HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Through Silver in Blood – Neurosis
With the 30th anniversary celebration of the seminal NEUROSIS album Through Silver in Blood celebrated in April, the band stunned the music world by announcing their return after a long hiatus and even better, a surprise new album in An Undying Love For A Burning World and rightfully took to their throne again as masters of apocalyptic and forward thinking extreme music.
It seems very fitting that this latest album seems like a direct successor to Through Silver in Blood, as that album raised NEUROSIS to a whole new level. Although it undeniably remained their constantly in spirit, attitude and outlook, it allowed the band to grow beyond their hardcore/crust punk underground roots to become their own unique being.
Those hardcore roots began with 1987’s Pain Of Mind, released on Alchemy Records originally, before being reissued by Alternative Tentacles, the label headed by DEAD KENNEDYS singer and firebrand Jello Biafra in 1990. The same year saw the release of The Word As Law via Lookout! Records, the label that not only brought out OPERATION IVY’s sole record but also the first two Green Day albums.
The band’s next two albums, 1992’s Souls At Zero and 1993’s Enemy Of The Sun (both on Alternative Tentacles), saw a further experimentation with their music. Songs became slower and more epic, incorporating industrial and sludge metal influences into their dense sound, and the results were nothing short of immense, with the bands live shows hypnotising audiences in tandem.
With NEUROSIS undoubtedly making waves to this point, what happened next was utterly seismic – especially for a band who were still underground. Signing to Relapse Records – which as a record label is now legendary but was just establishing at that time – gave them the chance to reach a new audience, all while still retaining their integrity in every way possible.
Recorded in late 1995 in Brilliant Studios and Coast Studios in Oakland with producer Billy Anderson, NEURORIS with their now core lineup of Steve Von Till (guitar, vocals, percussion), Scott Kelly (guitar, vocals, percussion), Noah Landis (keyboards, synthesizer, sampling), Dave Edwardson (bass guitar, vocals), Jason Roeder (drums, percussion) and Pete Inc (visuals) drew on their past but looked to the future at the same time and created an instant classic, one that would redefine what would now be described as post-metal.
With a hardcore influence morphed beyond all recognition, but still in there in all its raging glory, mixed with intense forms of sludge, crushing industrial noise, vast soundscapes and mesmerising tribal drumming, this was an album that captured that intense live show perfectly. But at the same time it stood absolutely on its own as nothing short of a work of art. And talking of art, the album’s iconic cover with the mask, the snakes and the blood, matched the music impeccably well.
Listening to Through Silver in Blood from start to finish is an experience that is raw, atmospheric, uncompromising, fragile, epic and cathartic. The album still sounds as fresh and intense now as it did back in 1996. From the epic title track that opens the album through to the terrifyingly hostile rage of Eye, the stirring sound of the bagpipes on the epic and sublime Purify, through to the vast tribal soundscapes of Locust Star. Elsewhere, there is the haunting refrain of Strength Of Fates and the pure beauty of Aeon through to the closing primal scream of perfection that is Enclosure In Flame, this the perfect example of the power of both NEUROSIS and their affecting music.
Upon the release of Through Silver in Blood, NEUROSIS took their formidable live show on the road where the tracks on the record took their own form, especially when accompanied by the bands harrowing visuals. A US run followed a European one with NEUROSIS laying waste to all in their path, before the band ended the year by playing the very first Ozzfest. Following, they brought the sounds of Through Silver in Blood to US enormodomes with PANTERA, with both of these experiences gaining them exposure to massive crowds and a more mainstream audience than they were used to. We’re certain they terrified a few fans along the way with their apocalyptic onslaught.
While Through Silver in Blood deservedly raised the profile of NEUROSIS tremendously, the album’s influence on the waves of bands that follows in its wake is truly jaw dropping. This album in particular has influenced so many bands, from ISIS (whose vocalist/guitarist Aaron Turner is part of the band’s current line-up), CONVERGE and CULT OF LUNA, to MASTODON, AMENRA, BARONESS and beyond, the list is pretty much endless. Their recent resurrection is testament to the bands influence and power, which is personified on this album for sure.
The legacy of Through Silver in Blood is undeniable, it is an album that redefined heavy music and brought out the sheer beauty in aural extremity. So celebrate thirty years of Through Silver in Blood, one of the greatest albums in extreme music history by playing it loud (and for an extra boost play in tandem with companion piece Silver Blood Transmission by NEUROSIS side project TRIBES OF NEUROT) and immerse yourself in a truly intense, harrowing but beautiful and rewarding listening experience.
Through Silver in Blood was originally released on April 2nd, 1996 via Relapse Records.
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