Neurosis Album: “Times Of Grace”

Neurosis' "Times Of Grace" is an experience in itself. On this album, the band produces epic ambient-style metal that pummels the listener into submisison. The combined effect of the manic distortion and somewhat linear arrangements seems, at first, incoherent and unsatisfying. But upon further listens, "Times Of Grace" opens itself up and shows the world what it truly is - an epic masterpiece.

The first thing the listener is exposed to upon listening to this album is are the tension-building notes of Scott Kelly's guitar blended in with bagpipes in "Suspended In Light." Next up is "The Doorway," with its heavy distortion and awesome time changes. "The Last You'll Know" features an incredible midsection, complete with a harmonica-like synthesizer before calming into dissonance, which then builds to a sludgy rage.

"Belief" chooses to, instead of being completely heavy and distorted throughout, go back-and-forth between heaviness and subdued somberness. "Exist" is the perfect instrumental for an album of this nature - beautiful, mysterious, and calm, which accentuates the rest of the album greatly. It also flows directly into the wonderful "End Of The Harvest," which showcases a wonderful buildup to the climax. "Descent" begins with just a bass drum, then adds guitar, bagpipes, bass, and synthesizer (at serparate times) creating a great buildup before fading out. "Away" actually features clean vocals (!) and a beautiful buildup before steppin' on the distortion and switching to the usual screaming. It is also a top highlight of the album. The album's title track begins with a few simple notes before becoming UNGODLY heavy. The album's closing track, "The Road To Sovereignty," is a fantastic closing to an album of this magnitude. It begins with acoustic guitar, then adds the rest of the band, along with violins, violas, cellos, and - you guessed it - bagpipes.

"Times Of Grace" will most likely take a few listens to get acquainted with. But, like other albums as obtuse as this (Tool's "Lateralus"; Radiohead's "Kid A"), after a couple spins in your CD player, it will hit you how genius this record is.

This album has more direct drive then any of thier albums before it. The Industrial tribal-metal dirge approach has nearly gone and left behind not the battle, but now a map of the battle(an overview if you will), giving Neurosis a displacing edge from what early fans like myself came to know. Times of Grace is a more straight forward plunge then thier previous "Through Silver in Blood". Through Silver in Blood being an album which takes the skin and bone of your head and rips it back and thats if you can make it through the shear intensity(Through Silver in Blood is still my favorite album by them).

"Times of Grace" is much less punishing then previous albums and emphasizes on a new look at things for Neurosis. Bag-pipes find thier way to Neurosis as a more forefront then before and lend an amazingly touching effect. "Soveriegn" which came after "Times of Grace" began an even deeper plunge into what Neurosis became during "A Sun that Never Sets" that is... much more crystal and elegant... patient. Neurosis are a band that never loses themselves for the fact that they reinvent themselves and grow. Listening to Neurosis is like witnessing evolution in time lapse. Prepare to have your mind opened.

If you are new to Neurosis do not start here. I'd suggest starting with "Enemy of the Sun" or "Souls At Zero" so you may have a clue as to what the middle ground battlefield was(so far) for Neurosis and from being warriors to war heroes...

This record stays on my player constantly. I even mixed it with Tribes of Neurot's companion disk back in 2001 so I could listen to them both simultaneously, and I have that on CD in my truck and play it often as well. I'm not sure if there is a more complete piece of Art in music album form out there. Pink Floyd is about the closest I could compare it to, but they cannot match Neurosis's masterful tension. This album is what King Crimson was writing about in "21st Century Schizoid Man" ... and, I think, probably is the record they wished they could have made back then.

What really does it for me is Neurosis's constant exploration of the theme of individualism, and okay yeah I realize that's a pretty generic staple of punk/metal, but again, I haven't come across any other band capable of approaching the sheer gravity that Neurosis brings to this record, from the first sound to the last. It's huge and powerful, like Moby-dick; I chase it like Ahab and hope to get close to it before I die.

the only reason that i'm holding back from 5 stars is because these jerks made me buy two separate cds. the cd is pretty good by itself but absolutely amazing when played simultaneously with tribe of neurot's "grace." i don't know why they didn't just mix both albums together in the studio. the neurosis cd is much better with the extra neurot effects and i seriously can't imagine anyone wanting to listen to the neurot album on its own... anyway, if you like this album, i highly recommend "enemy of the sun" and "through silver in blood." at this point i wouldn't hesitate to call either of those albums "seminal classics."

Neurosis transcends genres and labels. You don't listen to Neurosis - you EXPERIENCE Neurosis... there is a difference. Lots of people say that this band plays music that could be perceived as the soundtrack to the apocalypse, and although I don't disagree with that, I feel that more must be said. With "Times Of Grace" the band mutated their wall of sound into a vehicle to juxtapose sonically "yin and yang" qualities - they expressed how sheer, violent surges can be simply beautiful and how melody and subdued orchestrations can be tense, ominous, foreboding... and downright frightening. "...Grace" does continue their trademark droning repetition in areas, but that's their way of tapping into your unconscious mind. What some call monotonous, we Neurosis fans call mesmerising. "...Grace" hypnotises you into a subliminal trance that allows you to (re)discover the lost primitive archetypes that bind human nature to Mother Earth. If you search deep into the world of Neurosis, you'll find that this CD is another voyage toward their destination based on mental, physical, aural, visual, historical, and spatial harmony. Don't listen - EXPERIENCE.