Times of Grace

Something akin to Gods in the hardcore scene, bay area noiseniks Neurosis undoubtedly reached the pinnacle of their career with this album, which ranks as one of the best hardcore records ever. Neurosis were never particularly happy with being put in the pigeonhole of 'hardcore', and its true that this album transcends the genre but, for want of a better term, they'll always be a 'hardcore' band.Whilst earlier albums were relentless in the ferocity, this album takes a more thoughtful approach in its brutality - and boy does it pay off! The first track - 'Suspended In Light' sounds like a John Carpenter theme, with luch guitars and synths played over a repetitive (and creepy) refrain. In fact, 'creepy' is a perfect adjective for this whole record. The quieter partss are as unsettling as Bloodlet, or the works of Philip Glass, whilst the heavier passages simply beggar belief.Neurosis have always been famed for their live shows and fans have sometimes felt let down by the albums not quite capturing the true bombastic impact of seeing them on tour. No way can that be said about this album. The production is superb, sounding both precise as a surgical incision and extremely 'earthy' at the same time. It really is as close to perfection as hardcore has come.Although the whole damn album is superb, for me, 'Belief' deserves special mention. This is just mesmeric. Words can't really describe how good this song is. Imagine the most disharmonic horror movie theme you've ever heard with screams over the top and you're in the right area.This album just oozes (literally) class. Sometimes it pours out of your speakers, at others it blasts out of them. During the whole mesmeric process you are left utterly spellbound and wondering why this band are not huge.

This band sounds like no other and writes songs like no other,well, before everyone copied them anyway!They were one of the first bands to combine 'electronic' elements to rock music, and no, not beats! The electronic stuff is subtle samples and keyboards to create moods and soundscapes. This blends with the tribal drumming and slow, intense riffs so well, it just sounds like metal is it's natural environment!This is my first venture into Neurosis' dark world, it didn't blow me away because it's too subtle and clever for that. Instead, first time you listen, there's so much going on you can't take it in. You have to listen again. After careful listens songs unfurl and present their brutal majesty before your raw eardrums.There aren't really any standout cuts because the album's so different, or at least it seems that way. Mt favourite songs however are the tribal, Under the Surface, and Belief because its so subtle and mellow.The only band that i know, who i can compare Neurosis to are Isis, who have been heavily influenced by them. Most of you probably don't know who Isis are, but if you do, you'll probably like this record. Neurosis are more doomy and 'imrovisational', Isis always seem to have a very controlled, robotlike vibe to them.Theres so much instrumentation in this album, repeated listens reward the listener, and it's definately worth the wait!I like Neurosis so much i've got thier newest album 'A Sun That Never Sets' on order right now!For fans of repetetive, rewarding music. These are definately not 'quick fix' or party tunes!Enjoy!