Every now and then, a gentle nudge towards the grim precipice of all-out disruption is a welcome thing. When it’s an insidious little virus that entirely derails your live music plans for a year (or more), it’s an utter pain in the ass; but when it’s a new album from a fresh up-and-comer in the black metal scene, the looming walls of shifting paradigms is a balm for the cabin-fevered soul. Isolert, from Greece, is the case in point, with their new, appropriately titled, World in Ruins. And what sets it apart is that the unexpected element they bring is so damn simple: not embracing new technologies, nor exotic instruments, nor even alternative compositional methods – just plain, straightforward virulence on a scale I don’t usually associate with the Hellenistic black metal scene. There’s n...
