Warthur Aside from a collaboration with Jarboe, this is the first Neurosis album to have come out since A Sun That Never Sets, and the sludge metal had changed substantially since then with acts like Isis issuing incredible albums like Oceanic to challenge Neurosis for the subgenre's crown (and Cult of Luna were fast becoming strong challengers too). Here, Neurosis double down on the bleak direction set by the preceding work, though if Steve Von Till was responsible for "filters and textures" I can't help but wonder whether a different hand on the tiller might have been called for, since much of the album's textures feel kind of off to me to an extent I find distracting. (In particular, the vocals sound thin and weak to me.)

The Angry Scotsman With this album Neurosis takes a more standard post metal sound, though you can't knock the band for that, since they invented the sound.

I actually prefer newer Neurosis over old, simply put: atmosphere over aggression (as one person once told me). Of course atmosphere has been a Neurosis staple since '92, they've been belting out lengthy, atmospheric metal long before Isis or even Tool, but on "The Eye of Every Storm" they adopt a more heavy/light interplay style, and is greatly subdued. Their bludgeoning, sludgy guitar dirges are still around, but just much less. Neurosis has no problem utilizing melodic passages, and even minimalism.

Opening track "Burn" and "The Eye of Every Storm" have lengthy movements that are almost solely vocals, the latter being backed up a continuous "wub", psychedelic noises and splashes of guitar.

These two being standout tracks. "Burn" is, again, pretty standard post metal, though so well done. Heavy/light transitions, building to a powerful climax. His gruff, sludge metal vocals are so fitting...he does it in a more "singing" style and over soft, beautiful music it creates such an emotional, tortured feeling. Awesome song.

"The Eye of Every Storm" moves like a storm, gradually rolling in until it reaches a real moving part, before entering a long quiet section. A baritone talking takes the forefront, as mentioned earlier, backed up by various trippy noises. Really let it sink in, what he's saying, the ambiance, everything.

Another brilliant song is "Bridges". A steady, (though very distant) punk drum beat carries on while sparse piano, vocals, and fluttering psychedelic noises take the forefront. Picks up a bit before a schizo journey of drones and borderline silence takes over. Both parts are awesome, though it takes some patience to grasp all the subtlety in the quiet (on casual listen it'll sound like honest silence) before a rockin ending. Atmospheric, post metal to the nth degree.

That's really how to best describe whole album. A lot of quiet, spaced with heavy, (in their classic slow, even droning, nature) tons of little detail. Pretty heavy use of synth, though it's never prominent, just filler...another piece you may not hear at first but adds another dimension.

The vocals are still Neurosis' strained, sludge metal style though even here more subdued. He still lets it soar, but all the time and while I was never a huge fan, I like it much more here. The restraint does well, and of course makes it more powerful when he takes off.

No doubt, like most of the bands work this is a difficult album. Even I struggle a bit with some Neurosis. "The Eye of Every Storm" requires some patience and a fine ear. It's not the best for casual listening, as the long quiet parts would have to be boring, this is best for active listening. To really feel this albums power and absorb all the subtle songwriting it's best to sit down, do nothing, and let the album take you over. I like to put it on early morning after I wake up, sitting there relaxed playing this album, or doing so whenever I have some nice down time.

While it's extremely well done, the album is a tad formulaic and it's difficulty may be a turn off, (though I found it easier to get into then old school, crushing Neurosis). The gods of post metal have done it again, putting out a unique and superb post metal album.

Four Stars

Phonebook Eater 7/10

"The Eye Of Every Storm" is a dissonantly melodic, meditative, and thought-provoking experience.

Recognized as one of the the greatest metal bands of the past twenty years, Neurosis didn’t have to prove much, but they once again proved that they’re the kings of Sludge Metal, with 2004’s “The Eye Of Every Storm”, eight years after “Through Silver In Blood”. This 2004 release is in my book the second part of the trilogy that concludes Neurosis’s career, the first part being “A Sun That Never Sets” and the last one “Given To The Rising”. There is a small release in the middle of the trilogy, but I tend to forget about it.

In 2001 the band had significantly changed direction in their sound, going for a more experimental approach, using more interesting sounds and samples and turning down the volume. “The Eye Of Every Storm” continues towards that path, using less strange sounds and focusing much more on the guitar textures, very frequently clean. Of course in both these albums Neurosis manage to get pretty darn heavy, but not as much as they did in the earlier days. Also, I couldn’t help noticing that on this more recent release they are less build-ups, and more atmosphere. Clean, undistorted atmosphere, it almost sounds like Post-rock most of the time. The vocals are less aggressive, but still have a rough delivery, sounding frankly like a sort of animal that is whispering in pain. I’m not crazy about this kind of singing, I rather hear Scott Kelly burst in rage like he did previously. The songwriting is good, and the structure of these songs seems a little sparse but very stretched out, almost like if the ideas were all floating around in a pretty long fragment of time, as if they were echoing endlessly in space, dissonantly.

Dark tones are pretty much dominant, thanks also to the samples, which are much less used but when they are they play a great role. There’s a good handful of repetition, which seems to overcome the climaxes, and in this way it still manages, once again, to be an Atmospheric Sludge Metal release for Neurosis. However this way the tracks always are at the same tone, without increasing it or decreasing it, which makes the listen a little flat at times. The distortion is very present and is inevitable to miss, as it has a more ambient use to it, so again we have another factor that makes “The Eye Of Every Storm” particularly influenced by Post-Rock.

But these songs are never boring. They always manage to be very fascinating sounding, even though after a while the album gets a little too long for this kind of music. Even some of the songs are a little too stretched out; the title track to me is decent but nothing more, and it goes on for what seems like forever. The other epic song “Bridges” is much more interesting and fascinating, with great sampling and electronics. There are songs, though, that build, “No River To Take Me Home” and even more in “Bridges In The Sky”, both very good tracks. The songs in the core of the album are good as well, they have certainly their moments. But the closer “I Can See You” is a dreadful song, the song that has the most emotion, that is probably the most mysterious as well.

This album may not be a good introduction to the band, but it is a great release for Sludge Metal, a definite must if you like this genre, and also an essential addiction to any Neurosis fan.

Conor Fynes 'The Eye Of Every Storm' - Neurosis (5/10)

Widely held to be one of the cornerstones in the post-metal world, the reputation and legendary status of Neurosis is not in question here. Along with Isis, the band innovated a genre which has now legions of adherents behind it. As with many great bands though, the sound most often changes, or develops from album to album. Ideally, this sound either reivents the band's existing sound into something even more exciting, or changes things up completely, for better or worse. In Neurosis' case with 'The Eye Of Every Storm', the sound has certainly become more mature from their earlier work. However, while the essence of the band is here, Neurosis seems to lack the same intensity and excitement that initially drew me into the band.

Topping seventy minutes in length, one can expect Neurosis to be in this for the long haul; 'The Eye Of Every Storm' is a record that certainly tests the patience of the listener. The ideas are drawn out, and often there will be large breaks from the more metal leaning moments. In fact, the greater part of 'The Eye Of Every Storm' relies moreso on a sombre mellow sound that keeps the same introspective and brooding vibe, but conveys it in a very different light. More often than not, the sludgy guitar textures are exchanged for electronic atmospherics, or minimalistic instrumentation. For these long winded passages, the focus is almost entirely on the gravelly voice of Scott Kelly, of whom this almost feels like a solo album. Much of what 'The Eye Of Every Storm' has to offer revolves around Kelly's distinctive vocals, at times belting but- in the case of this album particularly- resorting to a very sombre croon. Granted that the man's voice is not for anyone, but the really deadpan and rough delivery throughout the most mellow parts does wear thin regardless.

Where Neurosis still strikes gold is with the heavier metal sections, but most of all, the lyrics. Based on what has already been said about Kelly's voice being the centrepiece of the album, the lyrics become that much more important. Although the music often borders on stagnation, there is the sense that this is the work of a weathered poet; rough emotion etches through almost every verse, and it makes 'The Eye Of Every Storm' a surprisingly contemplative effort from these experienced post-metallers. The 'metal' moments here are fairly few and far between, but given the mellowness of the rest of the music here, the dynamics do get more powerful than they would be otherwise, and Neurosis still has a penchant for tasty guitar textures intact.

A disappointing album in some respects, but a reaffirming one in others. All the same, Neurosis has no lack of ambition here, and although the music may not be as enjoyable to me as I was hoping it to, I can still hear the artistic passion in the work of this band.

Doomster (Originally written for the Encylopedia Metallum.)

Neurosis are a band whom needs no introduction within the underground metal scene. Having been pumping out music for over 20 years, including stellar albums such as the agressive, apocalyptic monster that was "Through Silver In Blood" (often hailed as the band's magnum opus), the foreboding, folk rock-ish "A Sun That Never Sets" and the unforgettable gigantic slab of noise that was "Enemy of the Sun". Neurosis also go through a process which all bands must go through in their lives - evolution. Sometimes, so called evolution can be disastrous - let's not discuss Metallica, shall we? But for Neurosis, evolution is an important part of the band's sound. They began as a hardcore punk band in the mid to late 80's, knocking out two agressive thrashing punk albums, "Pain of Mind" and "Word as Law". Later on, the band first showed the world their true genious with "Souls at Zero", followed by quite possibly the two most foreboding records you will ever hear - the aforomentioned "Enemy of the Sun" and "Through Silver in Blood". After a three year hiatus following the release of "A Sun That Never Sets", the Californian post-metal pioneers finally rearrived in 2004 with their massive 8th album "The Eye of Every Storm".

To many long time Neurosis fans, this album was a shock. Neurosis had explored their softer sounds on "A Sun That Never Sets", but this album is their most experimental to date, which is saying much for Neurosis. With this album, Neurosis have managed to successfully blend extreme heaviness with soothing ambience and melancholy. The opening track, "Burn", which is rather upbeat (for a Neurosis song, anyway), immediately kicks the listener into submission with tribal drumming, grunge-ish guitar riffs, and the gritty, angsty vocals of frontman Scott Kelly. This continues on for a short while, but then around the 3 minute mark the song finally dies down to be replaced by soft drumming barely playing in the background and some ambient sounds with Scott Kelly continuing to chant in his accented, almost spoken-word vocals, and once again the song kicks your ass, then stops again, and so on and so forth.

I also spent alot of time on Kelly's vocals - compared to other Neurosis albums, where he sung in an ear shattering, throat rupturing hardcore-esque and wholly honest scream, he does alot of beautiful gritty clean singing on this album. Neurosis fans need not worry, though - Scott still gives off the occasional scream once in a while, but besides this, he will likely still be able to please the most avid TSIB fans with his honest and captivating clean-style. The title-track, "The Eye Of Every Storm", is the pinnacle of the album. It's the title-track and longest song (11:58) for a good reason. There is much experimentation on this song, and is one of the softer of the 8 songs. The first line Kelly musters is the inspiring "A wind carries your scent to those who will find you out". This song has an even more post-rockish sound than some of the other songs on this album, and would not be shunned on an Explosions in the Sky album. Around the 5 minute mark, everything stops dead in it's tracks to be replaced by a deep humming sound, followed by the lone vocals of Kelly, who suddenly barks out at 6:22 - "Now oath breaker sinks low!" The band finally aches back in with their post-rockish sound at the 9 minute mark. The song finally climaxes at the 10:12 mark, and from then on, it becomes some of the greatest post-rock/metal riffing you will ever hear. There is another 11+ minute epic somewhere later on in this album, entitled "Bridges" but I don't think it musters up as much emotion as the aforomentioned title track, though "Bridges" is still a great song in itself.

The title track isn't the only highlight here, though. The closing track, "I Can See You" is a great way to end the album - a thought-provoking, deeply saddening tale of the loss of a loved one. Here Kelly sings to his fullest in all the song's heart wrenching glory. Like many other tracks on this album, it lulls you into a soothing trance within the first few minutes, and then cruelly pushes you down the next, repeating the proccess.

Beauty, passion, emotion, and heart are not usually the things a person looks for in metal music, and would make one question if it is actually metal music in the first place, if it were to be casually described in words. But no - Neurosis is 100% metal, but like any good underground musician refuse to stray into the stereotypes of metal music. Neurosis, despite having changed their sound so much over the years, have always remained a consistent and powerful band who honestly and truly care about their music. While albums like "Through Silver in Blood" and "Enemy Of The Sun" may be the most glorified by other fans of this band, and while they are both great album, they are unparralled compared to the beauty, scale and passion of "The Eye of Every Storm". Personal album highlights: "The Eye of Every Storm", "I Can See You", "A Season In The Sky".