Neurosis' first release on their own label, Neurot, is one of those things that falls between album and EP: four songs that add up to 32 minutes.
Produced by Steve Albini, the usual approach is to start with low, gloomy riffs, sometimes bass-heavy and sometimes synthesizer flutters, then build to crescendos of roiling noise rock as sandpaper-textured vocals bellow hard-to-comprehend lyrics.
Whether you can comprehend the words or not, you can bet they're not on the sunny side; angst and desperation are the defining moods.
Just suppose, for the sake of argument, that this style was a radical break from rock traditions when it first became common in indie rock in the 1980s.
Even if so, it's a vision that is not just no longer fresh -- within the context of Neurosis' 15-year career (at the time of this release), or within indie rock as a whole -- but is itself a tradition, and one that isn't as shocking or innovative as it seems to think it is.
It's primarily a release for the converted fan, and therefore it makes sense that there are extras that devotees will most appreciate: a CD-ROM multimedia section with impressive (and grim) superimposed film clips, and access to a members-only part of Neurosis' official website, through which bonus tracks can be downloaded.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PrayerNeurosis | Neurosis | Play | 07:25 | 16 MB | 38 MB |
| 2 | An OfferingNeurosis | Neurosis | Play | 07:50 | 17 MB | 52 MB |
| 3 | FloodNeurosis | Neurosis | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | SovereignNeurosis | Neurosis | Play | 13:15 | 30 MB | 83 MB |
| 32 mins | 74 MB | |||||
| 32 mins | 198 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Albini | Engineer |
| 2 | Jon Birdsong | Cornet, Tuba |
| 3 | Jeff Byrd | Engineer |
| 4 | Dave Edwardson | Bass, Moog Synthesizer, Voices |
| 5 | Kris Force | Violin |
| 6 | Scott Kelly | Guitar, Percussion, Voices |
| 7 | Noah Landis | Engineer, Keyboards, Sampling, Sound Manipulation, Voices |
| 8 | Johannes Mager | Trombone |
| 9 | Neurosis | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Greg Norman | Engineer |
| 11 | Jason Roeder | Drums, Percussion |
| 12 | Aaron Turner | Construction, Design |
| 13 | Steve Von Till | Guitar, Percussion, Voices |
| 14 | Markus Wolff | Artwork |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |