One of the most overlooked releases of 2001 had to be the haunting debut EP by Southern Isolation. Their self-titled, 4 song opus [Relapse/Baphomet Records] is a beautifully dark freefall of atmospheric sorrows. It is not about brutality, it’s about sublime darkness. Both amazingly stark and ethereal, Southern Isolation has a captivating sound.
Opal‘s clean, female vocals have a ghostlike radiance. The guitars are soft and tenebrous-their eloquence adds a powerful intensity to the mix. (Using both electric and acoustic guitars, Southern Isolation implements some more unusual instruments such as piano.) The Southern Isolation style might best be called Southern Gothic Metal, like a subtle fusion of mellow Acid Bath and Evanescence.
The best of these cuts includes the shining glory of the expansive “The Wall Of You,” and the melancholic beauty of “I Got Lost In Myself Again.” Southern Isolation has an addictive, agonizing quality.
Overall, Southern Isolation is superb. And even though it isn’t aggressive, it is still phenomenal. Stay savage. Farewell.
Related Bands: Evanescence, Acid Bath, Jack Off Jill, Switchblade Symphony, Cure, Whores Of Babylon, etc.
Keep the faith, and the AGGRESSION. War.
Bill Vogel III
Email at: StrangeAeons@hatebox.net
Copyright 2003.
Courtesy of Stranger Aeons Magazine.
