Neurosis Album: “Given to the Rising [Limited Edition]”

Perhaps no band has rendered the sound of the apocalypse better than Neurosis, and their most recent effort, Given to the Rising, delivers the sort of sensory carpet bombing that fans have come to know and love. Their previous release, 2004's The Eye of Every Storm, was an excellent effort, but didn't really feel to this reviewer's ears like a "true" Neurosis album, as the eerie minimalism that had always been part of the band's sound occupied the forefront much more than on previous releases. Fortunately, the buzzsaw riffs that introduce the title track serve convincing notice that the Neurosis that released such imperious classics as Times of Grace and Through Silver in Blood is still very much in existence. That's certainly not to say the band has abandoned the textured atmospherics entirely--Nine sounds like something Tom Waits would do in one of his more avant-garde moments, and much of Origin sounds like Tool minus the pseudo-intellectualism--but most of Given to the Rising ranges from slow, twisted, and ugly to mid-tempo, twisted and ugly. The guitars are simply amazing here, piling on layer after layer of momentous, hellish riffage that drives home the claustrophobic heaviness of the music like a railroad spike, a sharp contrast to the more spacious soundscapes that made of much of the previous album. More important than any stylistic concerns, though, is the simple fact that from front to back Given to the Rising is one of Neurosis's best written efforts, and anyone familiar with their catalogue will know that's saying something. As is par for the Neurosis course, songs typically stretch into 8-10 minute territory, but even at half that length the band's brilliant use of hypnotic repetition and bowel-rattling rhythms would lend them a distinctly epic feel. Even at their darkest and most punishing, Neurosis show a skillful grasp of dynamics and progressions--witness Fear and Sickness's sudden transition from an ominous tribal chug to a harrowing midsection filled with searing guitar noise and tortured howls, or the way At the End of the Road builds from a creepy, Godflesh-style crawl to a gut-wrenchingly heavy and cavernous conclusion. For all fans who like their metal on the dark and frightening side, Given to the Rising, like most every Neurosis release, is absolutely essential.

Neurosis has that distinction of being the progenitors of experimental metal. They've used their creativity and recognition to not only further their efforts, but to support budding musicians as well. This album isn't as outlandish as some of their other material, but it definitely goes to show that in rapidly expanding post-metal scene, Neurosis still does it better than anyone else.

The album is pretty rocking from start to finish and goes back and forth from ambient soundscapes to blistering chaos. The songs that stood out to me the most were the title track, Water Is Not Enough, To The Wind, Distill (Watching The Swarm), and Origin. I recommend the album for metal fans and highly recommend it for metal fans who're getting into groups like Mastodon or Isis.

This brand new Neurosis album feels like rejuvenation after the last 2 albums this sparks the neurosis legend back to life, This is a dark shimmering masterpiece that would take your imagination for a trip to another time or something ancient it has an old world feel that would accompany a story or film about the dark ages or some great empires or wars, its an absolute peach if you like this kind of music. inspired 5/5

I first heard and saw Neurosis live in Los Angeles 1994 and they have been one of my favorite bands. Albums in the 90's were masterpieces or doomy, psychedelic beauty and chaos. After somewhat going to a new, more ambient sound in 2000 it took me awhile to like their new style but loved A Sun Never Sets and the Sovereign EP. Really, after listening to Sovereign it was obvious the direction they were eventually going towards. I thought Eye of Every Storm was a good idea going even to a softer sound but seemed like the attempt of overdone vocals and bad mixing somewhat was disappointing considering the music itself was bland and not that interesting, I was wondering if that was the last of this band.

This album though is incredible. Definitely the best album since Times of Grace I think. The music itself is back to being a similar incredible sound they have been known to do while having a good balance of vocals that is a little more in the background this time around. Has an eerie, uncomfortable sound scape to it that has a little bit of elements of the 90's sound with ideas from Eye of Every Storm but is really in entire class of it's own. I just hope I am able to see them live once again because as great as they are on record, the live experience is something I never forgot.

I like a lot of bands. Neurosis is the only band that I love. By the end of this album I was practically in tears. From Scott Kelly's inhumanly long howl at the climax of "To The Wind" to Noah Landis's ability to create galaxies of sound within songs. Neurosis continues to rise above any standard that anyone could give them. We should consider ourselves lucky to be alive while this band creates

If you have been following Neurosis for a while, this album will be more than rewarding. If you are just picking it up to understand Neurosis, then prepare to buy every single album that they have made because this album will blow you away.