GIVEN TO THE RISING

Given to the Rising is the 10th full-length studio album by US, California based experimental/ post metal act Neurosis. I´ve been reviewing Neurosis albums from an end over the last couple of years and as a consequence become quite the fan of their dark heavy post metal style. The last three releases by the band A Sun That Never Sets (2001), Neurosis & Jarboe (2003) and The Eye Of Every Storm (2004) have seen the band flirting more and more with post rock elements and clean vocals and allthough all three albums are greatly enjoyable in their own right I have to admit that I miss the relentless aggression of the band´s mid- to late nineties albums. Especially the caustic vocal delivery on Through Silver in Blood (1996) and Times of Grace (1999). Well...times change.

Given to the Rising isn´t a further move into softer post rock territories and a big hell yeah for that. Rather it´s somewhat a return to more aggressive styled raw vocals and heavy riffs. Take it with a grain of salt though as Given to the Rising doesn´t reach the hights of neither Through Silver in Blood nor Times of Grace when it comes to aggression or heavy delivery. The style on Given to the Rising is more a mix of the older aggressive side of the band´s sound and the more recent softer side too. Make no mistake though a Neurosis album is always an extremely heavy and bleak affair. Crushingly heavy guitar riffs, Scott Kelly´s angry vocals, the atmosphere creating sounds by Noah Landis and the excellent rythm section of drummer Jason Roeder and bassist Dave Edwardson. All the parts are there for another great album by Neurosis. As it turns out not all is well but most of the tracks on the album are of high quality. I could have done without the first 4 minutes of ambience in At the End of the Road and Origin also seems to go on forever without much going on but tracks like the title track that opens the album and To the Wind are prime examples of how great Neurosis are when they pull out their best cards.

The production is dark and organic. Very well produced.

Given to the Rising is a good release by Neurosis but I can´t help to notice that the band seem to have run out of creativity and new ideas and while I could listen to many albums yet that sounds like this one without getting tired of Neurosis, I still think it´s time for them to seriously re-think how they want their music to sound on the next release. Given to the Rising lack the creative and innovative spirit of earlier releases and that´s a real shame. Stagnation is sometimes worse than taking chances that might turn out bad. Taking chances at least means that you´re still a creative force to be reckoned with and not a sleeping dinosaur. Still a 3.5 star rating is deserved.