The best band in the last ten years

P.s. All comments welcome, give me some feedback whether positive or negative!

Cheers.

It doesn't get any better.

One for the lads.

INTERVIEW – SCOTT KELLY (Neurosis, Shrinebuilder, Tribes Of Neurot, Blood and Time, solo)

Oakland, California. 1985. A band is formed by five teenage hardcore fans with a singular goal and life choice in mind. The aim is to create an indefinable genre shattering musical vehicle with artistic integrity and creative exploration as the driving factor. They intend to live with an unwavering commitment to each other and to their music, never swaying to trends or allowing record companies dictate how they see their own paths.

Twenty five years on and ten studio albums later, Neurosis are one of the most important and influential metal bands, although they themselves try to steer away from being included in any one particular genre. Despite this Neurosis have become synonymous with the term post metal with bands like Isis/Mastodon/Cult of Luna/Pelican/The Ocean citing them as a major influence.  They have evolved on every album, consistently breaking boundaries and transcending genres everywhere from ambient rock to doom metal to folk music.

At the centre of Neurosis’ musical exploration is guitarist and vocalist as well as founding member; Scott Kelly. Kelly is also a member of numerous side projects, which includes two solo albums, Neurosis’ ambient alter ego Tribes Of Neurot, and most recently, as a member of doom supergroup Shrinebuilder which he formed with Scott Weinrich (St. Vitus,), Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om) and Dave Crover (Melvins).

Scott Kelly recently played a solo gig in Dublin’s Academy after which I spoke to him.

When questioned on his approach to a sparse solo performance as opposed to playing with a full band, he replies in his welcoming, measured tone, “it’s a different sort of mental approach, I mean it’s a lot more relaxed for a solo gig so that I can kinda like…for instance deal with that situation tonight”

About midway through the gig, Kelly had stopped playing mid song to address two audience members who had been continually chattering loudly throughout his set.

They were asked to be quiet of leave, they chose the latter and proceeded to be argumentative and belligerent on the way out even though they had been offered their money back. 

“You know it happens… it happens all over the world, it happens more in America than anywhere, it’s a fucking problem when you’re doing an acoustic thing, especially coming from the background that I have, you get people who like loud music and they’re expecting…I don’t know what they’re expecting…you know, this music makes people uncomfortable so they start reacting, you know they start talking real loud and getting drunk, I’ve had to deal with that a whole bunch of times and that was fine (tonight), as far as that went, they left, I gave them their money back and they left, so fuck it, I don’t care, so it’s good not to be too tense for these shows because they’re so open emotionally, they’re so open that if I was not relaxed it could put me in a really bad space, I knew that when I stopped the show, it had to happen then because I knew the songs that were coming next, if they were talking though ” we burn through the night” or something I would have just walked over and took care of them they’re probably would have been a fight, it would have been a bad scene”

A high level of emotional content and personal communication is a reoccurring theme; it’s the ultimate driving force behind the music and the man.

“To me, the bottom line is the communication aspect. When you boil it down, take all the money out, and the copyrights and all that shit, it’s just about communication so that’s the most important thing really.

Kelly has done shows in recent weeks, with Neurosis, Shrinebuilder now his solo work. Does the preparation take a different form?

“I don’t really get nervous in electric performances anymore, I get amped up, my energy level goes really high but it’s not a nervous thing…you know I can’t just step out and do a Neurosis gig in this state of mind, it’s not possible, I have to spend some time preparing myself for what it’s gonna take to do it, getting my head right for that, because it’s one of those things, if I’m not prepared for, I’ll just kinda blow up, and I’ll be done in ten minutes and then I’ll have an hour and a half of feeling like I got chopped in half, so I have to go in there really balanced with my feet planted hard to withstand the initial energy, there is such a strong initial energy thing”

And shrinebuilder?

“Well, from that standpoint the preparation thing is a lot different, it’s not as intense, not at all, basically I would stretch out a little bit, get ready to play but it’s not anywhere near as intense. Neurosis is like every note, every moment, every show, every fucking thing we do carries the weight of the last 25 years of our lives together; and everything that’s happened in those 25 years, there’s has been a lot, there has been tons of good and bad, but it’s such a total commitment, it’s such a do or die mentality”

The metal history books will show Neurosis as one of the most important and influential metal band, but how does their already monolithic legacy weigh on the band?

“It’s the most important thing; it’s really always been our primary concern, the legacy of what we leave behind. In a more immediate sense it’s all about each song, each piece of music, each album, each show, each set, but you know that’s just like knocking down the blocks in front of us, in terms of the long term of it, it’s about that, it’s about leaving behind something that somebody can look at and say wow, these guys really meant it, they did if from here to here (gestures with hands), and here is all the shit that they did, and all the shows that they played, and the roots spread out like this, and I think your right, I definitely think we are there, if it ended today I think we would be there, but as long as we are still allowed to do it, we’re gonna do it”

Since 2008, Kelly has been writing a blog, (http://weburnthroughthenight.blogspot.com) in which he uses to give his thoughts, feelings and personal insights. It also provides a forum for direct communication with fans, he confides that he has a family of four and works a full time job in addition to the music.

“Right now I’m doing what I gotta do to put the food on the table for my family, right now I’ve been gone for six weeks, this is the longest I’ve been gone in 11 years, I go for two weeks, three weeks maybe, usually it’s a week or less at a time, but we feel on some pretty hard times this year, we booked the shrinebuilder gigs, that whole tour got cancelled because of the volcano and we lost a bunch of money and we had to rebook that whole tour, and  then we got the three Neurosis gigs and I thought that just since I’m here, maybe I should try and get a few gigs, just to try and bring some money for Christmas basically!

He looks fatigued at the thought; it seems like a struggle, and really misses his family. Do you not hate touring? Do you not want to go home?

“Yeah man, everyday, it’s hard, touring sucks, it’s fucking brutal. I also love playing music, so it’s difficult in that way too. But you know, having a balance is important, my wife is really supportive of it, you know my little one, she is struggling with it a lot right now, this is the first time that I’ve been gone like this since she’s been around, she’s only two and a half, you know my 23 year old, it’s been a big part of his life knowing that I was gone, when he was little I was gone a lot, that was when we were touring a shit load in the nineties, it’s hard, but in a way, we’re lucky that we have this also. I don’t make a whole lot at my job, I’m able to make some money doing this, it’s not a lot, but it’s enough, basically we can pay our rent and not be totally worried every month which is pretty significant where we are, my life, it’s hard to support a family”

It has been mentioned in several metal publications that the new Neurosis album is in the works, in any Scott Kelly interview, it’s the obvious question, how’s it coming along? Any idea on timescale?

“I don’t want to say for sure, but I think that we will record it next year, it’s almost done in terms of writing, we almost done with it, and we’re actually gonna get to work on it the day after I get home, we are already playing two of the new songs live, so it’s just a matter of figuring out when we do it.

Final point of the night, bring Neurosis over to Ireland for a gig?!

“Yeah, we’re definitely considering it. Reason we always play London is people can get to London if there from Ireland or Spain or way deep east, they can get a cheap flight, but we’re coming back to Europe in the summer for two weeks and we just played London, so maybe we’ll come and play Ireland! 

Neurosis – An Evolving legacy

Through Silver in Blood (1996) – Released in 1996, their fifth studio album is still considered their masterwork. Pushing the envelope even further than its predecessor Enemy Of The Sun, it begins with the mesmerizing 12 minute title track which overlays the intense industrial intro with a heavier than thou guitar break followed by the opening bellow by Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till. Immediately, the most noticeable thing is the molasses thick atmosphere, which ebbs and flows throughout as if like a river of molten lava, this is heightened by the clanks, squeals and conveyor belt noises. It conjures images of being trapped inside some futuristic horror factory. A quite difficult album at first, but ultimately rewarding.

 

Times Of Grace (1999) – After the success of through silver in blood, Neurosis drafted legendary producer Steve Albini for the follow up. Albini, as it his trademark, pared down the sound, although still managing to incorporate more ambient elements, and  creating a more organic sound with less of the mechanised noise. Overall it seemed as if the tone of the album was slightly brighter. 

A Sun That Never Sets – Continuing to work with Steve Albini, this album marked a major departure for the band, the trademark maelstrom of guitar walls and ambient noise had been reduced, replaced by acoustic elements and clean vocals, it’s a dimension of the band unheard to that point, possibly a sign of the band mellowing out? Hardly as there is still a few moments of explosive loudness, it’s obvious the band were continuing to evolve and explore creatively.

Given To The Rising – Some fans who were alienated by A sun that never sets and The eye of every storm’s quiet moments were overjoyed by this monster. With Albini at the helm again, Neurosis recorded an album that was a return to their electric whirlwind of sound, but saying that, it’s possibly their most accessible album to date, and on a par with anything they have done before in terms of potency.