I just wanted to express my gratitude to everyone who has commented on, featured or added my work to their favorites recently. Unfortunately I can't thank each and every one of you individually as I don't have the time to do so, but please know that your support means a great deal to me.

On another note, are there are Neurosis fans out there? They have been around for over 20 years but still remain relatively unknown, despite having toured the world many times over and influencing a great number of better known bands (i.e. Mastodon). In my opinion, they are to Metal what King Crimson is to prog-rock - obscured to the masses by their own design, but very well known within the small circles they choose to inhabit.

Neurosis is a truly independent band - they purposely avoided signing to a major label, despite many offers, and instead chose to keep their music pure and work regular day jobs to support the band, ranging from grade school teacher to warehouse manager to Shakespearian theater stage hand.

They record on their own time, with their own money, at Steve Albini's (incredible guy - search for him on google) Electric Audio in Chicago. They chose to work with Steve (on the last 3-4 albums, at least) because of the “live” sound he is renowned for, achieved with old school recording techniques. Save for a few additions/modifications in the final mixing/mastering process, the whole band is recorded simultaneously on tape (quite rare these days) which gives their albums a very natural feel. When you see them perform live every part, including the vocals, sound dead-on compared to the actual recording. The only other metal band I have seen that can pull this off is Meshuggah, and they record digitally on Pro-Tools.

There isn't a ton of Neurosis material on the web, but here are a few videos:

[link] - Locust Star – live. Not indicative of their work as a whole, but one of my favorite songs and videos nonetheless.

[link] - Promo film for their latest album, Given to the Rising

[link] - interview for Swedish TV

If you're interested in their music, their albums are as follows:

Pain of Mind (1987, Alchemy Records)
The Word as Law (1990, Lookout! Records)
Souls at Zero (1992, Alternative Tentacles)
Enemy of the Sun (1993, Alternative Tentacles)
Through Silver in Blood (1996, Relapse Records)
Times of Grace (1999, Relapse Records)
A Sun that Never Sets (2001, Relapse Records)
Neurosis & Jarboe (2003, Neurot Recordings)
The Eye of Every Storm (2004, Neurot Recordings/Relapse Records)
Given to the Rising (2007, Neurot Recordings)

I would start at Enemy of the Sun and move forward as this is where their sound began to develop. Their earlier work was Hardcore Punk and, while great in its own right, sounds very different than all subsequent releases.

If it isn't obvious already, this is one of my favorite bands. I'm interested to see if there are any other fans out there – let me know!

I find it odd that the followers of metal bands stay largely out of touch with their fellow fans - when you go see a big hippie band there is a well-developed community of people traveling together and helping each other out. When I go to a metal show all I see are a bunch of individuals avoiding eye contact. I realize the material isn't always "nice" or "friendly", but we can channel a different collective emotion, such as anger. And anger need not manifest in physical violence, at least not to one another - we can use our anger to build a community that opposes that which makes us angry - that which drives us to this form of music in the first place.

What the “happy” people achieved in the 60's and 70's, the “angry” people can take the next step further today. We can use our anger instead of allowing it to eat away at our psyches, individually and collectively. We can do something about the emotion many of us feel most. If we don't look at why we feel this way and, in turn, do something about it, then we are repressing our primary emotional state.

I know why I am angry, and I don't want to be. For many people, in my opinion, when they find something that reflects their emotional state of being they will allow themselves to accept that emotional state as their identity.

I feel anger – an outside force reflects my anger - I am angry

Now there are two ways (at least) the above process can resolve or repress itself:

1. What makes me angry? - Resolution
2. I am an angry person – no further progress

Unfortunately, the majority choose the latter option and never resolve their emotional state. More of us need to ask ourselves what makes us angry so we can begin to work past it.

We are only angry because the world, in one way or another, makes us that way – our goal should be to become happy people.

And, if you're happy already, then you're not paying attention. That's right. There is too much wrong with the world around us for anyone to be happy right now – you are deluding yourselves. The angry people are actually a step ahead of you, but it isn't too late to catch up.

The problems we face today require collective action to correct. There are no saviors or messiahs to wait for.

If you are angry, figure out why you feel this way and use your anger and that of those around you to overcome it. If you are happy, WAKE UP and find an angry person to talk to - TODAY.

Be well,

Ryan