Neurosis (band)



Neurosis is an American avant-garde metal band based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, but beginning with their third studio album Souls at Zero (1992) developed an experimental style which formed the foundation for what is now known as post-metal. In total, Neurosis have released 12 studio albums, including a 2003 collaboration with Jarboe.

Formation and early years (1985–1995)
In late 1985, Scott Kelly, Dave Edwardson and Jason Roeder (formerly members of Violent Coercion) founded the band as a hardcore punk outfit, borrowing from British crust punk like Amebix.

In 1986 Chad Salter was added on second guitar, and in 1990, Simon McIlroy joined the band as a synthesizer/sampler. There have only been a few changes in the lineup of Neurosis' musicians since band's inception. In 1989 guitarist/vocalist Chad Salter was replaced by Steve Von Till, and in 1995 Noah Landis, a childhood friend of Dave Edwardson, replaced Simon McIlroy as keyboardist.

With The Word as Law, Neurosis began to transition from the hardcore punk of Pain of Mind to the more experimental sound of Souls at Zero, which would ultimately form the basis for post-metal. Neurosis' signature sound came into full force with Enemy of the Sun, with The Quietus observing that "at the time few could have predicted this black hole of agonizingly precise metal riffs, unnerving backmasking, industrial folkisms and extensive sampling".

Through Silver in Blood to A Sun That Never Sets (1996–2004)
In 1996, Neurosis attracted mainstream attention with its Relapse Records debut, Through Silver in Blood and subsequent tour with Pantera. In 1999, Neurosis released Times of Grace, which was designed to be played synchronously with Grace, an album released by Neurosis' ambient side project, Tribes of Neurot.

In the early 2000s, the band founded their own independent record label, Neurot Recordings, which, in addition to releasing material from Neurosis and its associated projects, signed several other artists.

Beginning with A Sun That Never Sets, Neurosis began incorporating clean vocals and acoustic instrumentation into its sound. Allmusic described this change as an "aesthetic sea change". 2004's The Eye of Every Storm expanded upon this change by incorporating more slow moments and ambient textures into the mix.

Recent activity (2007–present)
The band released their ninth studio album Given to the Rising on May 8, 2007 through Neurot Records. On this album Neurosis re-incorporated a more aggressive approach into their music once again, and the album was well received by critics.

The band entered the studio in December 2011 to record the follow-up to Given to the Rising. The new album, entitled Honor Found in Decay, was released in late October 2012.

The band performed at Roadburn 2016, with Brooklyn Vegan's Ian Cory writing that "once the house lights came up it was hard to justify watching anything else." This was part of their series of shows performed in celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band.

On May 5, 2016 relapse Records confirmed they were reissuing A Sun That Never Sets and The Eye of Every Storm on vinyl on June 17 with new artwork.

Their eleventh studio album—Fires Within Fires—was released on September 23, 2016.

Visuals
From 1990 to 1993, Adam G. Kendall was recruited to create visuals and perform live with the band. Following his departure from touring, Pete Inc. took over the job, although Kendall continued to contribute visuals for the band until as late as 1997. Kendall also shot the footage for the "Locust Star" video. Josh Graham took over live visuals in early 2000 as Pete wasn't "cutting the mustard" (in the words of Steve Von Till), and created album artwork for 2004's The Eye of Every Storm, 2007's Given to the Rising, and 2012's Honor Found in Decay, as well as re-designs for the reissues of Souls at Zero and Enemy of the Sun. Graham and Neurosis amicably parted ways in late November 2012 via an announcement on the band website.

Often experimental and psychedelic in nature, the visuals have added to the reputation of Neurosis' live performances. Many of the visuals for their tours supporting Through Silver in Blood can be found in Ken Russell's film Altered States. Other images are included in the enhanced portion of the Sovereign E.P, and on the A Sun That Never Sets DVD video release. The majority of the DVD release was directed by Josh Graham, with an additional video by Chad Rullman.

Musical style and influences
Neurosis emerged as a hardcore punk band, performing a blend of hardcore and heavy metal inspired by British punk and described as crust punk or crossover on their first two studio albums. Thereafter, they developed a unique style of extreme music; Greg Moffitt of the BBC wrote that through a "process of evolution and refinement" beginning with Souls at Zero (1992) and culminating in Through Silver in Blood (1996), they "[took] heavy music to previously unimaginable spaces and, in the process, shape[d] what has thus far been metal's definitive response to the 21st century" The style Neurosis pioneered has been named post-metal, characterised by an "expansive, progressive and often apocalyptic" sound "adding alien sounds, oddball instrumentation and atmospheric depth to [the] viscerally crushing approach" of sludge metal. Their music has also been described as experimental /avant-garde metal, doom metal, drone metal, post-hardcore, industrial metal, psychedelic metal, progressive metal, alternative metal and extreme metal, and as employing elements of folk. Steve Huey of AllMusic called it as a blend of industrial, metal, and alternative rock rooted in sludge metal, while Kory Grow of Rolling Stone called it a mix of "metal, punk, sludge and avant-garde experiments."

Neurosis have cited Swans, Hank Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Black Flag, Hawkwind, Joy Division, Rudimentary Peni, Celtic Frost, Melvins, Die Kreuzen, Killing Joke, Amebix, and Voivod as inspirational. They have also alluded to the work of Philip K. Dick, Ingmar Bergman, Jack London, Paul Bowles, and Cormac McCarthy.

Members

 * Current
 * Scott Kelly — lead vocals, guitar (1985–present)
 * Dave Edwardson — bass, backing vocals (1985–present)
 * Jason Roeder — drums, percussions (1985–present)
 * Steve Von Till — guitar, backing vocals (1989–present)
 * Noah Landis — keyboards, synthesizers, effects, samples, backing vocals (1995–present)


 * Former
 * Chad "Gator Tofu" Salter — guitar, backing vocals (1986–1989)
 * Simon McIlroy — keyboards, synthesizers, samples, backing vocals (1990–1995)
 * Jackie Perez Gratz — cello (1999–2000)


 * Visual artists
 * Adam Kendall (1990–1993)
 * Pete Inc. (1993–2000)
 * Josh Graham (2000–2012)

Studio albums

 * Pain of Mind LP (1987, Alchemy Records)
 * The Word as Law LP/CD (1990, Lookout! Records)
 * Souls at Zero LP/CD (1992, Alternative Tentacles)
 * Enemy of the Sun LP/CD (1993, Alternative Tentacles)
 * Through Silver in Blood LP/CD (1996, Relapse Records)
 * Times of Grace LP/CD (1999, Relapse Records)
 * A Sun That Never Sets LP/CD (2001, Relapse Records)
 * Neurosis & Jarboe LP/CD (2003, Neurot Recordings)
 * The Eye of Every Storm LP/CD (2004, Neurot Recordings/Relapse Records)
 * Given to the Rising LP/CD (2007, Neurot Recordings)
 * Honor Found in Decay LP/CD (2012, Neurot Recordings)
 * Fires Within Fires LP/CD (2016, Neurot Recordings)

7"/EPs

 * Black 7"EP (1986, bootleg)
 * Aberration 7"EP (1989, Lookout Records)
 * Empty 7"EP (1990, Allied Records)
 * The Doorway/Threshold 7"EP (1999, Relapse Records)
 * Sovereign MCD (2000, Neurot Recordings)

Splits

 * Locust Star (split w Tribes of Neurot) MCD (1996, Relapse Records)
 * In These Black Days (split w/ Soilent Green) 7"EP (1999, Hydrahead Records)

Singles/music videos

 * "Locust Star" (1996)
 * "A Sun That Never Sets" (2001)
 * "The Tide" (2001)
 * "Crawl Back In" (2001)
 * "Stones from the Sky" (2001)

Live albums

 * Live in Lyon CD (2002, Neurot Recordings)
 * Live in Stockholm CD (2003, Neurot Recordings)
 * Live at Roadburn 2007 CD/2×LP (2010, Neurot Recordings/Roadburn Records)

Video/DVD

 * A Sun That Never Sets DVD (2002, Relapse Records, Neurot Recordings)

Side projects

 * Tribes of Neurot - The "alter ego" of Neurosis; a collective of musicians that create dark ambient and noise music.
 * Blood and Time - An acoustic side project of Neurosis with apocalyptic folk overtones featuring Josh Graham, Noah Landis and Scott Kelly.
 * Culper Ring - A brief side project of Neurosis experimenting with dark ambient and industrial music featuring Steve Von Till.
 * Red Sparowes - A group formerly featuring Josh Graham, as he departed the group early 2008.
 * A Storm of Light - A heavy/drone/experimental/rock band featuring Josh Graham.
 * Battle of Mice - A post hardcore band featuring Josh Graham.
 * Harvestman - an ambient/industrial side band featuring Steve Von Till.
 * Violent Coercion - pre-Neurosis Hardcore/punk band with Scott Kelly on guitar, Dave Edwardson on bass and Jason Roeder on drums.
 * Jesus Fucking Christ - A heavy punk/thrash band reminiscent of Pain of Mind-era Neurosis featuring Dave Edwardson on bass and vocals.
 * Kicker - A '77 punk/UK82 band featuring Dave Edwardson on bass and Pete the Roadie, former Neurosis roadie, on vocals.
 * Shrinebuilder - A stoner metal "super group" featuring Scott Kelly.
 * Corrections House - A drone/doom/experimental "super group" featuring Scott Kelly.
 * Mirrors For Psychic Warfare - An experimental noise project featuring Scott Kelly.