ISOLE - Bliss Of Solitude
February 4, 2008, 16 years ago
(Napalm)
Despite being a band since 1990, this is album number three for Isole (formerly Forlorn). I’ve always sort of hoped that the word isole means ‘isolated’ in the band’s native Swedish (which is probably not the case) because Isole is totally and utterly representative of remoteness and seclusion. Playing heavy-handed doom reminiscent of Candlemass but with the despondence of early Katatonia, Isole churns out riff-obsessed monsters that feel like oppressive glaciers while also conjuring that specific time during the fall that Insomnium is so adept at translating into auditory recordings. Both mournful and angry, Bliss Of Solitude is a record that is obviously dual purposed, Isole getting all multi-faceted and gemini on us, the band refusing to box itself into any one specific circle of conformity. Think of this as the soundtrack to those Scandinavian winter evenings that begin at the uncharitably early hour of 3 pm.
