Neurosis : An Undying Love for a Burning World
The vernal equinox, a time of change and new beginnings, couldn’t have been a more apt occasion to usher in Neurosis‘ return. After nearly a half-decade of relative quiet, in 2022 the band revealed they had parted ways with longtime vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly three years earlier after learning of his abuse toward his family, which he later admitted. (And which the rest of the band roundly condemned with expressions of “disgust and disappointment.”) This dark cloud hanging overhead left uncertainty about their future, potentially leaving 2016’s Fires Within Fires as their final album.
A decade after that record, the metal legends have returned—not reunited, they clarify, because they never actually broke up. The space left by Kelly is now occupied by Sumac and Isis guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, a legend in his own right, and along with Neurosis co-headlining this year’s Fire in the Mountains Festival, they’ve released An Undying Love For a Burning World, one of the band’s finest performances in years.
Though they began life as a crust punk band, their 1992 album Souls at Zero marked a shift for Neurosis; introducing more stylistic variation into their repertoire, Neurosis’ metal evolved into something greater. They showcased an exploratory spirit, melding sludge with industrial, and electronic ambiance with touches of doom, allowing for complex shades of emotive atmosphere and aggression. And with lyrical subject matter that delves into both personal and societal struggles, Neurosis doesn’t create metal to thrill as much as to confront pain.
That outlook is fundamental to Neurosis’ legacy and their unique form of catharsis. In a statement alongside the record’s release, the band expressed how, in all their personal struggles, and “the stress, anxiety, and isolation” of living in the world right now, “this strange emotionally charged music has always been our method of trying to survive this and this is what we’ve always been singing about.” They don’t hesitate to confront these ideas on An Undying Love For a Burning World, in which the brief opener “We Are Torn Wide Open” finds guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till shouting declarations reflecting humanity’s disconnection to one another and the world around us. “We’ve forgotten how to live so we suffer / We’ve forgotten how to struggle so we suffer / We’ve forgotten how to die so we suffer / We’ve forgotten we are wild so we suffer / We exist in isolation so we suffer.” It establishes a baseline level of earnestness that sets Neurosis apart from metal’s more escapist hordes.
Although much of Neurosis’ sound prominently features their signature, sludgy riffs—as with the pummeling “Mirror Deep”—their versatility in weaving through different styles and the way their compositions unravel ultimately provide consistent, explosive energy and unexpected turns. “Seething and Scattered” begins with an ominous lurch, eventually morphing into stoner metal psychedelia. They never lose their momentum, but they seamlessly shift the shape of their aggression into something new. “Last Light” is similar in this manner, juggling acoustic progressions, noise chaos and electronics to present an exhilarating, enchanting sonic intensity.
Noah Landis’ synthesizers widen the range of the band’s sound and lend more nuance to their emotional presence on Undying Love. Abrupt patterns and electronic effects stir throughout “Blind”; metallic shrieks and whirs of electronic noise play over, and alongside, a blistering thrum, only for the roar to cease, giving way to space filled with a buzzing cacophony. It’s through moments like these where Neurosis achieve a perfect synergy between electronics and metal. Whereas electronics often serve as an avenue to introduce additional melody in metal, for Neurosis it functions more as sound design, enhancing the dimension of their soundscapes.
As a title, An Undying Love For a Burning World is a powerful statement of perseverance. With a keen understanding of the environmental and political disasters facing humanity, they neither avoid the darkness nor accept hopelessness. Lines like “Find our way through the fields we have sown / Light our way through the graves we have known” (“Blind”) acknowledge the inevitability of hard times, but likewise that we’re capable of making it through to the other side. Similarly, in addressing the horrors of climate change on “Last Light,” they draw our attention to the destruction that’s been done, but also to understanding it’s not too late to protect the earth. “Knowing our days / No longer dream / Our winter’s long / Tears the light away / What have we done / To our own, Our own native clay.”
Neurosis further strengthen their legacy with An Undying Love For a Burning World, a welcome and necessary new chapter in their more-than-40-year run. It’s one of Neurosis’ most emotional records, juxtaposing messages of hope and anguish, serene and devastating sounds. An Undying Love is intense and beautiful, a showcase for heavy music’s ability to provide hope in a dark world.
Label: Neurot
Year: 2026
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Neurosis : An Undying Love for a Burning World
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Hmmm.For all the love you’ve given to neurosis all these years,i thought this review would be a bit more fletched out for some reason.
I really feel that neurosis is going back to their roots.Maybe hard times call for this change.Still some beautiful things were said.Thank you😌