Neurosis
Through Silver in Blood
[Relapse/Release]


Here it is again, popping up in my head. Again, I start thinking of the day when this whole damn world will be going straight to hell. But why? It seems like a nice day outside. Ah, it turns out I have "Through Silver in Blood" in my CD player, blasting all over the place, all the blinds in the windows closed, and my mind set to the self-destructive mood. Yep folks, Neurosis did it again.

This time, though, the band slammed the breaks all the way. The songs are painfully slow, but also painfully heavy. It is the kind of deep heaviness that absorbs everything around it. This album surely requires some patience on the behalf of the listener, but once you let the music take charge, it's totally captivating. The songs unfold slowly and then erupt like a volcano. The length of the tracks like "Purify," "Aeon" or "Enclosure in Flames" allows the songs to put the listeners into a hypnotic mood and then split their heads with a monstrous blast. Elsewhere, the terrifying "Strength of Fates" has got to be the perfect soundtrack of the world being destroyed - unbelievably heavy, yet symphonic, the song goes straight to the gut. And so do a couple of other, shorter tracks of the same gargantuan heaviness ("Eye," "Locust Star").

And let's not forget those creepy samples heard on the band's previous releases. Here, tracks such as "Rehumanize" and "Become the Ocean" serve as interludes, providing a needed break in the form of noisy soundscapes paired with some processed spoken word.

I read an article on Neurosis, where their music was called "Oceanic Metal." I can see why. The songs are like slow, powerful waves. Revel in them while you can.


© 1999 boris