favorite Neurosis album

thought for sure this would be a lj thread

Enemy of the Sun

TSiB

was there a poll for this already, or was it just a question thread or something?

went with times of grace for no particular reason other than it's the one i've kept space for on my ipod

I haven't heard any pre-TSIB or the Jarboe thingy. However, when a record's in your 1990's top 3 then you're probably gonna wind up voting for it regardless.

Although there IS something to be said for "A Sun That Never Sets"

Hey which one of these would y'all suggest as a place to start for a non-metal fan (besides "none")? Preferably the one that obscures the vocals the most. kthxbye

Neurosis' vocals aren't of the cookie monster variety. They're incredibly nuanced, powerful, shattering, and frequently sung by more than one person. A stereotypical metal band this is not.

hmmm kevin, maybe you should check out one of the records that came after 'times of grace'. that was the last album that was heavy and pummeling in the angry, aggressive sense, i thought. the ones after that are still really sombre, but possibly more reliant on building atmosphere. the vocals are pretty much always a focal point and one of the best features of the band - they're never played down or particularly obscured.

Yeah, the vocal attack is very much their own, and it's a key element.

Anyway, this is probably one of a VERY few bands who have a "mystical" ethos I actually buy into. They've repeatedly stated that Neurosis is their life's purpose and will "always be". I find them to be both hard-rockin' dudes and shamanistic artists. The story of how TSIB got its name is both heartbreaking and yet totally, convincingly breathtaking, a real, poetic fable of visceral impulse and experience in the face of death. (Look it up!)

haha, you have a way with words dude

vocals are great, kevin, not cookie monster at all. solo records by the singer steve von till are dusty almost minimalist country affairs, like stripped down giant sand, if that helps give you an idea of the dude's rannge. sun that never sets and eye of every storm are both good non-metalhead entry points, since they're mellower than the others

Through Silver in Blood over just about any metal album, really.

Thanx for all the suggestions!

Slagterm basically OTM

I'm trying to find the story behind the title "through silver in blood" and I am simply not finding it. anyone wanna clarify?

I couldn't find it online either!

Basically, what I heard was that Dave Edwardson's girlfriend died, and in a feverish outpouring of grief he painted his entire room silver, almost perishing to the fumes. It wasn't a happy time for the band, as can be plainly evidenced in the record.

funny how most of the stuff these guys get involved with has some hectic story behind it. battle of mice for instance.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

missed this poll. would've voted tsib. but I've grown to really love given to the rising.

anyway, they're all pretty worthwhile. but I never really got the sun that never sets love.

I voted for the Jarboe record. I like Neurosis fine but was always more of a Swans/Gira/Jarboe sort of guy. Which I suppose explains my love for the collaborative record well enough.

a sun that never sets is totally wicked, full of controlled demolitions

I guess I missed this too. Through Silver in Blood was where they lost me (until Times of Grace). I suppose I should revisit.

I'd have voted Souls At Zero but I've seen them live fairly regularly. Pain of Mind tour was my first punk show.

dude how could that album lose someone

it is like how Sing To God lost Alex In NYC

we are talking more or less my personal 90's top 2 here fwiw

Well, if you'd been a fan from Pain of Mind up to that point, and saw Neurosis hopping on Ozzfest and signing to Relapse and turning into an industrial metal band... perhaps you'd have soured on them at that time too.

I did see a great show from them on that tour with Eyehategod and Dead & Gone opening. So they definitely still brought it live. Just wasn't what I wanted to hear from them at the time.

Souls At Zero is incredible. why doesn't it get rated higher?

def my favorite

shit! way too long since i fell asleep to TSIB. consider it booked in for the evening

Would really like to hear Souls At Zero. And your articulation of why it is so special...

it's fucking brutal at some moments with definite hardcore influences but also really eerily beautiful gentle moments, as well. to me it's their heaviest and most experimental...all the albums after it kind of fell it into a very similar framework that make them less adventurous.

i haven't given a thorough listening to Enemy of the Sun and plan on doing that immediately

Sounds groovy! TSIB I find to be some sort of perfection in form, but if SAZ is wilder, looser, and more unpredictable, I will be delighted indeed.

Enemy of the Sun is like Souls at Zero only far heavier. But I still like Souls at Zero better.

I still haven't given Through Silver In Blood its proper spin because I was so turned off by it at the time...

LJ I would be surprised if you liked SAZ to the extent that it leapt to the top of your charts, but it's definitely the point where they stepped their game up in terms of scope and ambition, and started conveying that apocalyptic feel they've got so much mieage from

*mileage

I am really feeling Enemy of the Sun right now.

Also really like their approach to keyboards and sampling, maybe a little more on Through Silver, but still some great stuff here.

Huh, I always felt "Times of grace" was the winner. And that Steve A was born to work with this band above all others

new album should be a blast as usual.

Times of Grace is the one i return to the most these days. it has an unbelievable run of songs at the beginning -- tracks 2, 3 and 4 melt face in the most punishing of ways.

perfect guitar sound, never bettered

yep, from the opening notes of "the doorway", you know what you're in store for. just incredibly raw, dense and focused all at the same time. and Scott Kelly was at the top of his game vocally, though "locust star" from TSIB would have to be his very best performance overall.

yeah times of grace was my favorite, beautiful cover artwork too.

i used to have a t-shirt with that cover artwork on it. got lost in the move or destroyed in the wash or somethin'.

Too rich for my blood, but definitely wanting this. Not a bad deal if you break it down.

TSIB is front-to-back awesome but whenever I venture to other points in Neurosis's discog I get bored pretty quickly. Any advice on what to try besides that?

If you haven't already heard it I'd try Souls at Zero, it's where they made the leap from hardcore punk to inventing post-metal and still contains traces of their beginnings, it's a bit more urgent than most of their discography. Aside from that Times of Grace is my favourite, and from the same kind of era as TSiB.

Oh man "Takeahnase"!!! Jam right there.

I know most fans don't listen to this band for this, but Pain Of Mind is a really great hardcore album. tbh I've never heard a bad record by this band but I haven't listened to them that much, I only know the 87-93 stuff really. the only later one I've listened to is Given To The Rising which is also good. I guess what I'm saying is this band is good and I should listen to more of their stuff.

The "in a shadow world..." climax of "At the Well" off Honor Found in Decay is the best rock music of the last 25 yrs

The TSIB, Grace, Sun trilogy is all really great, those are the three essential ones imo

Sun is an easy album to get into because The Tide into From The Hill is a banger-banger opening

I given Through Silver In Blood a couple of spins for the first time recently and I'm having a great time with it. A decade ago I loved Enemy Of The Sun and couldn't get into Given To The Rising and now I'm picking them up again, it's been too long. Probably will get Souls At Zero and Times Of Grace next

souls at zero is awesome, my favorite