Sunday: Izah - Sistere

     I've written about Dutch post-metal band Izah before, a couple of months ago, but in the interim I've had a chance to pick up a copy of their debut LP Sistere and spend some quality time steeping in all its dense glory. I hereby recommend that you do the same.

     To that end I'm pointing you in the direction of title track "Sistere", an epic slab and one of only four tracks on the whole record. As with the rest of the album, "Sistere" is predominantly about the build, the slow burn that culminates in the cathartic release of energy and aggression. This track in particular has a lengthy middle section in which the song is sort of reassembled, building back up from nothing with some well-employed samples.

     The result is chills -- chills I tell you! So clear some space in your calendar, because this one's well worth your time.

Friday: Between the Buried and Me - Memory Palace

     So you've just finished reading about the epically proportioned tracks on Izah's debut Sistere, you've just finished listening to a sample of same in the form of "Duality", and besides perhaps being a little sweaty and physically drained from the adventure you've just been on (the Izah song, not the blog pose about Izah...) you might well be a tad sick of me and my long-ass songs this week.

     Well, you might want to pour yourself something stiff and have a seat, because I'm not done with you yet. I think, however, that you'll forgive me when you find out who's providing today's epic-length tune. Or when you just read it in the title of this post. Whichever.

     Anyways, down to it: your somewhat belated Friday song is none other than the latest from Between the Buried and Me. I'm sure you were all already aware that BTBAM has been in the studio of late, finishing off their rock opera of a next record. Well now you can hear the latest, assuming of course that another ten minutes or so of your time isn't too steep an investment.Yeah, I thought you'd find the time for  a listen to "Memory Palace". You'll thank me later.

Thursday: Izah - Duality

     Today's belated Thursday song is not only really cool, it's also intended to demonstrate to you that I haven't gone soft after my Wednesday apology for subjecting you to some epic goodness in the preceding two days.

     How do I intended to prove my continued 'ardness to you? By recommending another length masterpiece to you, of course! Today it comes from Dutch band Izah and their debut LP Sistere, which you could be forgiven for confusing with an EP given that there are only four (!) tracks on offer here.

     That very brief track list should be your first hint of the kind of epic journeys you're in store for on Sistere, but allow me to forgo the need for further hints: the album's shortest song is nearly twelve minutes long, and your Thursday track "Duality" tips the scales at sixteen minutes. But before you groan and close this tab, give Izah and Sistere a shot.

     If you do, you'll find some genuinely awesome sludgy, doomy, atmospheric post-metal. I talk a lot about music journeys, especially when talking about these longer songs, but there are some true treks to be had on Sistere, full-on experiences that have covered some serious emotional and musical distance, ending up in some very different headspaces from where they started.

     So don't let the sixteen-minute running time of "Duality" dissuade you from discovering what could honestly be an album of the year contender. Besides, you should be grateful I didn't pick Sistere's longest piece; the closing title track "Sistere" is a beefy thirty-one minutes of Izah. So it could be worse, right?