I feel compelled to write this review because I really enjoy Isis and I miss them dearly. However, I don’t really feel comfortable reviewing an anthology / rarities collection, because these jams are tracks that Isis didn’t necessarily find suitable to release on any of their “official releases”.

What is included on Temporal are a bunch of previously unreleased demos and b-sides that have already seen the light of day in some form or another. Its pretty interesting listening to these demos and

hearing how one of the greatest bands of all time progress in their writing process. Its like cracking open Einstein’s mind and taking a peek at the glorious gray inner workings. Other than the demos, my favorite section of the release is the three song sequence of “Temporal”, “Way Through Woven Branches”, and “Pliable Foe”. For me it was like an EP of new material I hadn’t heard, even though I came to find out the later two songs were released on the Melvins / Isis split LP  ( and I call myself a true Isis fan.. Bogus).

There was some other stuff I was going to write about this, but I just found an amazing YouTube review of the album, done by the coolest 12 year old kid of all time. So just listen to him instead. His review is much better than anything I was going to write anyway.

A couple more things that this genius kid didn’t mention. The DVD included in Temporal is pretty badass. It’s a collection of all the music videos that Isis released. While some of the videos may come off a bit awkward, they are still pretty cool visually and mood wise. Also, go buy the Clearing the Eye live DVD from the band, it rules!!

Here’s one last thing that I would like to point out about Isis. They were like the most down to earth band ever. They always set up and took down their own gear, they were always really nice and friendly after their shows, they would always shake your hand and spend a minute or two talking to you if you wanted. I have a huge crush on these guys and I am not ashamed to admit it.

For those of you who were as confused as I was about the download code for the 5 bonus demos that were supposed to come with the package. The label forgot to include it with the release, whoops! So here’s the link to snag those if you purchased the album… if you didn’t and you download these demos anyway, you should feel guilty or something.

R.I.P. Isis

http://media.ipecac.com/ISIS-Temporal-Bonus-Tracks.zip

Here’s the video for “Pliable Foe” in case you haven’t seen it.