Neurosis played Lupo’s – 8/24
Providence’s Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel paid host to a rare East Coast appearance from Oakland post-sludge-metal gods Neurosis on Saturday night. I was there to document the legendary and elusive band in all their crushing glory.
It took an H.P. Lovecraft convention, of all things, to bring Neurosis back to New England. These days, the veteran band eschews a traditional touring schedule in favor of sporadic live performances of their choosing – a privilege they’ve earned over the course of a nearly three-decade career as one of the most revered and influential metal acts around. Chances to see them are few and far between, and usually involve a trip to Brooklyn. Thus, news of Saturday’s show was rather exciting: the NecronomiCon – a city-wide celebration of all things directly and tangentially Lovecraftian in the horror and science fiction master’s hometown of Providence – would bring the colossal sounds of Neurosis and the creeping unease of pioneering dark-ambient artist Lustmord to the venerable Lupo’s. There was no doubt that this would be an evening to remember.
The link between atmospheric sludge metal, menacing ambient music and Lovecraft is tenuous at best on a surface level, but as one entered Lupo’s to the eerie sounds of Lustmord’s opening set, the whole thing suddenly made sense. The venue’s high ceilings and overhanging balcony lend it a cavernous feel even during the cheeriest of shows, but played especially well into sinister mood of Lustmord’s dread-tinged rumblings. Brian Williams, the man behind the decades-running project, performed alone at the center of the stage, barely moving a muscle while sculpting a seamless hour-long set from a computer atop a pedestal. Subterranean bass drones, ghosts of field recordings and other mysterious sonic artifacts melted together in hypnotic slow-motion waves, sounding like nothing at first and everything at once after a few minutes. Williams was lit only by smoky grey projections that morphed into glowing orange wisps of fire by the end of his set. Nary a word was spoken, but the atmosphere had been effectively set.
Neurosis were similarly mute as they took the stage a half-hour later, carrying over the tension of Williams’ performance into the beginning of their own set. From the lurching percussion that opened “A Sun That Never Sets” until the moment Steve Von Till tore six strings off his guitar in one gesture at the conclusion of “Stones From the Sky,” the band spent the following 100 minutes pummeling a grateful audience with a towering and unrelenting set.
Neurosis are often credited as pioneers and torch-bearers of the ‘post-metal’ subgenre – one which applies the soft-to-loud crescendo arc of Godspeed You! to doom and sludge – but that doesn’t render them purveyors of formulaic dynamics shifts. As they powered through a set of songs that spanned from 1996’s Through Silver and Blood to last year’s Honor Found in Decay, Neurosis proved themselves masters of textured epics that weave together aggression, melodicism and a sense of sweeping grandeur in a way few other bands can manage.
The massive sound of Von Till and Scott Kelly’s dual guitars led the band’s sonic charge, in addition to Jason Roeder’s pounding, tribal drums, Dave Edwardson’s driving bass lines and Noah Landis’ indispensable work on keys and synths. Landis’ contributions were often subtle, but played an important role in the textural balance of the set. His between-song ambient interludes gave the performance a sense of seamlessness, never allowing for a moment of total silence from beginning to end.
Neurosis’ instrumental prowess is plenty impressive on its own, but their pure conviction as performers is what truly sets them in the class of outstanding live bands. Throughout the night, Kelly and Von Till hammered forth every last serrated riff and howled vocal with an urgent intensity. Edwardson swung his bass, held it aloft to the heavens and eventually had to be issued a new one after ripping off a string. Landis routinely tilted his entire rig toward the audience, visibly losing himself in the songs. Neurosis make serious music, and they perform it with the passionate, committed sincerity it requires.
A performance of such fervor inspired a similarly enthusiastic response from the audience. The rarity of a New England Neurosis show seemed to imbue the crowd with a sense of wonder at actually seeing the band in the flesh. A small but enthusiastic pit opened up by the time “Locust Star” kicked in, and a fair number of passionate headbangers looked to be having something of a religious experience.
Top to bottom, the night felt momentous. Neurosis are a veteran band still at the top of their game, and they delivered a flooring performance to prove it. If the rare opportunity to catch one of their shows presents itself to you: seize it. And bring ear plugs.
See the full gallery of photos here.