Published on Mar 1, 1999
Sometimes, it takes me a while to click with an album. There are
times in this job where I listen to something and develop certain
feelings about it, but I feel that I’m missing something. This was
the case with
Migraine, the latest release from Sacrifice Isaac, which
I’ve had on the shelves of the Pierce Memorial Archives now for
about four months.
About four weeks ago, I was all set to review this disc, but I
couldn’t help but feeling that I was missing something important,
despite several listens. So, I did the only logical thing: I walked
away from the disc – and damn near forgot about it until
recently.
So what did the time away from it reveal about this album?
Simple: Sacrifice Isaac is a band whom you’re going to have to put
some extra attention into. While
Migraine is a very good record that merges the best of
groups like Tool and Stabbing Westward, if you’re not listening
closely to the disc, you’ll miss some solid efforts.
The band – vocalist W.C. Mitchell, drummer Mark Coffin,
guitarist/vocalist Paul Mitchell and bassist Gene Abramov – take
the musical complexity and intensity of Tool and combine it with a
touch of pop sensibility (the kind I’ve heard in groups like Local
H and Stabbing Westward). What comes out is a unique, exciting
sound that is original and fresh.
From the opening notes of “1000 Years Worth”, you know this is
going to be a fun listen. Tracks like “Figure It Out,” “Re-Count”
and “Nobody But Me” all flash between pure musical intensity and –
dare I say it? – a gentler side. (Don’t worry, diehard alternative
rockers, I’m not talking ballad city here.) Mitchell knows when to
let loose on the pipes and when to make the vocals more subdued;
not many in this genre know how to do that.
So why do I say that this disc needs extra concentration?
Simple: Some tracks like “Dollface,” “One Good Stick” and
“Bludgeoned” tend to blur together, making it hard to tell just
which track you may have liked or disliked. Even after about ten
listens to this disc, I still had to keep an eye on the track
listing and the CD player’s display just to make sure I knew which
track to match up the nuances with. (It’s not that these tracks are
bad by any means; but they are similar in style and tone, making it
hard to sometimes tell them apart.)
If I had to level one criticism, it would be my usual pet peeve:
hidden tracks. This time around, Sacrifice Isaac wastes about six
minutes after “Hillbilly” (probably the only track on the disc I
didn’t enjoy) in order to put on the uncredited song – which also
isn’t among the best on the disc. (Okay, I’m beggin’ here: If
you’re going to put bonus tracks on, fine… just don’t fill up the
disc with all this friggin’ dead air! I’m a busy man…)
Migraine is an album that takes the best features of its
musical genre and wraps them all into one disc. Sacrifice Isaac
might not be major names in the world of alternative rock, but if
enough people get turned on to this disc, that all could change
soon.