Live Review: Kill the Thrill / Jesu / Isis

Kill the Thrill (FRA) / Jesu (UK) / Isis (USA)

05/01/05
Muziekodroom, Hasselt

Monotony? Where did you get that?

The irony! The hottest day of the year, and I'm going to see Kill the Thrill, Jesu and Isis, three bands that the average pop/rock lover wouldn't even wanna touch with a ten foot pole. Although the differences between the bands are immediately noticeable if you've been paying attention to what's been happening out the outer fringes of rock 'n' roll the past two decades or so, I could forgive anyone who'd enthusiastically file all three of 'em under the "dark & depressing"-section. They use the basic instruments (guitar, bass, drums/a drum machine), yet in their own way, these acts all succeed in creating wilfully difficult music that takes a while to digest and songs that can only be distinguished from another if you're familiar with their output. And even then… since their music relies so much on musical tension and not on (vocal) hooks, I barely know any of Isis' songs by name, even though I'll immediately recognize them when they kick off a new one.

Anyway, the proceedings were kicked off by French act Kill the Thrill (not to be confused with the similarly-named My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, which keeps popping up when you're looking for information on Google or any other search engine), a three-piece led by guitarist/vocalist Nicolas Dick that since its origins in the late 80's never had a drummer among its ranks. Instead, they use a drum machine and samplers. On the one hand, this ensures their droning industrial rock remains very repetitive and tight, but it also creates a much less organic feel. I presume, however, that it fits their plans, as the band's sound contained echoes from fore-runners that weren't exactly your average rock 'n' roll bands either. Hovering between the continental industrial of continental bands such as Treponem Pal and Grötus and the nihilistic post-punk of Killing Joke, The Young Gods or The Swans, Kill the Thrill managed to set an unsettling tone with repetitive drones (even My Bloody Valentine came to mind) and raw vocals, and a guitar player freaking out so intensely that his moves almost became contortionist. Kill the Thrill did conjure up quite a wall of sound for an opening band (with the drums very prominent), but somehow they didn't manage to grasp my attention for very long, making me wonder whether it's a good idea to check out their fourth album, which will be released this month.

I liked Jesu better, even though I have no reason to. Like Kill the Thrill, they're a trio with a drum machine, except that theirs is called Ted Parsons, a guy you may also remember from The Swans, Prong or Godflesh, the previous band of Jesu front man Justin K. Broadrick, a cult hero and crucial figure in the development of industrial rock/metal (ask any aficionado). Since the late 80's, Broadrick had been churning out oppressively monotonous and harsh albums with Godflesh, which came to an end soon after his sidekick GC Green quit the band in 2001. Since then, he has been focusing himself on Jesu, a band that proves he's still the King of Monotony. This doesn't have to be taken in a bad way, as Jesu's soundscapes were intriguing, alternating between a thunderously apocalyptic atmosphere and almost dream-like drones. Unfortunately, Broadrick's whispered vocals were barely audible, leaving you no option but to nod your head to the mindlessly grinding doom-industrial. It was quite good, but even during their set, it felt like an appetizer for the headlining act.

Isis. The name already has an almost mythical ring to it. The fact that they're so hard to pin down only adds to their stature, of course. You cannot discuss this band using the classic rock terminology, or by referring to 60's or 70's forefathers. While their line-up is a common one (two guitarists, bass, drums, keys), their music certainly isn't. The only direct precursor to their sound I can think of is Neurosis, although Isis are much more accessible than that band, capable of producing a similar heaviness, but wrapped up in less extreme arrangements and ugly atmosphere. They certainly can be brutal, when their hyper-dynamic songs evolve towards the climactic titanic explosions and Aaron Turner's gutteral vocals are added to the already monumental volume level, it's hard not to be blown away, but there has always been this thing that prevents them from going over the edge. On their records, that is often a good thing, as there are moments of sheer beauty to be found on them, even during the loudest songs. They often have quite something in common with the benchmark postrock bands out there, in that they create meticulously crafted songs that are basically vehicles to experiment with dynamics. Melodies are hinted at and erased, hinted at again, while another one is touched upon; tension swells, melodies fade in and fade out, until the tension finally results in a climax after which the tension gradually fades out again (of reoccurs, if it's a loud song). The songs are extended, but a long shot from bluesy jams - instead you get precise, almost mathematically executed constructions that must've been a hell to create in the first place. Even though the sound volume wasn't as colossal as I had expected and hoped for, Isis started off their set really well. Even though it was marred by a mediocre sound, Panopticon's "So Did We" immediately proved it earned the right to be considered a classic Isis-song. The guitar interplay was intricate and spellbinding and the bass thunderous, while the peculiarly restrained drumming of Aaron Harris lends it an extra dimension. Soon after that the band also played "The Beginning and the End" off of their previous album, 2002's Oceanic, which remains their best work to date, and one of the crucial releases in the 'heavy'-department of this decade. The emotion that many cerebral acts out there forget to put into their music is certainly present in that song, which like no other manages to contain all the ingredients that make Isis a worthwhile band - the dynamics, the eruptions, the beauty. However, as the set moved on, they barely reached this level again. It was a blast to see how they gave their all and banged their heads - no, their entire bodies! - in unison to the dense grooves/rhythms they played, but it seems as if something was lacking. Perhaps it was because volume level wasn't crushing enough or maybe it was because they stuck their best songs in the beginning of their 60-70 minute set causing the rest of the show to be a succession of too many similar songs, but I did get the feeling they could've played a more satisfying performance. Still, they're in a league of their own, hinted at moments of brilliance during the first twenty minutes and delivered a performance many other bands wouldn't even dare to think of.