So I was at a conference this week when someone mentioned AI and work-place surveillance in terms of being a panopticon. My ears pricked up and I thought ‘that’s tonight’s listening sorted’.
Welcome to ISIS Panopticon, 2004’s premier post-metal concept LP about oppressive technological surveillance in society*. Seven songs in 59 minutes split over two sides of coke bottle green splatter vinyl. Sorry to be crude but it is fucking amazing.
For those who have not obsessed about Jeremy Bentham^ and Michel Foucault as much as I have, let me mansplain the panopticon principle at you in a grossly over-simplified fashion.
Formulated as a design for prison it posited that a wide circular gallery of cells, potentially many tiers tall, all of which can be observed at any point by a single guard or guard post placed centrally which is not observable by the incarcerated. The prisoners never know if they are being directly observed at any time and behave better as a result, in a fully utilitarian model the guard is observable by the public – Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
The psychologically deleterious affects of a manifest invisible omnipresence are pretty chilling; think 1984. This was then scaled up by thinkers such as Foucault to become a method for other means of societal control and as technology has advanced the metaphor becomes ever more pertinent and pressing as surveillance capabilities have rocketed.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor in their early days used to incorporate diagrams of panopticons into their live projections and so when I learned later that ISIS had made a whole LP about it, I was primed and ready.
Panopticon is not an easy LP to write about as its impact and weight comes from the whole, rather than from individual cuts. In general terms it shows a progression from their titanic LP Oceanic (pun intended) and the band seem more at ease with the quieter, less metallic passages of play involved, which only serves to raise the stakes when things get truly ferrous.
Allied to this, there is an increased use of ‘clean’ vocals on Panopticon, less of the guttural death stuff – which Aaron Turner reserves seemingly for real emphasis at key points (‘Syndic Calls’). I even heard a phrase when I was listening in on my morning commute yesterday!
All the tracks here run into each other in the manner of tectonic plates and last for an epoch before the next geological age takes over**, which is not meant in any way as a criticism. That Panopticon can build and build enough that closer ‘Grinning Mouths’ feels like an appropriately shuddering climax is no mean feat.
As you might expect the playing on the LP is impeccable. Turner and Michael Gallagher’s guitars alternate masterfully between providing all manner of melody, texture and heft; I’m unsure how much Bryant Clifford Meyer contributes to this too, he is credited with ‘electronics and guitars’. The rhythm section of Jeff Caxide (bass) and Aaron Harris add real depth and unusually for this type of landscape, swing. Tool’s Justin Chancellor adds bass and sounds to the instrumental ‘Altered Courses’ too.
Right from the heavy beginnings of opener ‘So Did We’ you get a sense of ISIS mastery of their palette. The quieter sections are beautiful respites in their soundscape, valleys of peace amidst their craggier elements BUT very much part of the whole, adding to the overall picture, not standing apart from it. There are moments of delicacy and warmth here, in the opening of ‘Backlit’ for example and the sense is very much of a band at the top of their game.
A big part of Panopticon‘s success is the production of Matt Bayles. Every element is loud and distinct, no matter how the fury rages each song retains a crystalline core; not easy, I would imagine. As on Oceanic, Harris’ drums sit in a surprising place in the mix, oddly foregrounded and ‘dry’ sounding, like they are being driven by the song, rather than the other way around. It really is unique to ISIS in my experience.
At times terms like shoegaze and ambient metal get bandied about when people write about ISIS. Hell, ‘Wills dissolve’ sounds a lot like Tortoise even. I get it and at times they can sound like an armour-plated GY!BE but this is a bit of a reductive comparison. To forge/spin/weave/cast an album like Panopticon successfully you have to be your own beast and ISIS are that, their blending of all the elements of their sound are very much their own.
But let’s celebrate a single track from Panopticon here. I nominate ‘In Fiction’ because it is the best here^*.
‘In Fiction’ starts quietly with a gentle guitar figure playing unhurriedly over minimal electronic backing. The tension increases gently bar on barre before it starts to break through around the 4 minute mark. From there it is a fast, hard journey via Turner’s atmospheric vocals until some of the most powerful riffing I’ve heard in decades strikes at 5:31 exactly. Then instead of riding it up higher ISIS exercise Fugazi-like restraint and de-escalate, the bass and guitar sounding like Joy Division, well until it briefly fires up once more before the end.
I’ll stop because you could fill a very tedious book with a segment-by-segment analysis of Panopticon. The thought occurs though, this really is the true spirit of progressive rock – new structures, new combinations, little predictability in terms of structure? there’s a case to be made here*^.
Panopticon is a colossal thing, it punches with the weight of a mountain range behind it at times and traces delicate curlicues in the air at others. The highest compliment I can pay it, other than the fact that Mrs 1537 quite likes it, is that it is as good as Oceanic.
I miss ISIS and I only wish I had got into them while they were a going concern. And that they had chosen a more futureproof name for their band.
Buy this LP. The authorities are watching and they wouldn’t approve.
My copy of Panopticon is a 2007 reissue on Robotic Empire, limited to 300 copies on coke bottle green and splatter vinyl. It has a changed cover from the original Ipecac release and it is absolutely top quality in terms of the pressing and the surveillance photo sleeve art.
1283 Down.
PS: is there a vinyl sugar daddy out there who would be willing to donate a vinyl copy of Wavering Radiant to me in exchange for a curt nod of gratitude? damnit, I thought not and I can’t afford one.
*ooh those wacky 2004-ites with their paranoia and conspiracies about governmental manipulation of the media and population control! What were they all thinking? if only they could experience our current utopia.
^and I am quite obsessed by him, not many scholars have had their severed mummified head placed on display, whilst their skeleton was fashioned into an icon.
**with the exception of the borderline Napalm Death-like running time of ‘Wills Dissolve’ at 6:54.
^*and second only to ‘Weight’ in the list of best ISIS tracks ever in the history of the universe.
*^I suspect by bald men of a certain vintage.
Wow! That was a sounds of surveillance post rock behemoth treat! Unusually the most arresting bits seem to be crammed into the second half – that eerie guitar figure in ‘Syndic Calls’, the shrieking noises in ‘Altered Course’, and ‘Grinning Mouths’ somehow sounds like they’ve zapped a lost soft rock classic through the Large Hadron Collider. And yes, the drumming is excellent throughout. Wish I’d come across this back in the day.
Also agree that events have not helped their name. Shame they weren’t Mancunian, they could have changed to Aye, Sis… I’ll get my coat (the one with the tracker sewn in the cuff and the camera in the collar)…
So pleased to introduce you to this lot Tim. Their music was as intricate and heavy as life itself. Check out Oceanic, my fave concept LP about addiction and/or watery endings.
I get you re. the lethal finishing kick of this LP, I think that’s partly a product of accumulation. In Fiction is still my fave though, although you make an excellent case for Grinning Mouths.
As for Aye, Sis … you know you’ve done wrong there and brought shame on your family. I shan’t hold a grudge but have made a note in your dossier.
I do want to reform ABCISIS now, my Martin Fry fronted ISIS tribute band. I believe the world is now ready for Panopticon Of Love.
Listened to this before i read your words and you put a lot of my thoughts plus more into the take. I’m glad they added the “clean” vocals” a little of the Orc voice goes a long way with me. The rhythm section is solid and the overall listen is what albums have always been for me. ‘The weight comes from the whole”. Perfect description of album listening. Great take.
Sounds ferocious AND intelligent, Joe. Any Tool DNA here?
ISIS are both Bruce. Tool’s bassist is a guest here and the bands were frequent tour mates. ISIS were a lot heavier though.
That was some very trippy stuff.
Really heavy too, ISIS were an excellent band.