A Sun That Finally Sets: The Rise and Fall of Neurosis
Many bands have transitioned or change genres throughout a band’s career. With some fans either approving or disapproving the change in sound. Some bands even create their own genre and lay the groundwork for countless others to follow in their footsteps as trendsetters. California’s Neurosis are an example of that. Starting out with a hardcore punk sound, a completely different sound compared to the sound the band would become known for. With later releases, the band would create and forge the genre post-metal. Harnessing atmospheric elements, slower tempos, and pushing keys and ambience that clashed with sludgy, heavy guitars and thundering drums mixed with clean and anguishing vocals. Today, I will look at the legacy of Neurosis, their evolution and impact in creating the genre of post-metal, and the downfall of one of metal’s most unique acts.
From the ashes of the band Violent Coercion, Scott Kelly, Dave Edwardson and Jason Roeder formed Neurosis in 1985. The band would bring on Chad Salter as second guitarist and vocalist. The band would release their debut album Pain of Mind in 1987. The album had its roots in hardcore & crust punk, with elements of crossover thrash. The album’s title track and songs like “Progress”, “Training” and “Stalemate” truly deliver the hardcore punk aesthetic of acts like Circle Jerks, Millions of Dead Cops, Rich Kids on LSD and Bad Brains. Salter was replaced by Steve Von Till. Simon Mcllroy joined the band as the synthesizer/sampler of the band. Adam Kendall would be brought on as the band’s visual artist. The band would hit the studio in 1989 and record their second album The Word as Law. Continuing the same hardcore/crossover sound from the debut, The Word as Law had better production and leaned more into the crossover sound that acts like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies were starting to make names for themselves in. Some songs like “Double-Edged Sword”, “Tomorrow’s Reality” and “Obsequious Obsolescence” began to show hints of a new direction or change in the band’s sound.
1992 showed the band truly begin to experiment with their sound with the release of their third album Souls at Zero. With Souls, the band slowed their sound way down compared to the band’s hardcore roots of their first two albums. Guitar tones got heavier, ambience and atmosphere were amplified even more, and the usage of samples and unique instrumentation were added to their sound. Which was out of the norm at that time in metal. Kelly described the making of the album during this time period:
"We stepped into the studio with the intention of doing whatever the hell we wanted. We had material and weren’t sure it would be an album. I remember stepping outside on the street at 7 a.m. and standing there with Steve (Von Till) and Jason (Roeder) and saying: 'Fuck, this is an album. This is a statement.'"
Released on Alternative Tentacles, the label owned by former Dead Kennedys front man Jello Biafra, the album was a cornerstone upon release. And like Kelly said in his quote, Souls was a statement and breathed new life into Neurosis. With the push into this new sound, the band was truly creating something unique, dense, dynamic and emotional. With lyrical themes of social isolation, aggression and depression, the themes matched the music perfectly and made Neurosis the torchbearers of a new genre of music that became post-metal. A sound that would help inspire countless future big acts in the genre like Isis, Cult of Luna & Pelican. Along with the emergence of the blackgaze (Alcest & Deafheaven) and deathgaze (Kardashev & Fallujah) genres. Following the release and touring, the band would release its follow up one year later with Enemy of The Sun. With songs like “Lost” and “Burning Flesh in Year of Pig” further pushing the band’s sound into a chaotic and pummeling heaviness.
Neurosis would release, what many consider, their magnum opus in 1996 with Through Silver in Blood. Souls at Zero was the band’s first foray and experimentation in the post-metal genre, and Enemy of The Sun being a continuation of that experimentation with improvements. Through Silver in Blood is considered the quintessential and defining record in the genre and for the band. Appearing on the inaugural Ozzfest, the band’s live performances blew many fans away, while also gaining new fans in the process. With the album’s iconic snake imagery and the power of the album’s single “Locust Star”, the album was a seventy-minute tsunami of emotional brutality in both lyrics and complexity in the music. Almost thirty years later, the album truly stands the test of time in both the legacy the album leaves behind, the influence the album has on not only the post-metal scene, but metal itself, and the iconic performances of all the members at the time of recording.
After extensive touring and success with Through Silver in Blood, the band entered the studio in 1998 and released their sixth album Times of Grace. Including elements of gothic rock and prog rock, combined with the band’s defining post-metal sound from the previous record, the album would be the first with longtime contributor to the band in producer Steve Albini. Bombarding the listener with heavy as all hell riffs on songs like “Belief” and “The Doorway”, the album continued the onslaught on unmitigated aggression, isolation and desolation in its wake. Receiving positive reviews, but not critical acclaim as Through Silver, the album, it was another successful record and helped establish that the sound from the previous record was the band heading in the right direction in its new foray into the post-metal genre they forged.
Following the release of their 2000 E.P. Sovereign, the band would release their seventh album A Sun That Never Sets. The album received praise upon release from critics, and was #18 on Decibel Magazine’s Top 100 Metal Albums of The Decade. The album leaned heavily on folk influences and the accompaniment of acoustic instruments on many tracks. Songs like “The Tide” showcased the band going even slower than usual from their sludgy sound. With simplicity in just guitar and strings, Kelly’s vocals became haunting as he sings. Almost giving the listener a visual of seeing the catastrophe of a wave killing people and you can hear the sorrow, remorse and anguish in his vocals. And then when the song picks up, it becomes a commanding performance by Kelly. Other songs like the album’s title track and album closer “Stones From The Sky” are classic songs from the band and show the melancholic nature and sound the band has perfected now since Through Silver in Blood. The band would also do a collaboration album with former Swans vocalist Jarboe called Neurosis & Jarboe in 2003. Straying away from the post-metal Neurosis sound on that record, to a more experimental/noise record with Jarboe’s haunting vocals throughout. On the band’s eighth album The Eye of Every Storm, Neurosis focused their sound more on industrial influences like Godflesh on the album. Compared to the more-dominate folky influence of A Sun That Never Sets. From the opening tribal drums of “Burn”, drone influences on “No River To Take Me Home”, to the heavily distorted, experimental and effect heavy title track. The production was massive and had such a grand scale thanks to Albini.
Neurosis would return to a heavier, angrier and hostile direction when the band entered the studio for their next album. In 2007, the band released Given To The Rising. Drawing comparisons to the Times of Grace album, it was a heavier, more pissed-off sounding band. Right from the get-go on the album’s title track, the sludgy, doom-laden guitars punch the listener right in the face as Kelly’s anguishing vocals pierce the ears as the commanding drums lead the charge throughout the track. Songs like “To The Wind” features a shoegaze, atmospheric section amongst the pounding cymbal strikes and drum hits. “At The End of The Road” adds a foreboding and ominous, almost cinematic/horror like build for the majority of the track before the band goes for the throat for the remaining four minutes. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim. Citing the band’s return to the brutal angst and hostility they showcased on Souls at Zero and Through Silver in Blood. The band reincorporated folk influences, along with the same heavy energy from Given To The Rising, on their tenth album Honor Found in Decay. In interviews, the band wanted the album to be focused on contrasting harmony and disharmony. Great examples of this are the songs “At The Well” into “My Heart For Deliverance”. Which to be honest, sounds like true Neurosis and a lot of the band’s material. Von Till described how the drive to outdo the band’s past albums helped with the recording of Honor Found in Decay:
We don't rely solely on our strengths, which is obviously the heavy riff. We know how to bludgeon that to death, so we've spent decades exploring other territories and finding new ways to be heavy and new ways to integrate the things we love about music—harmony, dissonance, and the way they interplay, and distortion and beauty and how they intertwine. Then we try to weave it all together into some tapestry that becomes bigger than the simple sums of its parts, and becomes transcendent.
The band’s last album (and potentially final album) was 2016’s Fires Within Fires. The album was a full retrospective of all of the influences and genres that the band infused into their sound on this album. Songs like “Bending Light”, “Reach” and “Fire is The End Lesson” show the band firing on all cylinders throughout. Production was escalated to such a high level with every guitar and drum strike in the mix. Though at only five songs, the album truly does not deliver any weak moments throughout. A barrage of anger, vitriol, dread and hopelessness is encapsulated in the sheer sonic onslaught of the album’s forty minute runtime. With the album landing on Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Metal Albums of 2016 at number 5 and Terrorizer’s Album of The Year of that year.
The band faced a dramatic and dark shift after the release of Fires Within Fires. In 2022, Kelly announced via his Facebook page that he was retiring from music and public life in August. Neurosis released a statement on the band’s Facebook page that Kelly was quietly fired from the band in 2019. After his bandmates had uncovered abuse and domestic violence incidents involving Kelly. Out of respect towards Kelly’s wife’s request for privacy regarding the incidents and to honor and respect the family’s wish to keep it out of the music magazines and news sites. In the post, the band condemned Kelly’s actions and were “disgusted and disappointed”. Since the announcement of Kelly’s actions and the band’s statement relating to it, the band has gone silent. With no news of any plans to continue the band nor breaking up.
Neurosis’ legacy may be tainted by the actions of Kelly, dooming the future of one of metal’s most iconic and influential acts. A legacy that inspired countless bands to push what metal can sound like. How you can stray away from the norm and embrace the weird, the obscure and the unknown. Re-listening to their discography for this piece really shows a true musical evolution with this band. To hear a punk band that had most songs under two minutes, to transform into a dirge-like pace of brutal, downtuned guitars that cascade the listener for over ten minutes. Truly showing how far they have come. Pushing sonic boundaries and soundscapes into new forays was mind-blowing to many. Neurosis is an act that is truly unmatched in its creativity, musicianship, lyrical depth and emotional delivery. The band would even help other bands thrive in their wake with the formation of the band’s label Neurot Recordings. Not only releasing the band’s own music, as well as their side projects like Tribes of Neurot, but also promoting up and coming bands in the post-metal scene that would grow after appearing on the label or touring with the band. Bands like OM, Red Sparowes, Shrinebuilder, A Storm of Light and Battle of Mice. We don’t know what the future truly holds for the band, but I am glad we got to see and experience the journey of one of metal’s most complicated, creative and ingenious acts.
