The RMR crew first encountered Isolert‘s firebrand style of Black Metal in 2016. No Hope, No Light…Only Death their debut album called itself, and – while still somewhat unwieldy – it stuck with us. Some real Black Metal, from Greece to boot. A strange place for Extreme Metal, by the way. At first, the country appears peaceful, but then you find unsavory little nuggets. Vile metal bands, some of which appeared on this zine. Rotting Christ for instance, Kvadrat,1 or Septic Flesh come to mind to name just a few.
For some reason, the band’s 2020 piece World in Ruins sailed right past us unseen. But here we are again and our black souls yearn for some truly vile blackened fare. So, in comes Wounds of Desolation to slake that terrible thirst. And what a welcome break in hell it was, indeed!
Isolert truly stomped the pedal into the metal since we last met. Forget about Gorgoroth, Bathory, and Rotting Christ, even if the references are many. This newfound avalanche of almost nuclear energy now feels as if the band teamed up with the ritualistic maniacs from Darkend and hit it. Wounds of Desolation sounds like a standalone ode to a genre that many thought was somewhat dusty and relegated to the darkest corners of Extreme Metal’s very own Gehenna. It even artfully spews melodic parts into some of the most vicious Black Metal pieces encountered in 2024.
Isolert‘s style is barebone and almost ritualistic fare and – at the same time – it feels like barbed wire ripping rotten flesh. The whole record exudes menace and tribulation, like a testament directly emanating from the lightbringer’s abode. And you get it all. The changes in tempi, the desperate shouted vocals, the vile rasps, and snarls, tremolos to dream for, and drum work that finally isn’t off kilter for once.
And let me break a lance for the masters of the axe for once. The whirlwind of darkly ominous riffs, stellar wicked leads, and solos to sacrifice to the Dark Lord for, all of that is just outstanding guitar work. Need some examples? Look no further than Spewing Venomous Gloom or Flesh. Torn. Asunder! for guidance. But the stick wielder takes the poisoned blackened cherry on the devil’s cake with his roaring menace that keeps the whole gaggle together. And once you thought all is sorted, a short monologue gushes forward out of the blue with that terrible feeling of loneliness and decay. In other words, Wounds of Desolation will do its very best to keep you unsettled and unhinged.
The band actually had the chutzpa to tear a few pages out of the unholy Black Metal grimoire, force a ton of unseemly yet deliciously ominous melodics into it, and roar off to the tune of the good ol’ ’90s Scandinavian Black Metal. That Isolert didn’t show some burning church on the album cover2 truly came as a surprise to me. In other words, you’ll find the grit and grime of the good old church-burning squad mixed with some modern accouterments to render things more palatable for the usual crowd.
Ultimately though, Wounds of Desolation is just pvre raw Black Metal power of the likes you hardly get anymore. Together with Seth‘s stellar 2024 contribution, this record’s just another mosaic stone in the Dark Lord’s scheme to turn this year into a somber and terrible 365 days full of little extreme nuggets that will should shine darkly on our year-end top 10 list. How very fitting, isn’t it?
Wounds of Desolation sounds like unhinged devil’s music emanating from the sealed doors of a pitch-dark cathedral of the damned at midnight. And it will unfailingly give you the creeps, we’re evilly thrilled to declare. Give it a try, non-believers, and behold Isolert‘s fury at its very best.
Ed’s note: And the record made it onto the 2024 Top 10 Records. Congrats!
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Non Serviam Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 13 September 2024