Neurosis' Scott Kelly's departure from music - a shocking 3-year secret unveiled

I thought the news a year and a half ago about Marko Hietala (Nightwish) leaving the public eye (though he came back recently for a Northern Kings reunion concert) and Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth) splitting from most of his bandmates due to some serious crimes were surprising enough for listeners of those bands. I was not prepared for a member of another one of my favorite bands to end up in a similar fate that happened 3 years before it was announced. It's been confirmed that one of the guitarists/vocalists of Neurosis, Scott Kelly was fired from the band due to his history of domestic abuse towards his family. That happened in 2019, but the band had never announced it because Kelly's family wanted to keep the situation private for the time being. That is, until yesterday as of this post, when he admitted the dark shocking truth on Facebook and ended his music career and left the public scene. A terrible twist in the ongoing story of Neurosis, right?

So here's what I think... I have been a fan of Neurosis since two years ago, thanks to Daniel recommending one of their albums to me and helping expand the then-newly growing post-sludge side of my metal interest. Neurosis have made some of the best post-sludge I've heard alongside Cult of Luna, The Ocean, Isis, and Rosetta. Scott Kelly was also a guest vocalist in songs from many albums by progressive/sludge metal band Mastodon. I was wondering why Neurosis hadn't released an album in 6 years and why Kelly did not do his usual guest vocals in Mastodon's recent album Hushed and Grim. Well, now we know why.

As I said in an earlier post, I'm the kind of person who doesn't put direct association between art and artist. If I'm still listening to that band for a long time when something bad like this is announced, I probably wouldn't give up a band I loved for so long and wouldn't let something like that harm my enjoyment. And if I do stop listening to a band or a number of bands after a long while, it's mostly due to taste change, and that's happened before to me, hasn't it? I'm still stunned that throughout the entire time I was listening to Neurosis, a dark secret was hidden under our noses. I feel sorry for the rest of the band and the family Kelly harmed, and I wish the best for them. The band's legacy may be tainted because of a member whom people now consider an abusive b****rd, but their music has always touched my heart, and I won't turn my back on them...for now.

So what are your thoughts on this predicament? Feel free to discuss, but please try to keep things civil in this thread. It is a very serious topic after all....

I read this with interest yesterday as I had no background to the split from Kelly some three years ago so I was interested to read how this had panned out overall.  The man's a piece of shit no doubt about it, not only for undertaking the activities described but also for not following through on his promise to address the issues he has.  I don't really care from a musical perspective - I won't listen to any Neurosis album any differently and nor would stop listening either - assholes make good music just like non-assholes do.  The issue here is not how this affects some person's listening habits or how if Neurosis will carry on, it is about how Kelly's family can recover hopefully without him around.  I note Neurosis referenced charities in their post, perhaps dropping a couple of coins in their direction is the most positive influence any of us can have on this.

You are right Andi, it is a very serious topic and is one that deserves serious discussion. The thing is that musicians are only human like the rest of us and posses all the qualities and failings that the rest of us possess, so inevitably there will be those whose actions are reprehensible, just as in the wider population. Metal musicians seem to be a particular target for criticism, but there have been many examples of musicians from other, often more accepted, musical spheres who have been bastards too - Phil Spector and Gary Glitter for example. There have also been numerous examples of well-regarded writers, artists and philosophers who were utter twats. In fact, I am such a natural cynic that I would probably be more surprised to find out that egotistical musicians were decent people rather than complete c**ts!

I think it is a mistake to put musicians on a pedestal in the first place. It is unlikely that the reality will ever live up to the expectation, as I say, they are human beings, not saints. The dilemma is for the listener. Does a musician's (or writer's or artist's) actions negate the power or relevance of the work they have produced? Could there be an argument that their flaws are what contributed to their genius in the first place.  I have no desire to defend Kelly or his actions, what he has done sounds awful, but I don't see how that changes a single note from the music he has produced and if it meant something to you yesterday, why wouldn't it still mean something today? If you no longer wished to support such an artist financially by not paying for music or merch then that is fine, but personally I have never been dazzled by "celebrity" and can separate the person from the music fairly easily. 

Here's hoping his family can move on from the toxic influence of such an unpleasant individual.

I wasn't aware of this until now but Scott is one of my absolute favourite vocalists of all time, probably in my top three actually. In fact Neurosis sit amongst the greatest of all time for me too so this is.... well....... very annoying from a selfish musical perspective. Not to mention very sad in others.

At least he's admitting to it.  But this is the kind of behavior that takes time to fully heal.  Hell, Meat Loaf saw three psychiatrists and he still couldn't get over his anger issues (though I don't think consistent family abuse was part of that).  I've worried about the bands status too, but this is the best decision Scotty could have made.  If Neurosis plans on continuing releasing music, they'll probably have to get some younger guy with a powerful voice the same way Alice in Chains did.