On The Horizon: ISOTOPES (11.12.) #9 /ENG/

In the ninth episode of On The Horizon we are taking you abroad again! This time with the Australian band ISOTOPES and their august single “Die Alone”. In addition to the usual stuff we are also bringing you some behind the scenes videos!

Band: ISOTOPES (AUS)
Track: Die Alone (2021)
Genre: Melodic Hardcore

Background: ISOTOPES is an Australian hardcore band founded in 2013 with their first single released 3 years later in 2016. Since their formation there were several changes to the line-up, the latest being Ange Morris, their new bass guitarist, joining the band. The Current line-up consists of 5 people, Justin Miller as singer, Joshua Wood on guitar, Hamish Gibson on drums, Bradley Stokes on guitar, and the newest member, Ange. ISOTOPES released two EPs (Lost in 2016 and Fractures in 2019) and 6 singles so far. Their newest track, which is none other than Die Alone was released in august 2021. This is their second single that was made with the current line-up the first one being WYWFM.

Current Line-up:

Justin Miller – Vocal
Bradley Stokes – Guitar
Joshua Wood – Guitar
Hamish Gibson – Drums
Ange Morris – Bass guitar

Die Alone – The reflection that looks back

WYWFM or Will You Wait For Me was a more emotional single dealing with the painful sides of love and the common questions about the feeling in an alternative rock and emo fashion. Although Hamish on the drums lent a livelier pace to the song its still one of the slower ones, considering the vocal and the use of contrabass in the song. Die Alone takes us out to deeper waters and so its implementation is different from the usual as well. But before we see who looks back at us from the other side of the mirror, here’s Die Alone!

What kind of song are we getting? Starting off strong, we can’t be complain about the lack of diversity in the song. Going even further we are getting a song the represents the musical style of ISOTOPES quite well. But what exactly do I mean when I write this? The band, originally inspired by Melodic Hardcore and Post Hardcore waded into to unknown to find something new. Flower and WYWFM would already be enough to show you that you won’t necessarily find the genres you expect. The pandemic changed the lives of many including the members of ISOTOPES. Justin Miller said he became more open towards Pop, Pop Punk and Blues which is really felt in the newer songs. Pop, Pop Punk, Emo and Alternative Rock all show up next to Post Hardcore. Not everyone is going to take these changes well, especially those who fell in love with the band because of screams, but I don’t think this is a bad decision from ISOTOPES. It shows endless creativity if a band can try itself out in other genres, while confining yourself too much has the danger of monotony, so that fans would only hear the same thing with minimal differences. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that we can see the same type of broadening of horizons in other metal, metalcore and post hardcore bands. There’s not one example of a band going back to the harsher sounds after some more radio friendly songs. We can say that this is a natural phenomenon and can be done well. Die Alone is an amazing track. The riffs hit hard, but they bring a balanced feel, while the drums still brings the expected level. Hamish did a great job especially by bringing the heat in the outro! The piano intro was a perfect choice, complementing the atmosphere of the song well! The vocal is great, diverse and varied, with the scream really putting the cherry on top of it all, but I don’t want to take away anything from the catchy chorus either, even though I thought the verses were a bit stronger, maybe because of the lyrics or the Nu-metal like vocal. I’d like to highlight that it really feels like every single band member put in their all into this song, which results in an outstanding performance. The impeccable synergy and transcendence bore fruit.

Die Alone – Behind The Scenes

First let’s see some pictures of the shooting of the clip and hear some words from Millsy and Ange!

What is Die Alone about? Our greatest fears! The clip starts with a Nelson Mandela quote to introduce us to a heavy subject:

“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”
Nelson Mandela

Below you can see behind the scenes content. What do we get to know in these three and a half minutes? First we get to know the worst fears of the band members, see the preparation for the shooting, and the making of the scenes.

Pictures, and their meanings…

What kind of fears can we see in the music video? Let’s see them one by one!

Picture I. : Ange – Concerns over the passing of time
Picture II.: Brad – Fear of drowning
Picture III.: Josh – Fear of being unable to move
Picture IV.: Millsy (Justin) – Fear of overdose and suicide
Picture V.: Hamish – Fear of losing friends and loved ones

Why should you follow ISOTOPES? If Alternative Rock and Melodic Hardcore is close to your heart, or you want to try something new besides Post-Hardcore then ISOTOPES is the perfect band for you! Id also recommend it to the lovers of Pop Punk, Pop or Emo since you can also hear these from ISOTOPES.

New EP or Album? Flower, WYWFM and Die Alone arouses our suspicions that something larger is brewing. After the Fractures EP in 2019 it could be that it will be something other than a new EP in the making. One thing is certain either EP or album it will be worth the wait!