Neurosis have spent more than three decades redefining what heavy metal is and what it can be. They’re a multifaceted beast, moving in many directions depending on where their creative forces guide them and combining sludge metal with prog-rock arrangements, spacey soundscapes, and postrock instrumental layers. The members of the five-piece band frequently break away […]
Tag: Neurosis
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Sludge-metal all-stars Absent in Body live up to their lineup on their debut LP
Like it or not, supergroups are an inevitable part of the music landscape. There’s always a new one in the works, in no small part because they reliably attract media attention even before they’ve done anything. More often than not, though, supergroups turn out to be letdowns compared to the amount of hype they generate. […]
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Oakland’s Kowloon Walled City return after six years with a noise-rock masterpiece
Oakland’s Kowloon Walled City formed in 2007 as an intense postmetal outfit who tipped their hat to fellow Oaklanders Neurosis, who’d helped pioneer the fusion of hardcore and sludge. During the 14 years since, the band have slowly pulled back on the aggression and fury, settling into creeping, deliberately paced noise rock. Kowloon Walled City’s […]
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Steve Von Till finds beauty and humanity within a chaotic universe on No Wilderness Deep Enough
Steve Von Till is best known as co-front man of the mighty Neurosis, but for two decades the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and poet has also led an ambitious and expansive solo career. Under his own name he’s released dark pastoral folk, and as Harvestman he’s made dynamic, psych- and drone-infused music. On his new album, No […]
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They came, they saw, they smoked: Sleep celebrate their decade-long reunion and impending hiatus at Thalia Hall
Most band reunions don’t live up to the hype, but most bands aren’t Sleep. In the early 90s, the Northern California trio—bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros, guitarist Matt Pike, and drummer Chris Hakius—laid down a guttural strain of Sabbath-worshipping blues metal, filtered through a crusty psychedelic lens. They broke up in 1998 following a years-long […]
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Brazil’s Deafkids celebrate unity and freedom through ear-ripping, percussive punk fusions
For local heavy-music fans, this stacked bill—which also includes pioneering postmetal masters Neurosis and beautifully crushing doom duo Bell Witch—is among the most-anticipated concerts of the summer. But anyone planning to go should make sure to arrive in time for the Chicago debut of Brazilian trio Deafkids, who open the show. Formed in 2010, Deafkids […]
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Singer and poet Tasha on She Shreds and the missing legacy of black women guitarists
Current musical obsessions of singer and poet Tasha, musician and producer Kamaria Woods, and Reader music editor Philip Montoro
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On the new Coma Noir, the Atlas Moth name our foe—and find a reason to fight
Chicago metal monarchs the Atlas Moth imagine a cosmic criminal cabal that’s depressingly easy to recognize in the real world.
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Almost 30 years later, progressive-metal legends Neurosis redeliver The Word as Law
More than 30 years in, progressive-metal legends Neurosis know exactly how to deliver—their 11th studio album, last fall’s Fires Within Fires (Neurot), is a ruthlessly efficient travelogue of varied soundscapes and altered consciousness. It feels much longer than it actually is (about 40 minutes), and that’s not a function of tedium but of density. The […]
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Time traveling with Martin Sorrondeguy of Los Crudos
Revisiting the old haunts of legendary 90s hardcore band Los Crudos provides a miniature history of gentrification and activism in Chicago.
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Experimental-industrial group Corrections House mellow out with a Neil Young cover
The half-local “supergroup” takes on “Cortez the Killer.”
Posted inBlogs
Reader’s Agenda Sat 11/30: Corrections House, Paper Machete, and classic horror films
What’s on the Reader‘s Agenda for Saturday, November 30
Posted inBlogs
12 O’Clock Track: “Bullets and Graves” is a heavy, industrial preview from Corrections House’s new LP
“Bullets and Graves” adds a noisy, experimental touch to the classic Wax Trax! sound.
Posted inFilm
Artist on Artist: George Clarke of Deafheaven talks to Stavros Giannopoulos of the Atlas Moth
George Clarke of Deafheaven talks to Stavros Giannopoulos of the Atlas Moth.
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Gossip Wolf: Pitchfork predictions, round two
More Pitchfork predictions, two Loose Dudes’ new group, the next Synthesizer-Chili Cook-Off, and more