NEWS
Neurosis
Given To The Rising ltd. CD/CD/DLP
Neurot Recordings
Neurosis needs no introduction. The Bay Area's legendary masters of behemoth, psychedelic operatic guitar girth has influenced a wide array of artists and nearly singlehandedly defined vast extremes of heavy music popular today. However, now in its third decade, Neurosis' latest album finds the group's sound transforming yet again so dramatically that even to diehard fans, Given To The Rising might seem starkly different, a stunning reintroduction.
Given To The Rising is like being submerged in an isolation tank -- it's enveloping, subverting the senses with surreal visions we'd swear were our own, cleverly jarring and disorienting consciousness beyond any footing in reality. As any diehard Neurosis fan will tell you, there's a moment with every new record and live show at which the band will stop as if the world has frozen in position, then suddenly kick into the primordial wail that we've all come to recognize as the "Neurosis note" that forces the listener's head and shoulders to lurch and sway almost uncontrollably. Given To The Rising is Neurosis at its most captivating and hypnotic.
Put simply, the album is some of the band's most raw and immediate material to date, but it is also more complexly orchestrated and richly thickened with psych-damaged overtones. Given To The Rising is more than a just a powerful collection of songs -- it's more like a religious experience. While personal epiphanies are repeatedly told by those who've been converted by Neurosis' sensory overloading live show as well as its recordings, there's a hypnotic quality to this album that takes hold from the opening guitar squall of the title track.
Once again recording with revered engineer and longtime friend Steve Albini (as the band has for five previous albums,The Eye of Every Storm in 2004, A Sun That Never Sets in 2001, Sovereign in 2000 and Times of Grace in 1999), Given To The Rising bears the band's signature crushing heft and cathartic force. However, it also finds Neurosis delving into increasingly psychedelic effects and twisted, inventive song structures. Much of the dramatic lull of recent works is forgone in favor of full-on attack. While it's reflective of the band's signature aggressive pummeling, Given To The Rising is not just an exercise in Wagnerian thunder. Neurosis instead takes an exploration into psychoactive prog-rock and eviscerating symphonic thud that moves well beyond anything that might fit snugly within a particular genre. It's as though the band has taken cues from such psych-noise predecessors as Hawkwind, Faust, Skullflower and Chrome, merged those elements with the sickening frequency assault of Throbbing Gristle and then submerged them within Neurosis' saturated sonic strata.
"We stand encircled by wing and fire" growls vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly, opening the album and its title track, the band's heels already dug deep in the dirt, blasting forth in all directions at once. It's as though we join the battle already in progress, and by all means we have -- Neurosis has fought hard to maintain its sovereignty not just in the music business, but as a boundlessly creative entity consisting of Kelly, guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till, bassist/vocalist Dave Edwardson, drummer Jason Roeder and keyboardist Noah Landis. The band brought keyboards to heavy punk. It brought experimental noise to metal. It merged antique droning folk with Black Flag's desperation. All the while, forging onward toward new means to explore the infinite realms of catharsis and self-transformation, while myriad bands simply follow in its wake.
The guitars grunt and groan like sinister beasts on "Fear and Sickness", propelled by Roeder's clever rhythmic shifts delivered by thunderous, rollicking tom beats that lunge into half-time thumping kick drum and snare blasts. "To The Wind" opens with a deceptively delicate, albeit forlorn melody unlike anything we've come to expect of the band, which is abruptly choked off at the 2-minute mark by one of the most brutally sudden shifts of mood and tempo. A slight, barely audible growl hints at the change to come, but when a wall of chiming bent-notes and drop-tuned sludge guitars, paired with a stomping beat erupt over the melody, it's truly monolithic in impact. Edwardson slings heavy low-end distortion over the top with howling bent notes adding powerful harmonic overtones. But, perhaps the highlight of the song comes during a brief respite, when Kelly lets out an astounding 29-second-long throat-curdling scream at the song's climax. Von Till's rasping whisper sounds downright haunting over the rhythmic churn and Landis' syrupy tones on "Hidden Faces" prove ample evidence to the band's latest evolutionary step. "Through eyes of the wheel I will see you coming," Von Till howls, the band erupting in consensus.
NEUROSIS TOUR DATES
MON 12/31/07 - San Francisco, CA -
Annual Great American Music Hall New Year's Eve Party
Neurosis w/ EARTH + TBA
every paid admission gets a free limited edition (show only) Tribes of Neurot/Earth 7"
THU 01/24/08 - Brooklyn, NY ???
FRI 01/25/08 - Brooklyn, NY ???
SCOTT KELLY has started new website, COMBAT MUSIC RADIO, which features "The Show," a weekly online broadcast, featuring over an hours worth of independent, underground and unsigned music, as well as a weekly guest interview.
To commemorate our mutual devotion to independent music, we are proud to announce the official launch of the newly founded label Hypertension Records. Embarking on a mission to support genuine independent music, we are extremely proud to announce our first two releases:
RED SPAROWES - At The Soundless Dawn 2xLP
Hypertension will be releasing the European version of the debutalbum by this new band featuring members of ISIS and NEUROSIS early March. Our overseas collaborators on this gem are Neurot Records and Robotic Empire Records. The European version will feature a different lay-out and one exclusive bonustrack. RED SPAROWES will be touring Europe in March and April, make sure to catch them at one of their shows.
STARKWEATHER - Croatoan 2xLP
The hibernating monster is back. Exactly a decade after their last outing, the band is now finally finishing up to release their newest endeavor "Croatoan". After some line-up difficulties, they were able to find decent replacements in Jim Winters of TURMOIL/THE PROMISE and Liam Wilson of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. The record is being mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side as we speak. "Croatoan" was recorded early 2004 by Pierre Remillard (CRYTOPSY, GORGUTS, OBLIVEON) and will feature artwork by none other than Paul Romano (MASTODON, EARTH, GODFLESH). Second Nature Records will be handling the CD-duties, Hypertension will be exclusively taking care of the vinyl-duties. We're aiming at an early summer 2005 release date.
http://www.hypertensionrecords.com
MP3'S
NEUROSIS BIOGRAPHY
I remember the first time a Neurosis album flat out blew me away. It was Souls at Zero in 1991, the year that the Bay Area sextet came into its own and birthed a sound that later would ripple through and resonate in many disparate genre.
With The Eye of Every Storm Neurosis has again floored me with an album so invigorated and inventive that it's likely to outshine all its previous efforts. The band that's best known for its ability to overwhelm the senses has created a symphonic psychedelic masterpiece.
The Eye of Every Storm is like walking into an ornately decorated, yet meticulously organized room -- there is simply too much to take in with just a shallow glance. It's a culmination of the band's ideas reaching full circle to its core elements of droning folk, operatic guitar girth and churning rhythms. Sure, the band's signature pummeling riffs, crushing dynamics and brilliantly innovative use of unusual folk instruments and organic textures remain constant. But, The Eye of Every Storm reaches far beyond what we've come to expect from the Bay Area band in its nearly 20-years of existence. It is a confounding and compelling sound that fits delicate melody, warped subtleties and surrealist sound effects within its heavy arsenal of meticulous orchestration.
The album is a definite must for fans of trippy prog rock like Hawkwind, Faust, Can, Skullflower, Acid Mothers Temple and Chrome. But, also those who adore new electro-psych groups like Black Dice, Oneida and Wolf Eyes will love the simultaneously pummeling riffs and rhythms, intricate melodic churn and claustrophobic layers of sound. And, diehard Neurosis fans will probably agree that this time the band has outdone itself.
The album is immediately jarring within the first 30-seconds of the first song, "Burn." Jason Roeder's driving 6/8 drum beat is abruptly interrupted by and underscored by a loud crash -- sounding something like an avalanche or metal chairs thrown across the room -- while guitar feedback rings out and gives way to a deceptively soothing minor-chord melody. Guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till's urgent, rasping wail seems to herald impending eruption as bassist/vocalist Dave Edwardson plucks a quickly pulsing line that seems to tug the guitars along, alternately chiming and wailing like banshees. Guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly leads the crashing waves of open-tuned guitar riffs - hitting that signature "Neurosis note" of bent guitar strings that sound like a bloodthirsty beast coupled with a metal machine press -- on "No River to Take Me Home." The title track touches on the glissando folk-drone sound of darker, early Pink Floyd with almost Flaming Lips style orchestration as the band expands its dynamic palette to further explore the middle ground between erupting guitars and quiet passages. Here, as on much of the album, keyboardist Noah Landis adds powerful symphonic organ melodies along with his arsenal of nature-based sound samples. Additionally, extremely warped guitar pedal effects, vocal harmonies, tubular bells and murmuring cellos seep in the gaps and flow throughout the many layers of the song. It's almost like a condensed version of Pink Floyd's entire Wish You Were Here album, retaining the hooks while delving deeper into analog fried-psych territory.Throughout The Eye of Every Storm, dry and upfront-sounding drums and instruments weave and lock together in a way that's utterly alien to most "heavy" music. Working again with legendary engineer Steve Albini (who also recorded three previous Neurosis releases Times of Grace, Sovereign and A Sun That Never Sets), the band and engineer found the perfect mix for its complex sound. The guitar parts, bass lines, synths and intimate vocal lines work together so well it's almost pop music in construction, but still sounding like a gale wind force. Von Till and Kelly both sound much more confident in the strength of their vocals. Both singers give up the screaming for a more expressive and melodic vocal style, luring the listener into the soundscape with passion and urgency, selectively bolstering the vocals with a wall of blistering guitars only when it aims for complete sensory overload.
Whatever I -- or any of us -- thought Neurosis was supposed to sound like, The Eye of Every Storm changes everything. This band that I've followed and admired for over 13 years somehow sounds even more vital and inspiring than ever before. See for yourself.
-- Dave Clifford
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NEUROSIS FAN REVIEWS
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Eye of Every Storm
(Neurot Recordings)
"Why is Neurosis the type of band that when you ask one of their fans which is their favorite recording they usually say the most recent? Because with each release they expand on the concept they have been developing since their inception. They examplify integrity. They numb the mind with their imagery, textures, and all around vastness. Every single track, every recording is up to par with everything they have done before, without being repetitive, or varying to far. How many bands grow with each release without losing some fans along the way? Impressive isn't it? Drop this onto your turntable or cd player, and hold the fuck on...Another great journey into the sonic relm that is what Neurosis has become. The changes are more of the clean vocals that has been appearing more and more with each release, and more of the musical growth we've become used to, doing what Neurosis does better then ever. Not eight songs, but one with eight names. Neurosis embodies the complete work rather then "songs" more consistently then anyone else, each album is a beginning to end work, you cannot walk out of the room, or sample in the car on the way to pick up milk. This is something to do, not something to listen to while doing something else. If you are stumbling upon Neurosis for the first time, first off, get over the fact that they get lumped into heavy music catagories; this band defies that narrow frame of thinking. Secondly, know that you will be purchasing the band's entire catalog. If you can get into music that is made for music fans, paints pictures,is beyond cliches and can be more then just the traditional ideas of a band, then you are saved. Then see this band, and see it all put together. Congratulations you have discovered something special."
-Tim
""The Eye of Every Storm" delves deeper into symphonic harmonies and dark ambience, but it still retains the gritty edge that Neurosis has always displayed. Growing up in the southeast, I have been through many hurricanes...and this is the perfect soundtrack. Eerie, brooding, melancholic and powerful. It is difficult to compare to other Neurosis albums. You may be tempted to say "Through Silver In Blood" is a better disc, but it would all depend on what mood you're in."
-Bloodlet
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