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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 23/09/2016 Label: Neurot Recordings
“Fires Within Fires” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Bending
Light
2). A Shadow
Memory
3). Fire is
the End Lesson
4). Broken
Ground
5). Reach
The Review:
Neurosis are celebrating being a band for 30 years
and what better way to celebrate than a new album? It's no secret that I
fucking love this band. 'Through Silver
In Blood' and 'Times of Grace'
opened my mind to the possibilities of musical and sonic exploration and many
of my epiphanies have been soundtracked by their extensive back catalog.
Ok, let's get one thing straight; Neurosis will never make another
of the aforementioned albums, so stop comparing every album to them! Neurosis
are a band that are constantly evolving, each album is a point on a serpentine
time line, 'Fires Within Fires' is
the band's 11th studio album (12th if you count the album they recorded Jarboe)
and they waste no time in dishing out the meaty slabs on opening track 'Bending Light', a few moments of calm
permeate the atypically monstrous Scott Kelly penned riffs.
Kelly's voice, one of the most distinctive and powerful in
all of music, carries the track, direct and with a clear mission; complete
destruction of biblical proportions. "Peeling skin away, reveals the
heart" scream Kelly and Co vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till,
themes of the elements, the mind, the soul and the body are always explored on
a Neurosis
record and the point is hammered home here. Softly, the noise and beautiful
clean guitars of 'A Shadow Memory',
definitely a Von Till song idea, will furrow inside your brain and cleanse your
spirit, then the heaviness hits and Von Till gives us his impeccable gruff,
melodic bellow while the songs central harmony, understated in it's simplicity,
washes over you in waves of brilliance. The contributions of Noah Landis on
keys/synths/samples is no less important than on 'Honour Found In Decay' but lies a little deeper in the mix,
allowing for the guitars (a few new pedals being used maybe?) to come to the
forefront. Landis' weapons of choice become more prominent on 'Fire Is The End Lesson', shimmering and
floating around the guitars like a swarm of gravity defying bees and when the
heavy riff kicks in around the 3.30 mark it's impossible not to be reminded of
all those epically crushing moments throughout their career.
'Broken Ground' begins with some more top notch sample work from
Landis before the clean riffing, with the kind of string bend we've come to
know and love from Neurosis, sets the moody tone, backed by Jason
Roeder's no nonsense approach to rhythm. Lyrics of burning wood, stones and
seeking the sun embraces the music in Steve Von Till's ever improving singing
voice...then we get the heaviness again and it's Neurosis in their soul smashing
purest form. At the tail end the album is 'Reach', if you were to look at a
line graph of all past Neurosis albums to define songs; this would
fall where “Souls AtZero” and “The Eye of Every Storm” meet. Chorus laden guitars and the 'tape
rewinding' sounds dance around the rhythm laid down by Roeder and bassist Dave
Edwardson. "They'll never see all that we see. Trust in blood. Live in
waters..." sing Kelly and Von Till sorrowfully during the quieter
parts. The song breaks off into minimalist, ambient territory for a while...and
then the heavy part. The first time I heard it, I got goosebumps. Each subsequent
listen yielded the same result. What better way to end the album than with all
guns blazing and Scott Kelly roaring away.
Neurosis seem to redefine themselves each decade; in
the 80's they were pissed off, aggressive but had your best interests at heart.
In the 90's, they progressed to become a thought provoking, godlike beast,
creating 4 albums which influenced hundreds of bands and which still stand out
in today's musical landscape. In the 00's, they were more reflective and
organic, using clean singing and ambient parts. As this decade has yet to
close, it's difficult to define what Neurosis are...but herein lies their beauty;
you define who and what they are to you. After 30 years, these guys know what
needs to go into a Neurosis record and will continue to do so
until the music is finished with them.
Storming opener “The Singularity” distils the key elements of this
record into five and a half minutes. Chittering harmonics give way to the
sledgehammer impact of furious, frantic riffing moving into anthemic sludge and
finishing with an epic post-metal flourish. Imagine the best bits of American
Heritage, Clutch and ISIS delivered with the seismic impact of Mastodon’s
“Remission”. “1010II0101” is a
pioneering piece of research at the cutting edge of riff technology that
demands your attention.
“10100II00101” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
The Singularity
2).
Siege/Capture/Control
3).
The Lighthouse
4).
Baptistina
5).
Luminal
6).
Gravity Well
7).
LIMB
8).
Physcian Heal Thyself
9).
Orbital
10).
Bloodless, Breathless
11).
1010II0101
The Review:
There’s a certain weight of expectation that
goes along with naming your band “Scientist”. Mental
images of bespectacled boffins performing compositions of time-warping
complexity spring to mind. Chicago quartet Scientist definitely delivers
mind-bending riffcraft on “10100II00101”
but this album is far from a sterile laboratory creation.
Storming opener “The Singularity” distils the key elements of this record into five
and a half minutes. Chittering harmonics give way to the sledgehammer impact of
furious, frantic riffing moving into anthemic sludge and finishing with an epic
post-metal flourish. Imagine the best bits of American Heritage,Clutch and ISIS delivered with the
seismic impact of Mastodon’s “Remission”.
Over the subsequent 55 minutes, Scientist embarks on a sprawling yet
compelling journey through a bewildering number of styles. “Siege/Capture/Control” begins in
crushing doom territory like Scott Kelly fronting Crowbar before launching into another pummelling
onslaught. “Orbital” is a searing instrumental math-metal assault, piling riff
upon riff with increasing intensity. Scientist always keep
things interesting dynamically, offering some light and shade during the
progressive voyage of “Gravity Well”
and the ambient interlude of “Limb”.
They also throw in a couple of curveballs with an almost
commercial edge. “The Lighthouse”
sounds like an armour-plated Deftones complete with
an unexpected melodic chorus and “Physician
Heal Thyself” blends almost jazzy interludes with their trademark crunch in
a catchy way reminiscent of recent Dillinger Escape Plan.
Both of these tracks work well in the context of the album and add more range
to their wide sonic spectrum.
Scientist
have managed to birth a real beast here, a record with true depth that will keep
you coming back to discover more with every listen. “10100II00101” is a pioneering piece of research at the cutting edge
of riff technology that demands your attention.
Music like this doesn't need to be complex or challenging to be
brilliant, its barbecue music for bloodshot eyed slackers, music to blare out
the speakers of your pickup truck on your way to buy more beer. The world needs
music like this, thank your chosen deity that Crawl are more than happy to
oblige.
“Old Wood and Broken Dreams” CD//DD track
listing:
1). Crack Tea
2). Don’t Kid Me
3). Pilldust
4). Useless
5). Nigredo
6). 3AM and a Loaded Gun
Crawl is:
Tyler Akers | Lowend Assault
Tommy Butler | Barbaric Blasts
Eric Crowe | Guitar and Vocals
The Review:
Atlanta, Georgia's Crawl
bring us this glorious chunk of Southern swamp metal on 'Old Wood and Broken Dreams' and while it doesn't break new ground
(it's not fucking supposed to!), it's sure to drive people to break open a beer
and smile gleamingly and nod in approval.
Stone Groove Records have handled the CD release
here and have obviously been hard at work ensuring the packaging is
immaculately presented to give the listener the whole experience.
'Crack
Tea',
the first of 2 instrumental tracks here, belches out some quality groovy sludge
before 'Don't Kid Me' swaggers
through in all its whiskey swilling goodness. Vocalist/guitarist Eric Crowe
sounds like a man who smokes fifty filterless Marlboro’s a day in between
bottles of Jim Beam as he croaks over some solid riffs on 'Useless' and screams incessantly over the noisy sludge that is '3AM And A Loaded Gun' as well as
cranking out some sublime instrumental goodness as he does on 'Pilldust'. A personal highlight is 'Nigredo' where the rhythm section of
drummer Tommy Butler and bassist Tyler Akers keep it inhumanly tight while
Crowe riffs and bellows for the first half of the track before going all clean
and sounding a lot like Scott Kelly on his
earlier solo work.
Music like this doesn't need to be complex or
challenging to be brilliant, its barbecue music for bloodshot eyed slackers,
music to blare out the speakers of your pickup truck on your way to buy more
beer. The world needs music like this, thank your chosen deity that Crawl are more than happy to oblige.
Child Bite, along with Phil Anselmo brings the biggest name to the
tribute, and Phil sounds like he had a blast trying Tom G. Warrior’s unique
vocal inflections on for size. He’s like a middle-aged kid blasting “The
Usurper” in front of a mirror, doing his best impression of Warrior while his
parents are out of the house, which kicks this album off with a really fun tone
‘Morbid Tales: A Tribute to Celtic Frost’ LP//Digital
track listing:
Side A:
1.
Child Bite w/ Philip H. Anselmo - “The Usurper”
2.
Persekutor - “Procreation Of The Wicked”
3.
Acid Witch - “Cherry Orchards”
4.
Temple Of Void - “Os Abysmi Vel Daath”
Side B:
5.
Municipal Waste – “Nocturnal Fear”
6.
Hayward (featuring Scott Kelly and Jason Roeder of Neurosis)
- “Jewel Throne”
7.
Coffin's Slave (featuring Scott Carlson of Repulsion) -
“Dance Sleazy
8.
Evoken – “Dawn Of Megiddo”
MP3 Download Bonus: Black Anvil – “Dethroned Emperor”
Flexi Bonus:
Coffins Slave- Hellhammer’s “Reaper”
The Review:
There
was a time, particularly in the first half of the 2000s where tribute albums
were a dime a dozen. In fact, there were bands with only a single album out
with tribute albums arriving only a year after that album had come out, as was
the case with Evanescence. In a more relevant metal
context, Dwell Records released an enormous number of
metal tribute albums in the late 90s and early 2000s, to wildly varying
results. But those tributes also enabled them to get some great albums from the
likes of The Chasm and Evoken
into major US record stores, at a time when that made a huge difference.
In
2015, tribute albums seem less prevalent anecdotally, or at least more easily
ignored. It’s for that reason, along with the sheer effort and reverence ‘Morbid Tales: A Tribute to Celtic Frost’
has behind it, that this tribute is more special than just about any other out
there past or present. You can order the album with a 150 page illustrated
comic released earlier in the year, as the album is meant to be the comic’s
soundtrack. There’s no questioning Celtic Frost’s
influence and impact on the heavy metal genre, but this album really drives
that point home.
Child Bite, along with Phil Anselmo brings the biggest name to the tribute, and
Phil sounds like he had a blast trying Tom G. Warrior’s unique vocal
inflections on for size. He’s like a middle-aged kid blasting “The Usurper” in front of a mirror,
doing his best impression of Warrior while his parents are out of the house,
which kicks this album off with a really fun tone. Sadly, Persekutor
drop the ball a bit with a thin-sounding, antiseptic cover of “Procreation of the Wicked”, which takes
some of the steam out of the album early on.
Luckily,
there’s more than enough here to make up for a couple of stumbling blocks along
the way. Acid Witch’s cover of “Cherry Orchards” makes a case for being better than the original
for sheer personality, besides being really well-conceived and executed. Temple of Void’stake on “Os Abysmi Vel
Daath” from 2006’s ‘Monotheist’
and Evoken’s “Dawn of Megiddo” are powerful versions in their own right, and each
band remembers that the best part of covering a song is making it your own.
With
the level of care that went into producing most of these covers, combined with
the awesome idea behind the illustrated book that accompanies the album, what
you have here is all you could really want in a tribute. There’s a level of
passion for the band of honor here that so often feels absent from other
tribute albums. For that reason, along with the quality of music on offer, ‘Morbid Tales: A Tribute to Celtic Frost’
is a step above and beyond just about any tribute album I’ve heard to date.
From ‘The Hall of Cost’ to the close of the album the listener is
privy to something unique, something special….something that is angry and
upset. With talents from an array of accomplished bands bleeding a
sludgy-industrial muck into your brain, Corrections House reminds you that you
aren’t the only one who hates your job, your city, your society...all of us do…
Know How to Carry a Whip CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.
Crossing My One Good Finger
2. Superglued Tooth
3. White Man’s Gonna Lose
4. Hopeless Moronic
5. Visions Divide
6.
The Hall Of Costs
7. When Push Comess to Shank
8. I Was Never Good At Meth
9. Burn The Witness
The Review:
I want to preface this review by
stating that in addition for my appreciation of darker metal I also firmly
appreciate industrial music. It’s not uncommon to find Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and others on my
queue. That being said when I read about Corrections House
releasing a new album, ‘Know How to
Carry a Whip’, reflecting on their first release, ‘Last City Zero’, I became excited. Corrections House
is a very interesting creature, seemingly operating as a whole only functioning
via contributions from its independent parts: Mike IX Williams from Eyehategod spews his realities of a broken nation over
Scott Kelly (Neurosis) on guitar, Sanford Parker of Buried at Sea on drums and processing, and Bruce Lamont of Yakuza adding haunting atmospheres on saxophone.
Unlike Corrections House’s
first release, ‘Last City Zero’,
this album carries with it a much more collected and organized feeling as
opposed to it’s former which, in my opinion seemed like a broken string of
poems. Great tracks stand alone, but not the same degree of coherence as ‘Know How to Carry a Whip’. By the
end of ‘White Man’s Gonna Lose’ the
listener has been forcefully thrust through a truly dark blend of Sludge/Doom
and Industrial. Whatever these dudes put into their coffee they should
keep drinking it, because as you are whipped into ‘Visions Divide’ you swear that someone switched the track for ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’, with that
unmistakable, raw, and baron Scott Kelly western voice. Sax kicks in from
Bruce Lamont and the mental picture is enhanced.
While there are similarities that I
can draw to Corrections House’s‘Last City Zero’, I don’t feel the need to because I honestly don’t
think that was the intention of the album. From ‘The Hall of Costs’ to the close of the album the listener is privy
to something unique, something special….something that is angry and
upset. With talents from an array of accomplished bands bleeding a
sludgy-industrial muck into your brain, Corrections House
reminds you that you aren’t the only one who hates your job, your city, your
society...all of us do…
‘This album is about discovery. This album is both darkness and light. This album is a spirit animal that accompanies you on your own journey into your psyche. Album of the year may be an understatement; it could be an overstatement, whatever it is to you, to me, I have found God. His name is Steve Von Till.’
‘A Life Unto Itself’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. In Your Wings 2. A Life Unto Itself 3. A Language Of Blood 4. Night Of The Moon 5. Birch Bark Box 6. Chasing Ghosts 7. Known But Not Named
The Review:
'A Life Unto Itself' is the latest solo offering from Neurosis vocalist/guitarist and demigod Steve Von Till. This is a slightly more ethereal album than some of his other work but this is Steve Von fucking Till, he can rarely do wrong!
'In Your Wings' welcomes us in with its hypnotic ambience and simple guitar picking and Steve's voice, accompanied by some reverb, sets the tone for what is to come.The title track, undoubtedly influenced by Townes Van Zandt with its lap steel overtones and occasional subtle overdriven guitar is simply beautiful. Steve's weighty voice carries the track and all the elements compliment each other to create a musical awakening.
Fans of Steve's previous solo offerings may notice the slight change stylistically; while the "one man, six strings" approach of 2008's 'A Grave Is A Grim Horse' album is still the back bone, 'A Life Unto Itself' expands with nods towards Americana and psychedelia with its use of varied textures provided by effects pedals and synths as documented on 'A Language Of Blood' with it's swirling, delayed guitars and slow building organ and my personal favourite 'Night Of The Moon' which starts with an intro strikingly familiar to fans of The Who (or CSI Miami). Steve's raspy yet ethereal vocals resonating and the subtle overdriven guitar sound carry the track to territories normally reserved for Neurosis albums.
'Birch Bark Box' and it's melancholic guitar and vocal pattern could be from a Johnny Cash tribute album and 'Chasing Ghosts' with its synth swirls and dreamy piano conjures up images of dilapidated log cabins and abandoned farm houses observed through old photographs. Final track 'Known But Not Named' finds Steve as a shaman performing a cleansing ritual after your journey through the spirit world. It's a brilliant closer, epic and haunting melodies, soulful yet earthy vocals and an air of spirituality that no one other than Mr Von Till himself can exude.
This album is about discovery. This album is both darkness and light. This album is a spirit animal that accompanies you on your own journey into your psyche. Album of the year may be an understatement; it could be an overstatement, whatever it is to you, to me, I have found God. His name is Steve Von Till.
With the addition of new full-time members, the
project forged as SCOTT KELLY AND THE ROAD HOME --
orchestrated by Neurosis' founding guitarist/vocalist, Scott Kelly -- has since
taken a new form as simply, THE ROAD HOME.
Neurosis' keyboard/effects wizard, Noah Landis,
has been a part of the project since the creation of SCOTT KELLY AND THE ROAD
HOME's 2012-released debut album, The Forgiven Ghost In Me,
providing baritone guitars and keyboards to the record and on stage. Yet, since
his role in the outfit has become much more expansive and significant, in both
inception and delivery of the tunes, his place in the lineup has therefore
become more permanent. Additionally, renowned singer/songwriter Munly J Munly
has joined the group in recent months, helping reshape the band's sound. An
iconic folk/country/gospel multi-instrumentalist who has helped shape the
contemporary sound of Denver, Munly is part of several current acts, including
his own Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, as well as Slim Cessna's Auto Club,
Denver Broncos UK and others, with releases on Smooch Records, Alternative
Tentacles and more, in addition to being an awarded author, and so on.
Issues Kelly of the current state of THE
ROAD HOME, "We changed the name because with the addition of Munly and
Noah's already prominent role in the process it felt that this had become a
band of absolutely equal parts in every way. We will be working on new material
throughout the year in preparation for a new record."
As their next recorded chapter comes
together, THE ROAD HOME's new lineup will be playing live whenever
possible, beginning with a newly-confirmed Western US tour which begins next
week. From Thursday, January 22rd through Wednesday, February 4th, they will
traverse through California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Washington with
twelve dates confirmed.
Additional tour and release news on THE
ROAD HOME will be confirmed and announced in the months ahead.
THE ROAD HOME Winter Tour Dates:
1/22/2015 1234 Go! Records - Oakland, CA -
in-store performance [info]
1/23/2015 Metavinyl - Santa Cruz, CA [info]
1/24/2015 Audies Olympic - Fresno, CA [info]
1/25/2015 Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation
Society - Los Angeles, CA
1/27/2015 TKO Records - Huntington Beach, CA -
in-store performance [info]
2/04/2015 Hawthorne Theatre front room -
Portland, OR [info]
Neurot Recordings released SCOTT KELLY
AND THE ROAD HOME's debut outing, The Forgiven Ghost In Me, in
August 2012. Dissimilar to his previously-released solo outings, on this
recording Kelly sought out additional musicians to help bring his written
vision to fruition, recruiting the talents of Greg Dale and Noah Landis, as
well as guest contributions from Jason Roeder (Neurosis, Sleep) and
Josh Graham (A Storm Of Light, ex-Neurosis). The Forgiven Ghost In Me, flows
with over forty minutes of foreboding Americana showcasing the ever-evolving
artist brandishing some of Kelly's most expressive hymns of pain, reflection
and redemption to date.
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!
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