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TIMES OF GRACE

Neurosis

Experimental/Post Metal


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Neurosis Times Of Grace album cover
3.78 | 84 ratings | 6 reviews | 31% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
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Studio Album, released in 1999

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Suspended In Light (1:59)
2. The Doorway (7:35)
3. Under The Surface (8:37)
4. The Last You'll Know (9:14)
5. Belief (5:55)
6. Exist (1:41)
7. End Of The Harvest (7:28)
8. Descent (2:57)
9. Away (9:35)
10. Times Of Grace (7:22)
11. The Road To Sovereignty (3:39)

Total time 66:02

Line-up / Musicians

- Scott Kelly / guitar, percussion, vocals
- Steve Von Till / guitar, percussion, vocals
- Noah Landis / keyboards, sound Fx & samples
- Dave Edwardson / bass, Moog, vocals
- Jason James / drums, percussion

With:
- Kris Force / violin, viola
- Jackie Gratz / cello
- John Goff / bagpipe
- Jon Birdsong / cornet, tuba
- Johannes Mager / trombone
- Wendy-O Matik / narration

Releases information

Artwork: Bob McDonald (carving)

CD Relapse Records ‎- RR 6419-2 (1999, US)

Thanks to avestin for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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NEUROSIS Times Of Grace ratings distribution


3.78
(84 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(31%)
31%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(39%)
39%
Good, but non-essential (17%)
17%
Collectors/fans only (10%)
10%
Poor. Only for completionists (4%)
4%

NEUROSIS Times Of Grace reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Times of Grace is the sixth studio album from US experimental and doomy metal act Neurosis. I rated the predecessor called Through Silver in Blood ( 1996) 5 stars. I really think itīs a great intense and angry album with many layers and qualities. So I was a bit anxious as to how Times of Grace would sound. After listening to an album that you feel is a masterpiece most bands dissapoint with their next release. Thatīs definitely not the case with Times of Grace which is an excellent album and not a disappointment at all even though it doesnīt quite reach the hights of Through Silver in Blood IMO.

The music is still unmistakably Neurosis and weīre treated with angry, heavy, doomy and intense metal. The tribal like drumming has been toned down a bit and there are a few more clean vocals but other than that Neurosis sound just like they did on the last two albums. The experimental side of the band is of course why they are here on PA and itīs as present as ever. The use of bagpipes is one of the progressive features I noticed. But I also think I hear some brass ( maybe flugelhorn?) and cello as well. The elements are additions to the trademark Neurosis sound though. Not defining for the sound. Another experimental feature is the unconventional structure of the songs which is something I greatly enjoy. Neurosis excel in doomy and bleak landscapes of anger and frustration. They emphasise emotion rather than complex playing. So donīt expect to find anything that will satisfy your craving for fast and complex metal riffing on Times of Grace.

Itīs actually one of the reasons why it has taken me almost ten years and several tries in those years before I found the charm in Neurosis music. Times of Grace was the first album I heard from the band and I was instantly let down. I just didnīt get it at all. Sure there were some interesting elements in their music but why was this band so legendary ? Neurosis have been creeping in on me in those ten years though and Iīm so happy they did. Itīs all about atmosphere and dark emotions.

The songs are generally crushingly heavy and the very dirty/ raw production makes the music sound particularly primitive at times. This is of course on purpose and once you start digging youīll discover more layers in the noisy riffing and sometimes even some very melodic and memorable parts. Songs like The Doorway, Under The Surface, The Last Youīll Know and End of the Harvest are good examples of the really heavy songs on the album while songs like Belief and Away shows the more melodic side of the band. The songs are generally pretty long ( between 6 and 9 minutes) with a few exceptions in the four shorter instrumental tracks Suspended In Light, Exist, Descent and The Road To Sovereignty.

As a side note Neurosis ambient/ experimental side project Tribes of Neurot ( which includes all members of Neurosis along with additional musicians) released the album Grace ( 1999) alongside Times of Grace. The two albums are meant to be played simultaneously which should give a special listening experience. Iīm not sure how this can be done technically but I would really like to try this one day.

The musicianship is excellent. Donīt make the mistake of thinking these guys canīt play because the pace is so slow. There are plenty of fierce playing on display here.

The production has been somewhat of an issue for me but after listening to the album many times Iīm really happy with the noisy and raw sound that Steve Albini has crafted. The sound is very stripped down and as a consequence the music sounds much more primitive than on previous albums.

Iīve been giving it a lot of thought what rate I should give Times of Grace. For a long time I considered giving the album 5 stars as I really feel the album is worth more than a 4 star rating. On the other hand Iīm a bit hesitant and thatīs enough for me to only give Times of Grace a 4 star rating. Iīll come back and re-evaluate some time in the future though. Given the test of time this might be a masterpiece after all. Itīs a very recommendable album but not the place to start for new fans of the band. I would start with Through Silver in Blood which is just a notch more polished and accessible.

Review by Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Neurosis has never been known to make soothing relaxation music, but this time it looks like they intentionally wanted to make it as hard as possible to get into their music. Times of Grace is easily their harshest and rawest album so far. The sound is dirty and almost demo like and what little they used to offer in melody has been stripped down.

They didn't economize on the songwriting though. This slab of angst ridden doom is not less then 66 minutes long and each of the tracks crushes along with thick sludge riffs, intense vocals and unique ambient background arrangements. The tribal percussion that Neurosis used a lot on previous album has all but disappeared. Also the more upbeat tracks are absent, making this into a slow plodding and incredibly dense album.

Because of its hermetic and daunting nature, I prefer to take this album in smaller chunks, usually starting with Belief and continuing with some of the album's strongest cuts like End Of The Harvest and Away. If you would still not be convinced of the huge influence of Neurosis on post-metal bands like Isis and Cult of Luna, then End of The Harvest should sure dissolve any remaining doubts.

On many occasions it has the outlook of a masterpiece, but as a whole it's too tough, difficult and bleak to have much appeal outside of the fanbase. For the occasional bystander I would much recommend Times Of Grace and Souls At Zero. 3.5 stars.

Review by EatThatPhonebook
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 8/10

"Times Of Grace" is the most spiritual, mystical, but also the most abrasive Neurosis album yet.

"Times Of Grace" is the fourth album of seminal Sludge Metal band Neurosis, the follow up to the masterpiece of theirs and even of the genre as a whole, "Through Silver In Blood". It is quite hard after such a release to keep the expectations as high. But "Times Of Grace", even though it is not as good, is a fantastically executed release, that many people controversially consider their ultimate masterpiece, but I do see why some would love this album as much as these fans do.

Abandoning the huge, smothered reverb of "Silver In Blood", ToG has a much more rough, distorted, sludgy sound, but also more straightforward and maybe not quite as ambitious. The result of this is a claustrophobic sound that is just as scary as the previous album. But the experimentation is very present, with again some unusual instruments for metal here and there, as well as some strange sound effects that accompany the songs, most of them unrecognizable samples. Guitar effects also abound quite a bit, but in a much different way from TSiB.

I've always noticed in Neurosis's music this distorted, almost spiritual feel that makes the band so special sounding; starting from "Souls At Zero", the band always were writing music as it seemed like it was intended to be the soundtrack of a shamanic ritual of native people from South America or something. A very primitive and visceral feel is always felt in their music, but I do think this album in particular is somewhat more spiritual and mystic."Times Of Grace", because of its sound, is an immensely proud album, that always keeps heads up. however, it has its humble moments,meaning moments of shattered beauty, that surprise the listener very much. But these calmer moments are really dreadful and dramatic sounding, in a good way; the vocals of Scott Kelly, are and have always been full of pain, and on this album he proves it like he never did before. The album is quite solid, the more straight- forward structure of the tracks make this characteristic very easy to detect; there are definitely less-build ups, thus most of the time they start fierce and go straight to the point, but of course exceptions are always made. This album remains quite atmospheric because of the experimentation surrounding it and the always used repetition, and so Atmospheric Sludge Metal once again is a great and accurate way to define Neurosis's music.

The songs for me are almost always great, starting from "The Doorway", probably the most intense and abrasive song here. "The Last You'll Know" might be my favorite of the album, its also the most epic track here, and quite possibly the most beautiful too, while "Belief" is the essence of Sludge Metal and the most atmospheric track, and "Away" is comparable to "Strength Of Fates" from their previous album, being a huge build up to a quite intense piece that takes place only in the last few minutes. The title track is also a powerful and crunchy song that is worth mentioning. Even the interludes are very well done, and should not be underrated; they're always somewhat hypnotic, and very interesting in their nature.

A splendid release, something that is essential to listen to if you're into Sludge Metal. One of Neurosis' most personal albums, full of character and spirit, and that sometimes all you need for an album to work.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
4 stars After releasing their landmark "Through Silver In Blood," NEUROSIS was a much better known act after touring with Pantera and continuing their mind blowing pioneering efforts in the world of post metal and sludge. The temptation to create a sequel to "Silver" had to have been intense but once again NEUROSIS proved that you can continuously move on into new musical territories and create something new out of the old. Such is the case with their sixth full album TIMES OF GRACE. Although this is clearly endowed with much of the sludgery of the past, it is a clear attempt to mellow things down a bit. In fact all throughout the 90s NEUROSIS was also producing ambient music under the name Tribes Of Neurot, which included all the band members and other musicians not in NEUROSIS and the band had always added some of their ambient electronic wizardry to their metal releases but on this album they add even more and this album was actually designed to be heard side by side with the "Grace" album by their Tribes Of Neurot project.

TIMES OF GRACE delivers much more of a post-rock feel than a sludge assault and although there are still remnants of the frenetic tribal drumming on the "Under The Surface," we get a much calmer and simplified drumming style on this album reminding me more of bands like Isis or Pelican. The intro track "Suspended In Light" is a full-on ambient number and the electronic background soundscapes continue throughout the entire run. The guitars seem to me to sound more like grunge at times. By the time we get to some of the later tracks like "Away" it sounds like the album totally morphed into the post-rock world with little metal at all being heard. The slow recurring clean guitar sounds with the slow hypnotic drumming and mournful violins sound more like A Silver Mt Zion release than the NEUROSIS of yesteryear.

The result of this toning down meant that this album took longer to grow on me than the preceding ones that immediately blow the roof off the house. The rewards are more subtle and require patience. I have only started to warm up to this album lately. It has always been one of my lesser favorites of their outstanding output. One of the things i really love about NEUROSIS has been the frenetic drumming and pummeling sludgery so i had to learn how to appreciate this one on a whole different level. That i have learned how to do but despite warming up to this release i still like it less than most others. NEUROSIS have always been pioneers with their bold experimentation but here they don't seem to really add anything new to these particular sounds, they just mix it up a bit. That is fine and dandy and it really is good for what it is but they spoiled me and i was expecting more. Luckily this was just a rest stop on the musical highway and other than on the EP "Sovereign" they would move on to new musical pastures.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Although it can be enhanced by listening in synch with the Tribes of Neurot album "Grace", even by itself Times of Grace is still an extremely solid followup to Through Silver In Blood which builds on the atmospheric sludge metal sound of that album impressively. The title track's titanic closing riffs melting away to reveal the plaintive brass instrumentation of album closer The Road to Sovereignty is a particular revelation. Between this and its predecessor, I would actually give this one the edge and say that it's the best release since the magnificent, genre-defining Souls At Zero. (Those especially keen to try the "Grace" experiment may want to bear in mind that a compilation of both albums was issued for your ease of buying.)

Latest members reviews

3 stars I used to listen to this a lot when I was in high school. After owning it for a while I sold it, but now I wish I still had it. I've since downloaded the album to re-evaluate it, and it's not too bad. I'm not particularly keen on this sort of music, but Neurosis create an interesting and dark ... (read more)

Report this review (#149623) | Posted by Mr. Punch | Thursday, November 8, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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