Neurosis (USA) - A Sun That Never Sets (2001)^{Release ID: 342}

A Sun That Never Sets is a relatively subdued album by Neurosis standards. Not only is it quite slow and doomy, but it also has many sections of very restrained instrumentation where the guitars become quiet. Post-Rock and Neofolk are woven between the grander Atmosludge sections, fostering a more minimal sound. Of course the miserable industrial atmosphere remains, but it is one of the “calmer” Neurosis albums, if you can say that.

Most Neurosis albums have a bit of a theme running through them, and this one has constant ties to nature and the sun (this being the second Neurosis album named after center of the solar system). Although they are rather cryptic, there’s a constant feeling of epic grandeur set to the beautiful planet burning to the ground. Mythological apocalypse style.

On this album yet again, Neurosis fall into the same problem I’ve had with all their albums (Except Souls at Zero which was a masterpiece). They craft some really incredible moments, such as the bagpipe-backed crescendos in “From The Hill,” but the issue is they take forever getting there. The band will mull around with some boring, lethargic riff that doesn’t do anything for minutes before they get to anything good. And some of the songs don’t even have a nice payoff. The album ends up feeling very bloated.

At this point in their career, the band are pros at layering dense atmosphere of industrial sludgy madness, and in that area they never fail. The song are rich and mixed well, with many atmospheric effects only revealing themselves after many listens. This adds a great relisten-ability factor, and helps detract from the, at times, boring simplicity of the main instrumentation.

Still though, most of these songs could have been cut in half, or simply need way better riffs or melodies to succeed. A solid release, but its own meandering holds it back.