NEUROSIS - Fires Within Fires

Neurosis - Fires Within Fires (2016, Neurot Recordings)

One of the most celebrated and respected Extreme Metal band Neurosis is celebrating their 30 years of existence. I’ve been an avid fan of their music since 15 or so years and I still rock a t-shirt of The Eye of Every Storm to this day. It would be an understatement to say that I was highly expecting this album. Even if Given To The Rising left me a bit cold at times and I thought that Honour Found In Decay had its moments, Fires Within Fires might be their most complete and concise album since their inception.

The occasional Swans reference is omnipresent and as much as I think Neurosis evolved and made masterpieces in the span of Souls at Zero to Times of Grace, 1992 to 1999, they made a niche for themselves and created a subgenre of many nuances.

The five songs on Fires Within Fires are the culmination of ten previous albums and numerous musical explorations. While not being as experimental as the aforementioned Swans, Neurosis never imposed themselves any limits in their music, textures, and ambiances. On ‘’Bending Light’’, the opener, we find the grand Neurosis scheme of heavy riffing that could be a ripoff of Through Silver In Blood. Then, ‘’A Shadow Memory’’ gets a moody guitar and bass undertone with abrasive sounds that accompany a very interesting yet simple rhythm section. The fills are few but they give a strong effect in the song. The instrumental part in ‘’Fire Is The End Lesson’’ is a testimonial of how the band can reach to Swans-like trance moments of no fault sound challenges.

As much as I was anticipating this album I am as much satisfied with it. Fires Within Fires, is in the right vein and comes in a time where the band seems to be looking at what they done and what they brought to the table. However, never they are bringing a nostalgia or a saccharine approach to their music. This is a band that even passing the 30 years mark on the clock that can’t be beaten by time or by a gaze at their own shadows. They seem to always had the gift of stepping aside of the perpetual aging bands of self repeating albums and comfortable formulaic song patterns.

9.0