| The Red Sea | ||||
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| EP by Isis | ||||
| Released | July 1999 | |||
| Recorded | February 1999 (The Red Sea) March–April 1998 (Demo) | |||
| Genre | Sludge metal, post-metal | |||
| Length | 15:08 (The Red Sea) 36:04 (The Red Sea + 1998 Demo) | |||
| Label | Second Nature Recordings (SN014) | |||
| Producer | Isis, Kurt Ballou and Mike Hill | |||
| Isis chronology | ||||
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The Red Sea is an EP by Isis. An expansion of the sound pioneered on their previous release Mosquito Control, this EP offers a slight evolution toward the direction Isis would begin to take with their first full length, Celestial. The three songs which make up the original EP (tracks 1–3) are tied together with spoken word samples from the short-lived television series Hotel Room (specifically, the third episode, entitled "Blackout"). The song "Ochre" contains a sample from the film Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch, and is a reading of a portion of William Blake's poem "Auguries of Innocence".
The album was first released on CD and 8" vinyl. The CD (and later 12") versions of The Red Sea contain the four songs that made up Isis' 1998 cassette demo (as bonus tracks); electronics are by former member Chris Mereschuk on those songs.
This is the first release with Jay Randall (Agoraphobic Nosebleed) on electronics and backing vocals (he also appeared on Isis' cover of "Streetcleaner", originally by Godflesh). Jay would leave the band after its release, and was replaced by Bryant Clifford Meyer, who stayed with Isis until their dissolution in 2010. The Red Sea was also the first release to feature Michael Gallagher, who would also stay with Isis until their end.[1]
The Red Sea also introduces water as a key theme in Isis' albums that would be expanded upon later with (Oceanic).[original research?]
"Charmicarmicarmicat" is a reference to the Melvins song "Charmicarmicat" (from the 1991 EP Eggnog), with an extra "carmi" added to poke fun at the general ridiculousness of the Melvins' sense of humor. This is seemingly confirmed in the liner notes, which thank "Earth, Bastard Noise and The Melvins for inspiration for track one."