Track Listing
1. Through silver in blood 2. Rehumanize 3. Eye 4. Purify 5. Locust star 6. Strength of fates 7. Become the ocean 8. Aeon 9. Enclosure in flame Year: 1996 Label: Relapse - Official Site |
Neurosis - 'Through silver in blood' - By W. Spurrier
The title of this album comes from the time guitarist Scott Kelly spray painted his squat, and was overcome by the fumes. By listening to 'Through silver...' you're overcome by a simiar toxitity, and an ominous feeling of claustrophopia. At this point in the mid nineties commercial rock was about to enter its creative lowpoint. Although there were some good releases, these were few and far between. Neurosis were a geniune alternative for those of us who liked to be geniunely challenged musically, and by god did they challenge us! The album opens with a cut and paste industrial sound, over the top of which comes an eerie drone. This leads into the main haunting riff of the 11+ minute title song, which ends with a rampant percussive soundscape. The intensity changes to a different field as the spoken word repetitions of 'Rehumanize' made up of various apocalyptic mantras, works its way into your head. One of the only ways of describing how the experience is of listening to 'Through silver...' is that it feels like being dropped into a void. This void engulfs you in the shape of songs like 'Purify' which begins with a quiet piano piece which leads into a beefy Sabbath type riff and ends with tribal percussion over which the bagpipes are played, which odd as it sounds, all works naturally. 'Aeon' was another epic song which worked in a similar way, parts of songs merging gracefully into one another to create a horrific kaleidescope of sound. The album ends with the eerie, drawn out 'Enclosure in flame' a song which sounds like the aftermath of Neurosis's personal apocalypse. This album, although differing and taking different directions from their previous work, is the culmination of their careers vision of creating the soundtrack of the apocalypse, of natures cycles of death and rebirth. But what a realisation of that vision it is! Metal Obsessive Grade: 98% |