Review Summary: 30+ year old metalheads shed tears of joy
2026 has been a year so far of some killer returns – Karnivool, Converge, Poison The Well. But mother***ing Neurosis is the most shocking so far.
At its core,
An Undying Love For Burning World serves as a reintroduction for Neurosis, not a reinvention. The title alone says a lot about whats driven this return: a declaration of love and devotion but also frustration and need to persevere in a world quickly going to ***. That sense of conflicted purpose is present throughout the lyrics—typically world-weary and introspective, yet determined to create meaning and purpose through sound. While I don’t think this strays into particularly new territory for Neurosis, sonically this album leans into the more sludgey and doomy side of the Neurosis palette. Riffs are usually slow, weighty, and dense. Many tracks follow that classic Neurosis ambient quiet-to-crushing loud format, but if it it ain’t broke, no need to fix it.
Aaron Turner is such a perfect fit here. I love his gruff, harsh roars lock in with the band’s existing vocal interplay, as if he was always meant to be a part of the lineup. The contrast between Turner’s grittier growls and Von Till’s wearier howls is one of the album’s biggest strengths.
The album’s opener,
'We Are Torn Wide Open' is a gruff spoken word piece over these rising electronics. With lines such as
“we’ve forgotten how to live, so we suffer” it really serves to assert the band and album's mission statement. The integration of synths and electronics through the album is really well done and effective, such as the screeching fried synths on
'Mirror Deep'. I really dig how tracks like
'Blind' use ambient synth breaks to give the music space to breathe and strike a more reflective tone, before crashing back into heavier territory. Similarly, I love how
'Seething and Scattered' ends with an escalating storm of swirling distorted electronics over the layers of instrumentation. Very classic Neurosis move, like tracks on
Through Silver in Blood and
The Sun That Never Sets.
Tonnes of sludgey riffing with tracks like
'First Red Rays' swinging between thick heaviness and faster bursts of more energetic playing which absolutely kick ass. Turner’s roars here on this track are especially vicious. The closer,
'Last Light' starts with these low key ambient parts are remind me a lot of
The Eye Of Every Storm, and when the instrumentation hits we then get these clean, light picked guitars on top of the denser layers, it’s probably the least heavy and most melodic track and slowly unfolds into one of the albums most affecting stretches.
But as much as I keep mentioning the sludginess, its not like the whole album moves at a snails pace, there are also moments where the band pushes the tempo, like on
'Untethered', which is more energetic. Many of these tracks like
'Mirror Deep',
'Blind',
'Seething and Scattered' end with these ***ing massive head-banging crushing climaxes that rule.
Despite high great this all is, I will say the formula here of quiet section -> loud section -> quiet section -> etc does get very predictable, long time fans will no doubt feel this is all very familiar, and there aren’t really any curveballs or left field moves here. To my earlier point, this is a reintroduction of what Neurosis do and do so well, rather than a reinvention or bold creative shift. In that sense, the most surprising thing about this record is that is exists.
An Undying Love For Burning World is a stunning return and deeply satisfying comeback from one of metal’s most vital and influential bands. It might not do anything reinvent their formula, but *** it, it doesn’t need to, and it reasserts why that formula shaped an entire genre in the first place. The sludge riffs hit hard, the use of ambience and electronics are super effective in providing both space and some of the more intense moments, and Aaron Turner fits like a glove.
Full video review - https://youtu.be/b_aHFXSJTQI?si=SyynxOG8bB771eQR
