[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omKId6Lhr3A[/youtube]
Metal Insider contributor Anthony Maisano is listening to a different metal album that was released on that day every day this year. Today, it’s Neurosis with their 1996 album Through Silver and Blood.
When you listen to this album, be prepared for long tracks with a LOT of buildup to them. The shortest non-instrumental track is 5 minutes, but most are 10 minutes plus. The guitar parts are crushing, and there’s a plethora of odd keyboards and synthesizers in the background throughout the album. It’s a bit of a strange album, too. It relies on grooves and flow more than a lot of metal albums do. It’s not really focused on a riff, or a specific piece, instead using a lot of patterns and beats to help each track get where it’s going. People who like rhythm instruments will absolutely love a lot of these patterns and grooves. However, tracks like “Locust Star” still pack an extremely hard punch.
I really hate how the singer sounds like he’s singing through a blown-out speaker on every track. It gets so old so fast, and I really don’t think it adds anything. The longer songs do drag out a lot, too, but whether this is a flaw or not is based on how you see long songs. Fans of the power metal epic might be more accustomed to thinking that a song should only be long if it’s packed tight enough to keep intensity through the whole track, but this is a different style. The tracks are all supposed to take a long time to get where they’re going. The buildup is part of the journey on this album for sure, and the journey here is almost more important than the final destination. However, even having noted the differences, I still think they take a bit TOO long to do so. “Strength of Fates” is the track that I personally think could have been cut down a little bit.
Favorite Tracks: “Purify,” “Locust Star,” “Aeon.”
If you’re someone who likes the journey just as much, if not more, than the destination, I highly recommend you check this album out. A journey is really the best way I can describe these tracks. It’s certainly not a guitarists album, in my opinion. So if you’re looking for an album that is going to hit you with riff after riff, you probably won’t find it here. Check this one out of you like a lot of buildup, and interesting beats and patterns in your songs.
