Review by Vladimir on August 11, 2024.

Whenever you come across any extreme metal releases from the catalog of Godz Ov War Productions, you are always guaranteed to find some solid material there. A case and point is the Polish death//thrash metal band Isolated, which had their second full-length album The Enemy Of Reason re-released on September 24th, 2021 in digital and CD format by the aforementioned label, for it to be rediscovered by new audiences who are frequently searching for underground gems. If you are curious to know what this album has to offer, follow along and see for yourselves.

The opening track 'Devilish Verses' perfectly summarizes what you can expect from this album because it certainly provides some wicked and intense death-thrashing moments that could easily make your neck crack from too much headbanging action, of which there is plenty to be found. Aside from the enraged and bestial growling vocals, the riff work on here is extreme and tight from the very get-go, introducing frequent stylistic changes from slow-down picking to fast tremolo picking that gets even crazier when blast beats and thunderous double-bass drums come to play, taking it to a whole new level with every bit. The overall progression feels like descending down the abyss where madness takes its toll on you as the protagonist in this journey, as the instrumentation showcases even more diabolical-sounding death metal moments which create an ominous atmosphere that plays around with your imagination by visualizing nightmarish scenarios like horrifying monstrosities feasting on their dead. A track such as 'Confession Of Evil' can certainly be considered as an example of Isolated's best performance on the album, due to the fact that it left the strongest impression from the entire tracklist and personally, it kept me invested all the way through by paying attention to every musical detail. The album has got a solid stylistic consistency that carries over from one track to another, maintaining its flow of heaviness and always staying on course, making this one mean motherfucker of an album that refuses to slow down for a quick breather.

Isolated incorporates frequent tempo changes in their songwriting, and with the various riff work they give some dynamics to it, keeping it clean and interesting from start to finish. Aside from the insane moments that this album has to offer, my personal highlight of this album is the chilling and horrific atmosphere that always follows throughout its entirety, giving a strong sense of an evil presence in the room which always moves out of sight but never out of mind. One minor issue that I had with the album is that at times it can feel a bit straightforward and repetitive, especially if the output of the songs becomes very familiar and you kind of know what to expect, but what compensates is the fact that you always leave room for interpretation as to what the song will throw at you next, perhaps an element of surprise or a riff that builds up the feeling of suspense with high anticipation. Despite it being very tight and dynamic, the album is very easy to follow along without getting lost in the songs, and you never feel sidetracked because you always stay along for the ride.

The Enemy Of Reason is an enjoyable extreme death-thrashing thrill ride of an album that provides plenty of awesome moments that will make you go crazy. Hopefully, the re-release of this album will result in a wider following than its initial release back in 2015, especially since the label Godz Ov War Productions always makes sure to take good care of its rich catalog of bands. If you are thirsty for some death metal with a diabolic twist to it that plays around with your psyche, you should consider giving this one a go.

Rating: 8 out of 10