Review Summary: Another chapter of a fascinating discography
9 of 9 thought this review was well written At the time of release, Neurosis’ discography was already becoming a force to be reckoned with; they had the chilling
Souls at Zero, the primitively heavy – and quite frankly bizarre –
Enemy of the Sun and the colossal
Through Silver in Blood securely under their belt. The evolution between these three albums offers a pointer as to what might be expected from
Times of Grace; the emphasis gradually shifted from a consistently scathing sound towards a sludge-fueled powerhouse that relied on contrasting dynamics, which was half-realized on
Enemy of the Sun and mastered on
Through Silver in Blood. The logical next step for Neurosis would be to take this sound, which they could now deploy to its full effect, and make it more interesting by adding depth and experimenting with new ideas, and this is exactly what happened with
Times of Grace.
The musical theme of
Through Silver in Blood - using sinister, soft moments to lead up to crushingly heavy climaxes – is used here, but sounds far more polished and smooth; songs such as
Enclosure in Flame would have great contrast between soft and heavy, but songs here – for example
Under the Surface- seem to flow for one phase to another much more naturally. The fact that the contrast is no longer as large as before means that the full power of
Times of Grace takes a while to sink in, so that it requires several listens to really appreciate (this is the case for all Neurosis albums, but is especially true here).
Another cause for the necessity of repeat listens is that there are a lot of different ideas going on here; from the all-out chugfest of
The Doorway to the threatening tension of
Belief to the astoundingly peaceful (for the most part) nature of
Away,
Times of Grace shows that Neurosis are still characteristically prepared to experiment with different ideas, many of which result in a sound that is actually relaxing (
Suspended in Light and
Exist are prime examples); anyone familiar with the preceding albums can testify that this is something completely unexpected from Neurosis, and it is very successful, since it adds a new dimension to their music and makes the album more multi-faceted. Further proof of the album’s depth and subtlety can be found in the accompanying album
Grace from side-project
Tribes of Neurot, which is a surreally haunting demonstration of ambiance that was written to be played alongside
Times of Grace and enhance it.
When one listens to
Times of Grace enough times to gain a rough understanding of it, the rewards are great; since there are neither any weak tracks nor anything outstanding, it is a very consistent experience that allows the listener to savour each track whilst still looking forward to the others, and when both the variety between songs and their cohesion is considered alongside this it becomes something rather special. Although, as I said, there are no tracks that massively overshadow the others, highlights include the crushing
The Doorway, the devastatingly bleak
End of the Harvest, the tribally pummeling
title track and the apocalyptically powerful
The Last You’ll Know. The instrumental bookends
Suspended in Light and
The Road to Sovereignty are a nice touch that gives the album a real sense of completion and existence as a cohesive whole, and the interludes
Exist and
Descent are poignantly positioned, so as to be as interesting and vital to the album as a whole as the other tracks.
In terms of flaws, there is little that can be objectively said; this is a Neurosis album, so it is not for everyone, and it is hard to criticize music that one appreciates for being discordant, chaotic and generally abrasive. However, the range of ideas may seem overwhelming to some, it is inaccessible and demands the listener’s full attention (some may not consider this a flaw, but it is hardly a benefit) and
Away can drag a little bit sometimes. That’s it; I recommend this to anyone prepared to spend some serious time listening to it.
Pros
Diverse
Cohesive
Crushing
Cons
Inaccessible
Demands full attention
Away can drag sometimes
Best tracks
The Doorway
End of the Harvest
The Last You’ll Know
Times of Grace
