access-date=May 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607051232/http://www.diwproducts.com/prd.php?dymc114|archive-date=June 7, 2011|url-status=dead}}

{{cite web|title=Catalog|publisher=Escape Artist Records|url=http://escapeartistrecords.com/blog/?page_id=7|access-date=April 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815200954/http://escapeartistrecords.com/blog/?page_id=7|archive-date=August 15, 2011|url-status=dead}}

{{cite web | url = http://www.ipecac.com/bio.php?id=15 | title = Ipecac Recordings - Isis| publisher = Ipecac Recordings| access-date = January 23, 2008}}

{{cite AV media notes |title= Oceanic|others= Isis|year= 2002|publisher= Ipecac Recordings|id= IPC-032}}

{{cite web|title=ISIS – "Oceanic" 2xLP|url=http://www.switchblade.se/tno/releases.asp?id=TNO018|publisher=Trust No One Recordings|access-date=May 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322100721/http://www.switchblade.se/tno/releases.asp?id=TNO018|archive-date=March 22, 2012|url-status=dead}}

}}

• [https://isistheband.bandcamp.com/album/oceanic-remastered Oceanic] at Bandcamp (streamed copy where licensed)

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Category:2000s concept albums

Category:2002 albums

Category:Isis (band) albums

Category:Ipecac Recordings albums

Category:Albums produced by Matt Bayles

Category:Albums with cover art by Aaron Turner