When the guitarero of one of Germany’s finest in Post-Metal reviews one of the earliest releases by THE Post-Metal band - then it’s time for us to start a new series - “Records From The Heart”! In this monthly column you will find guest reviews by musicians we love writing about records they love. The first in line is Sebastian Kröckel (Cranial) writing about Enemy Of The Sun by none other than Neurosis!
It’s not easy to pick one favorite album from your record collection and certainly not one for a band like Neurosis. Since each single full length is a unique piece of art, its hard, but I think there is a special one for me personally.
As a teenager I was heavily into Punk and Hardcore – Classic Rock or Metal did not really speak to me. Most of that stuff seemed ridiculous to me, except maybe for Anthrax because they had a special kind of humor. But I also loved bands like Helmet, Ministry or Faith No More or stuff like Pitch Shifter. I always wanted to push my musical journey into more heavy and experimental stuff – this was, when I discovered Souls At Zero by Neurosis. This album marks, at least in my eyes, the transition between Punk/Hardcore and atmospheric heavy music and so Neurosis was a perfect match for me.
But I think the album that had the biggest impact on me and how I still see music, is Enemy Of The Sun by Neurosis. Within these tunes I found everything that spoke to me: perfect gloomy atmosphere, dark melodies and tones, experimental sounds, varied vocals, growls, voice- and noise-samples and heavy riffs without any savage metal-attitude but rooted in Punk/Hardcore. This was before terms like Post-Metal or Blackened Doom popped up – it was just Neurosis.
The bass tone of ”Lost” still gives me goosebumps every time I listen to this song. The intro of ”Raze The Stray” sounds so mystical and not of this world, till that part in the beginning gets destroyed by the guitars and the drums blasting over everything. The samples and the tribal drumming in ”Cleanse” was also something I had never heard before, put together in a context like this. The ambient sounds and noise sample in the song ”Enemy Of The Sun” or the meditative arrangement of bass, drums, violin and horn in ”The Time Of The Beasts” – perfect music for the apocalypse. Songs that merge together and repetitive riffs which always keep me listening with fascination, without getting bored at any second.
I have heard these songs throughout the years over the PA of a discotheque or in between changeovers at a show, through the speakers of my living room or some shitty headphones listening on my bike and this album still crushes me to the floor and lifts me up again.
I saw Neurosis live for the first time when they toured with Through Silver In Blood and over the years a couple of times more and I think they are one the best live bands that ever existed on this planet. Although I have gotten a little disappointed because of the ideological direction some of the members tread these days, and projects with other artists they where involved, Neurosis as a band and Enemy Of The Sun in special, is still very important to me, to this day.
You can listen to Enemy Of The Sun by hitting the button at the top of this page. To find out, if there is some Neurosis in Sebastian’s work with Cranial listen to their latest record Alternate Endings (released in 2019):
