Disco de Neurosis: “Sun That Never Sets [Japan Bonus Track]”

NEUROSIS - A Sun That Never Sets

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Neurosis is an aural force that is basically unmatched in the world of heavy music... They have laid the seeds for such bands as Isis, Pelican, Red Sparowes and countless others. This being their 7th album they further explore the multi-layered textures of music, pushing the bounds of sound...

The Vocals of Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly have never sounded better... Their dark, almost Tom Waits-inspired singing accompanied by thick screams and yells blends a powerful vocal force to be reckoned with. On top of them the Tribal Drumming, the Crunchy Guitars, thick low-end Bass, and the variety of other instruments such as Violin and Keys only further add to this dark textured atmosphere. Neurosis sinks you in like few other bands can... What is best about Neurosis is their music is modest and less pretentious than many other `progressive' bands. They choose to slowly build lush layers of beautiful, yet heavy soundscapes instead of all-out flashy musicianship.

Neurosis is best enjoyed when other distractions are not present, A nice walk with head-phones on... or lying on your bed with the lights out and the tunes blaring...

Neurosis is the "Napalm Death" of Post-Metal and have spawned countless other bands so if you like any of the previous mentioned bands or any of today's modern post-rock/metal be sure to check out From Where Its Roots Run.... Neurosis.

Favorite Songs: Falling Unknown, The Tide, Stones from the Sky and Watchfire.

-5 Star

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For the longest time I avoided this band because for some reason I thought they were just some black metal band or some other offshoot of typical heavy music...I was completely wrong!

The sound is dark and heavy, but not prototypical metal and for the most part NOT FAST! What?! Yeah - this is not your generic headbanging metal - this is moody, atmospheric, intelligently composed metal! In fact most of the album is instrumental and the majority of the vocals are delivered at a slow pace - whether in deep growls, harsh yells, droning whispers, or softly sung melodies. The drumming is very deep and tribal sounding - moving from quiet to heavy or simple to complex as the composition unfolds. The mixture of bizarre sound effects and keyboards creates a lot of the atmosphere and such instruments as the violin add to the beautiful texture of the album. The guitar work is wonderfully executed - acoustic melodies, distorted feedback, sludgy grooves, clean rhythm and solo work - all layered into the songs with purpose and precision.

Comparisons? Remember the dark mysterious track called 'Black Sabbath' that would become the name of the legendary band? This album contains that same sort of dramatic spooky effect. Elements of Porcupine Tree and Opeth can be heard, but a comparison to them could be decieving - Neurosis have a unique and distinguished sound. The sludgy guitars remind me of the stoner-rock band Kyuss - particularly on the final track "Stones from the Sky" - and don't let the last 40 seconds of the CD fool you...it isn't your player messing up...it's just part of the sound effects...

RECOMMENDATION: If you are an open minded music lover and enjoy not just the heaviness of this album, but it's diversity also then you may enjoy a late 60's/early 70's progressive band called It's a Beautiful Day (you can read my review on their debut album). For the heavy music lovers...well...you probably already know about Opeth! ;)

Man, Neurosis has done it again. They continually deliver amazing albums that are both beautiful and gut wrenchingly heavy at the same time.

This album feels like a continuation of the sound they forged on Times of Grace -a bit more melodic and more organic sounding compared to Through Silver... and Enemy of the Sun. In general there is less of the all out attack of the previous albums and more of a intense "threatening" sound that builds slowly. But they still manage to sound every bit as evil as before. There is also more vocal variation here with singing a la "Away" (from T.O.G.)on many tracks instead of only screamed vocals.

I also have to give some props to Steve Albini for the production. It's very clear and warm sounding (like most of the stuff he produces), he somehow manages to capture the essence of all bands he records. And the drum sound is HUGE, a very important part of Neurosis heavy sound.

So get this album, it will blow your mind. Most records this long bore me but Neurosis can make 70 minute albums that you listen to the whole way through without tiring. It's like a sonic journey, the only other comparison I can think of is Pink Floyd because their music also seems to take you for a journey and they also make albums where the songs flow together into one continuous soundscape (I don't mean Neurosis sound like PF ...)

Neurosis' seventh album blends unprecedented beauty and radiance with their classic use of dynamics and power. Neurosis is the ultimate juxtaposition of life's plain realities - a strong will in a world that inspires weakness.

A Sun that Never Sets is certainly not only one of the best albums in my collection but one of the most important musical expressions of my being. In my own experience, it has been one of the most emotionally powerful recordings that I have yet to encounter. Overwhelming. The slow pace at which their songs tread on will drag out a song so much in its absorbent energy that by the end you didn't even realize that it was upwards of ten minutes long. Every track is beautiful. And the transition at the start of the forth minute on "Crawl Back In" is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. As a caveat, I learned from experience that if you are sad about something in your life this CD will exacerbate its emotional intensity to seemingly infinite depths but at the same time can act as a cleansing of those negative emotions.