Neurosis

Given To The Rising

[4/5]

Back in 2001, Neurosis were beyond reproach: They seemed to eat Joseph Campbell books for breakfast each morning and shit psychedelic dirge masterpieces every afternoon. Beginning with 1996’s Through Silver In Blood, they released three landmark albums in the span of five years and spurred a small cadre of future heavyweights like Mastodon, Isis and Cult Of Luna. But when 2004’s The Eye Of Every Storm came up slightly soft and underwhelming, it appeared our seminal post-metal heroes were maybe, somehow, losing their apocalyptic fire. Turns out they just misplaced their matches for a second: Given To The Rising, the band’s ninth full-length, is the Neurosis that begat those aforementioned sonic sons; the Neurosis that imbues their own impossibly epic ruminations with a near-biblical sense of high drama; the Neurosis that pronounces weighty folkloric invocations over lurching, swirling power dirges; the band who stand as modern metal’s equivalent of Pink Floyd. So call it “a return to form” if you want-we’re going with “pretty fucking awesome.” (NEUROT) J. Bennett