Review Summary: A storm of sludge... a blizzard of sludge... a hurricane of sludge. And a classic of metal.
Did you feel the shifts?
The shift in the tempo,
the shift in the style
or the shift in the vision
of the punk-turned-doom act Neurosis?
Was the eerie Wicker Man-inspired album art
a strong enough indication of the change?
Or did we have to wait until we heard
the content within?
The content within, I must state, is terrifying.
Sludge and hellish distortion crush the ears
like a trash compactor;
the songs are longer, the compositions more complex,
and seemingly inching toward the progressive or avant-garde;
"To Crawl Under One's Skin" sets a grim tone,
its creepy intro sample a sinister indicator
of the following horrors;
and what follows?
A brilliant mixture of post-metal, doom metal, post-hardcore,
and sludge metal with enough menace in its tone
to make a seasoned metal fan buckle.
Did you feel the shifts?
Did you experience the sea change?
Listen to the way the acoustic
and electric guitars of the title track
bicker and contrast with one another;
an cold, tenuous relationship
forming a dreary masterpiece of atmosphere
as the bizarrely paced piano chromatics
seal the deal.
Once in a while, the speed picks up
and yet the tension never truly dissipates.
The two chords that encompass most of "Flight"
rely on instrumental textures and tortured vocals
until the acoustic guitar beckons us back to the void.
The content within, I must admit,
never ceases to be draining.
The further you delve into it,
the more it takes from you.
Some quiet moments occur,
such as the acoustic intro to "Stripped,"
but it never feels like a respite.
The heavy moments plow through
like a sledgehammer to the skull
and the reflective moments
are woeful and depressing.
But that's also the beauty.
Souls at Zero is something
of an entrancing horror;
much like
Requiem for a Dream
or
Eternal Darkness;
the vivid hell it portrays is intoxicating.
And just one listen to outro "Empty,"
with its uneasy acoustic melodies
and melancholic electric leads,
and you'll feel both gutted
and wanting to brave
the whole journey again.
Do you feel the shifts?
Did you hear the rise
of a remarkable force
towering over you?
Have you heard
the utterly disgusting majesty
of 90s metal in its prime?
With
Souls at Zero, you'll feel it.
