By: Aaron Pickford
Album Type:
Full Length
Date Released:
26/10/2012
Label:
Neurot Recordings
Like all good art, it may not be embraced by everyone, however it will be revered as a work of genius, because what we have here is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word.
‘Honor Found In
Decay’ track Listing
1)
We All Rage In Blood (6:36)
2)
At The Well (10:05)
3)
My Heart For Deliverance (11:41)
4)
Bleeding The Pigs (7:20)
5)
Casting The Ages (10:03)
6)
All Is Found...In Time (8:51)
7)
Raise The Dawn (5:58)
Neurosis is:
Scott
Kelly
Steve
Von Till
Dave
Edwardson
Noah
Landis
Jason
Roeder
Josh
Graham
The Review
First
of all, I want you to indulge me, and remember when
you first heard about or listened to Neurosis. Can you remember which album it
was? For me it was ‘Enemy of the
Sun’, nearly 20 years ago now. This is the thing about Neurosis,
they have been around for the best part of 3 decades now, starting
from their hardcore roots with ‘Pain of
Mind’, then reinventing or creating a new movement in metal, with the
release of ‘Souls at Zero’.
Wherever or whenever you start with this band, their music is some of the most
powerful and awe inspiring music to have been released.
Anyway, we
need to get to the present, 2012 and talk about new Neurosis
material, their 10th record in total, ‘Honor Found In Decay’.
With this record, Neurosis seem intent on exploring the vast
expanses of our psyches, entering our minds and taking us on a journey of self
discovery and showing us what is possible. This music is truly Epic, it
feels like there should be an accompanying 70 minute video, because it feel
like a visual and auditory extravaganza. As if Neurosis are intent on taking us
to the edge of the Earth and want us to look down and see how spectacular the
world truly is and also its vulnerability too. What's more by taking us
to the edge of beyond and truly embracing the full auditory splendour of
this record, you will feel like you are free falling to Earth at 800 miles per
hour, just soaking up the beauty of this once in a life time event, that is ‘Honor
Found In Decay’. This record is without
question the most spectacular and astonishing record you will ever wish to
hear.
In
terms of the musicality, it feels like the band, went into rehearsal room,
locked down, pressed record and were intent
on jamming out these tunes and making the best record they could.
Moreover, that is exactly what they have done. What we have is a
holistic and enveloping wall of sound, the record has a live feel to
it and appears to be the band vibing of each other, embracing and exploring
every ideas. Channelling that positive energy with an acute symbiosis, with
almost psychic ability, in so much as each individual knows exactly what
the other is thinking in terms of tone and structure of the songs.
Indeed the record is all about vibe and atmospherics, with the starting point
being the tribalism of the drums
The
record starts with a shrill sound of what I can only describe as what it
would be like for light to pierce through a crystal prism, causing
a kaleidoscopic wave of colour. It is as if we have woken from a
dream, we open our eyes and we are met with the gentle sounds of dual clean
guitars strumming, with the delicate splendour of the colours
enveloping around us, the dull drone of the bass kicking in, until we are met
with the awesome snap of Jason Roeder's snare drum and the band are
now in full flow. The vocals are unmistakably pained with fury as we
have come to expect from Messrs Von Till and Kelly. The sound of the band
is amazing, everything sounds crisp and pure, with the adage of the startlingly
samples, seeming to incorporate 80's era sci-fi at times and the
keyboards have a morose and sombre tone. Amazingly this happens within
the first 4 minutes of the record, building until the first punchy riff hammers
home with bucket loads of distortion, continuing till the track's
conclusion.
‘At The
Well’ is
the first of 3 epic 10min plus tracks on the record, each of them are
what we have come to expect from the band. This is one of my
favourite tracks on the record, it is a brooding and melancholy beginning
with the contemplative and meditative marlboro soaked vocals from Scott Kelly,
his voice is wonderfully sombre and just plain emotional, like his performance
is deeply cathartic. The sound of a tremolo guitar effect adding wondrous
support to his ponderous musings. Leading us into the core element of
the record, one of such depth, the track has an Orchestral
sound. It is their post apocalyptic symphony. Roeder plays his drums tight, and a
persistent and repetitive beat is the foundation of the song and the album for
that matter, with slight variations on that theme. This is what I
love about the fact Neurosis choose to work with Steve Albini,
because his majestic touch provides such an amazing drum sound in the
mix. The sound of bagpipes signalling peace before the
band begin to enter battle again. The calm before the storm, the
sound of war cries from the droning guitars which initiate the battle to
commence again, which lasts for another 5 minutes or so, building to a
blood drenched crescendo with a kinda post-punk guitar fill. Throughout
the track, it is the drums that holds everything together
brilliantly, seeming like there is an entire army of percussionists, such is
the tribalistic nature and vibe of the track, reminding me of the percussive
beginning of their classic record, ‘Through Silver in Blood’.
‘ My Heart For Deliverance’ is 11:40s,
but that does not matter, their songs always have an epic feel to them and this
is no different, the track is extremely progressive. The subtle tones of the
barely audible guitars seeming to be looped with a repetitious
sequencing, with the samples from Noah Landis feeling like they're
inspired by movies such as Blade Runner or Videodrome, that deal with
themes of dystopia and surrealism. This truly is an exceptional
song. It is cinematic, opulent and almost abstract,
because nothing about Neurosis' music is conventional; nothing
about the record is as it seems, because with each repeated listen you hear
something new and innovative. It ensnares you from the very beginning and
feels inconceivable, almost bewildering that everything just fits together so
well, a single note from a piano played intermittently but resonates
and seems to arouse or is intended to arouse an emotional
reaction, because you do feel deeply moved by the music on offer. The
beautiful words of the female narrator adding further depth 'We follow the earth, the earth follows the stars, the stars know their
way, and though the body dies, the stars will reign like the waves of the sea
and the breatheless wind,' That passage just feels so
poetic. What a wonderfully absorbing and encapsulating band they
are.
‘Bleeding
The Pigs’ has
the arduous task of being sandwiched between two astonishing tracks, which is
probably the most left field track on the record, having a noise rock feel to it
and is reliant upon the industrious sounds of samples, again sounds of which
seem inspired by Alien movies. A gentle arpeggio underlying the track,
with the obligatory unconventional and eccentric distorted lead breaks. I
would say that this is perhaps as close to the sounds of the ‘Enemy of the Sun’ record as we get,
almost feeling on the verge of being openly hostile or belligerent. This
track almost feels like the perfect segue into the ‘Casting of the Ages’, the
heaviest riff driven song on the record and my favourite track. This is
the band at their most powerful, this track is about creating an atmosphere of
tension, indeed the distorted guitars are cacophonous, almost like waves
crashing around you. From the opening of track, where we experience a
delicate series of notes from the guitars, almost chiming with glee, it is this
riff that is essentially varied throughout. When the distortion kicks in,
it is thick and crushing with the power of impassioned dual vocals adding
further weight and emotion. The song is interspersed with the occasional
burst of electronics. The guitars are so furiously heavy you can feel
them feeding back and the vibration in your ears is like a sonic boom, such is
the crunch they unleash.
This
song and indeed the record is just devastatingly grand, causing you to feel
unspeakably emotional, but leaving you blissfully awestruck and dumbfounded by
the records Titanic impact. I am almost clutching to find adjectives to
describe how amazing this record is. The vocals as raw and passionate,
provoking deep sentimentality and also poignancy, in the sense you're too
moved to speak.
What
I have presented here is by no means a definitive track by track
description, indeed I have only mentioned 5 tracks, however to truly appreciate
the record, you must listen to it yourselves and make up your own mind.
Like the band name, Neurosis, the music on offer is like an
affliction that affects your very nervous system to its core. Indeed,
because there is so much going on, the record induces a hyper vigilance, mental
confusion and even bewilderment due to the vast expanses of music and layers of
delicate nuance from Noah Landis' samples and keyboard. What is
indicative of the record is that Neurosis have written a richer and more
complex cerebral experience. It feels as if the mind is being deceived and
some conspiracy is unfolding as we try to uncover the source of the
sounds on offer. In the process we become close to losing
touch with reality in a series of increasingly bizarre and violent
hallucinations, such is our brains inability to cope with this
vast sensory overload Neurosis offer.
This
record is the Event Horizon, the point of no return" i.e. the point at
which the gravitational pull becomes so great as to make escape impossible and
why would you want too? This is not just music; it is art, Neurosis
art. ‘Honor Found In Decay’ is something which needs to be
enjoyed with repeated listens and will no doubt mean or feel different to every
single person who is willing to commit to this journey. Like all good
art, it may not be embraced by everyone, however it will be revered
as a work of genius, because what we have here is a true masterpiece in every
sense of the word. It is frankly astonishing, yet again Neurosis
have set the benchmark which they may never equal again. But don't
bet on it!
Band info: Official| Facebook
| Neurot Records
