After spending the last couple of weeks hedging on it, I decided to see Isis last night. Other than a volume deficiency (for a band with three guitarists, anyhow), I can't say I was disappointed. I caught the last couple of songs by These Arms Are Snakes (Tool, prog-metal, yep), Isis came on for what began as a formulaic performance. Big, riff-heavy start gives way to smouldering restrained section, gives way to slow buildup and big, riff-heavy ending. Fine stuff, but not something I'd want to hear eight or nine times in a night. The way out of that rut was to do everything the same, but MORE. Long middle portions gave way to supremely long middle portions with precise drumming, shimmering effects and guitars, making me wait even longer for the finale. This fell precisely in line with thoughts I'd had earlier in the week, namely, my desire to hear an Isis record with four fifteen-minute tracks rather than eight eight-minute ones.