Neurosis – Honor Found in Decay

October 30, 2012 • Neurot Recordings

Like just about everyone who regularly listens to sludge metal, I've been a mild fan of Neurosis for quite a long time now. After all, they practically pioneered the genre, how can I not enjoy their music, right? But right now I'm not feeling that at all. Honor Found in Decay sounds exactly like their previous stuff, and that's both a blessing and a curse—it's fine, but also really pointless.

For anyone who's heard the band before, they should know exactly what's coming. It's the same slow, dirgy, heavy, claustrophobic sound, going from crushing doom to quieter post-rock bits—the same thing that's been on every album since Enemy of the Sun in 1993. There's perhaps a slight folky twinge creeping in, thanks to Steve Von Till's and Scott Kelly's solo work, but it has only a small impact on the album's sound. Some song intros and interludes get a bit of that dark acoustic sound from those solo albums (and also from past Neurosis material). Whether it works or not is up for debate; sometimes it does genuinely feel dark and doomy like it should, but other times it's just a bit silly.

The album also seems, maybe, a bit more straightforward than previous albums—their songwriting has always been rather structureless and rambling (something I never liked about them), and it's a bit more comprehensive this time. Just a little bit.

But now, in 2012, Neurosis has almost zero of the same impact that it used to. I had the same problem with 2007's Given to the Rising; I liked it when I heard it, but I don't remember a single thing about it now (aside from the fact that it sounded exactly like a Neurosis album). Honor is the same thing. They've been stuck in the same holding pattern for years... which is good if you like their style, but not so good if you like your favorite bands to evolve and push the envelope a bit.

Sure, Honor is an alright album. It's about as good as anything else they've ever released, more or less. But what's the point? No one needs this. I have a half dozen other Neurosis albums that give me about the same experience. Obviously I never expected this album to be as good as The Eye of Every Storm or Times of Grace, but it feels like a waste of time.

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