Sunn Amplification should really consider going back into business, because Sunday night’s performance by ISIS at the Black Cat is likely to inspire a ton of copycat bands. The Los Angeles post-metal (for lack of a better term) quintet touched down in DC for an hour long performance which at times could feel as light as air or as crushing as a jet engine strapped to your back.

ISIS’ set was concentrated primarily with material from Oceanic and Panopticon, though there were a few instances that the band touched on material released prior to their most recent LPs. Yet, the way all the material was cohesively united throughout the set was as majestic as the songs themselves. Never did the set feel uneven, because for bands such as ISIS, flow is as important as the layering of sounds within those very songs.

Throughout their set, the band expertly played through various crescendos and diminuendos, taking the audience through every emotional twist and turn. One of the highlights for me was when the band played “”In Fiction”" from Panopticon and I did not even realize it because they had essentially managed to tap into my central nervous system and take over. Though ISIS’ performance as a whole was entrancing from start to finish, other highlights of the show included “”The Beginning and The End”" from Oceanic and the peformance of the powerful opener from Panopticon “”So Did We”" as the encore. Furthermore, ISIS provided a case in favor of three guitarists in one band (HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, of course, being the argument against it) because without three COMPETENT guitarists, the music would have sounded like a bunch of disorganized garbage rather than the lush atmospheric sound that emanated from those Sunn amps.

Being able to sound as dynamic in concert as on record is no easy task and ISIS showed the devoted audience at the Black Cat how it should be done. All aspiring instrumental rockers and musicians in general should look to ISIS for a lesson in how to captivate your audience with an awe-inspiring sound and have them air guitaring to your every move.