9. Neurosis—A Sun That Never Sets (2001)
Far below, on the surface of the planet, two boys lie on a grassy hilltop, staring up at the flashes of light above them. With school out forever and only a matter of days remaining on the clock, their parents have been more than willing to indulge whatever makes their children happy, and these late night treks through the woods have become a favorite activity for them. As from above, the debris colliding with the atmosphere is breathtakingly beautiful. In fact, the boys are so enraptured by the scene that, when one line of light doesn't burn into oblivion but instead continues in a straight downward trajectory, they scarcely notice. What catches their attention at last is the massive flash of impact just over the horizon. A few seconds later, a rumbling fills their ears and the ground beneath them begins to shake violently. For the first time, the global crisis—which had always seemed so abstract the boys—fills them with raw, unadulterated terror.
It's only natural that Neurosis would end up on this list since they've built a career out of making music that sounds like the end of the world. They're an amazing band who do what they do incredibly well and
A Sun That Never Sets works as a single, unified piece of artistic expression to an amazing degree. This is a stunningly dynamic album full of peaks and valleys, build-up and release, subtlety and absolutely crushing intensity. Unlike the Swans album that I reviewed earlier in this thread, there really isn't much of a contrast between light and dark moments here. Even in it's quietest moments
A Sun That Never Sets is a very dark, unsettling and raw album. What's truly remarkable about it though is, despite feeling so raw and stripped-down, it's such a sonically rich album. Acoustic guitar, violin, piano, even bagpipes weave their way in and out of the sharp angles of these tracks while subdued production touches crackle and swirl around the edges.
This album is such a strong, integrated piece that it's better appreciated as whole rather than as individual tracks, but if I had to pick highlights they would probably be "Falling Unknown" and "Stones from the Sky". These two—the longest tracks on the album—sort of function as the climaxes of its two movements so it's not surprising that they're the easiest to single out. Below is "Stones from the Sky" for your listening pleasure. And, in case you're wondering, yes, I do think that the title of this track played a subconscious role in the concept of this whole series of reviews.