The concert opens with "The Doorway" from the Times of Grace album, an 8- minute non-stop assault. If you haven't been pummeled into submission midway through, you aren't listening. Thankfully, the band gives you a little time to breathe as the feedback and "sound manipulation" bleed into "Lost", my personal favorite from the album Enemy of the Sun, before the pummeling begins anew. From the opening bars, this song alone is worth the price of the album. The (relatively) minimal instrumentation during the first verse give full effect to the echoing vocals — you can almost feel the despair and dissatisfaction dripping out of the microphone.

Song #3 is "An Offering" from the Sovreign EP — an absolutely brutal tune, followed by "Away" (Times of Grace), the only real respite given to listeners. Admittedly, I have never really paid much attention to this song until purchasing this album. Aside from the last few minutes, it's very quiet and generally out of character for this band. On the other hand ... when the instruments start pounding in unison as the word "away" is screamed repeatedly, a sinister satisfaction sets in. More feedback runs into the fifth song, "Locust Star" from the album Through Silver In Blood. It's not the best song on that album, but it works here. The closing song is "Times of Grace," and by the time it stops you're either physically exhausted, emotionally drained, or both.

Again, I don't believe this album (or this series) will reach a very wide audience. Occasional listeners are unlikely to find this a necessary addition to their collection, and non-fans simply won't like it. This is for the die-hards, new and old, and they will love it. My only complaint is that there are no songs from any of the first three albums, a problem that will hopefully be remedied in subsequent releases. Ultimately, Neurosis is a band that cannot be adequately described...after multiple revisions I still think this review fails miserably. This music must be heard to be believed. For the non-believers, however, this album isn't really an appropriate introduction.

Written by Kevin Gregorius of No Matter What You Heard.