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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
an ethereal bagpipe drone, oscillating around your
speakers, waves of guitar effects wash over you and the whole choir of eldritch
noise comes creeping back into view, then departing again, This is” Music For
Megaliths”, the latest record by Harvestman, and as expected, it’s everything
you’d want from a Harvestman record and definitely worth a listen for anyone
into drone, ambient or progressive music.
“Music For Megaliths” CD//DD//LP
track listing:
01. The Forest Is Our Temple
02. Oak Drone
03. Ring Of Sentinels
04. Cromlech
05. Levitation
06. Sundown
07. White Horse
The Review:
It starts
with an ethereal bagpipe drone, oscillating around your speakers, a kind of
psychedelic clarion call melody. Waves of guitar effects wash over you, then
the song picks up momentum with a familiar heartbeat chug, chug, chug. It just
keeps on building and building. A premonitory guitar melody plucked on an
acoustic, then sliding, bending. You wonder where it’s going to go, but the
song reveals that the destination isn’t important, as it slides off into a dull
hum, before expiring. And then coming back to life, briefly, the whole choir of
eldritch noise creeping back into view, then departing again. This is” The Forest is Our Temple”, the opening track on the latest
record by Harvestman,
‘Music For Megaliths’, and as
expected, it’s everything you’d want from a Harvestman record.
Harvestman is essentially a Steve Von Till
solo project, but differs from the albums that carry his name in that there are
next to no vocals on Harvestman, only an assorted array of
instruments. It’s obvious that Von Till loves just noodling around in a
studio and seeing what he can come up with by stacking tracks and playing with
effects, venturing into the musical hinterland, and Harvestman is the focused,
recorded outcome of this time.
If you’ve
heard this side project before then it’ll offer no surprises, but it’s another
excellent edition to the Neurosis legend’s back catalogue. Aside from
the excellent opener, there are six other tracks on this album. “Oak Drone” is more of the same as the first, “Ring of Sentinels” features a nice little drum loop and soothing
bass line, “Cromlech” has barely any
structure and is simply just a dazzling droney joy feast, while closer “White Horse” is probably the only song
that could come close to appearing on one of Von Till’s folk albums –
haunting acoustic melody accompanied by foreboding vocals and the usual ambiguous,
enchanting lyrics.
Another
solid Harvestman
release – the short length arguably lets it down, as ‘Lashing the Rye’ was twice as long and more varied, but definitely
worth a listen for anyone into drone, ambient or progressive music.
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.
‘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.
Following recent announcements of a new record from Neurosis front man STEVE VON TILL's titled, ‘A Life Unto Itself’ and his first since 2008’s ‘A Grave Is a Grim Horse’, today The Quietus, have unveiled the title track unto the world and you can listen atTHIS LOCATION.
‘A Life Unto Itself’ will be STEVE VON TILL’s fourth solo album to date, with his impassioned and weather beaten vocal and sparse acoustic guitar providing thefoundation to his solo material, however on this new record it is said to demonstrate and impart a wider variety of sonic textures.
STEVE VON TILL has been ably assisted by viola master Eyvind Kang, who has previously worked with Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3, pedal steel wizard J. Kardong and percussionist Pat Schowe.Engineering and production were handled by Randall Dunn, with whom he recorded and mixed the album at Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle.
Steve Von Till offered this insight into the record "When you make a big life decision and then you hear a raven's call out in the sky, it wasn't chance-it was an affirmation, it was meant for you, even if that might seem ridiculous in a conventional sense,"VON TILL offers by way of example. "When you hear a melody and it takes you back a thousand years to a memory you're not even sure you were a part of. When folklore and history become ways of how you see the world, it allows things to become more mystical and take on deeper meaning. When you're walking through ordinary, mundane situations, you have this frame of reference that takes on great personal significance beyond surviving the day-to-day: It's surviving the day-to-day with meaning."
The album's track listing and cover artwork by Aaron Turner have also been released.More information about the record will be available over the forthcoming weeks.
‘A Life Unto Itself’ Ttrack 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 Release Dates: GER: May 8th UK/EU: May 11th US: May 12th
The title doesn't quite say it all, but it says some of it: A Life Unto Itself is as much the name of Steve Von Till's fourth solo album as it is the perfect description for the 25-plus years he's spent forging, with his brothers, the incomparable musical force that is Neurosis—not to mention the numerous sonic tapestries he's woven with Tribes Of Neurot and under his alter ego Harvestman. You can hear that rich musical history, and all the life experience that goes with it, on his new solo album A Life Unto Itself – and this album goes deeper still.
Where Steve Von Till's previous solo recordings took on a more traditional approach with a respectful nod toward American and European folk music, A Life Unto Itself expands and ventures into compelling uncharted territory for its maker. Steve Von Till's weathered, distinctive voice and sparse acoustic guitar provides a foundation, but a much wider variety of sonic textures are presented here. Bold and ambitious arrangements weave vintage synth, sublime strings, percussion, and electric guitars in and out of these unique and expansive songs as Steve Von Till's raspy whisper dives deeply inward and speaks genuinely of visions, memories, and self-reflection in a way that feels both seasoned and exposed.
A Life Unto Itself is a powerful and evocative collection of beautiful Celtic balladry, haunting folk songs, dark psychedelia and expansive Americana, transporting one to the very heart and soul of its creator. If you allow yourself to fully submit to it, abandoning all preconceptions, the rewards can be magnificent.
More information and audible insights will be available in the coming weeks, in the meantime, please get in touch if you'd like any more info.
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!
