Neurosis is a band that will always challenge me, and I love it. The first time I sampled Neurosis was Locust Star, from this very album. It was interesting, and I had listened to other post-metal such as Dirge and Cult of Luna before. I threw on the album, and sat down for a listen.

The buildups. The drums. It's... terrifying. Some kind of wonderfully fucked up lullaby. The walls of sound throughout are immense, towering over the sonic landscapes. The strange interludes truly add to this album's bleak and horrifying atmosphere (see Become The Ocean, definitely). After the album finished, I was at a loss for words. Never had I heard more disgusting and sludgy music before.

Through Silver in Blood is a metal cornerstone. It defined post-metal within the 1990s, and shocked the music world as a whole. Neurosis may crush your skull. They may scare you shitless. But they will leave you absolutely speechless.

I was skeptical at first when I heard about this MONOLITH of music. 79 whole minutes of pure metal. But, it doesn't matter. I was ready to get my head crushed.

The flicking sounds of a lighter and a bong hit (or rip?) start out the piece. For the first seven minutes, the repeated strums begin to hypnotize you. In the background, two distorted voices recite a passage from the Book of Revelation, a story about a dragon taking a woman's son and creating the apocalypse. Suddenly, the guitars launch into a crunching riff, accompanied with heavy drums and deep bass. This refuses to let up for a huge time. Around 25:00, an enormous bass drum blast beat enters, and more guitars come crashing down. This song is relentless, and chugs on like a terribly angry train. Near the second half of the song, a quieter riff enters the picture, but of course reverts back to the massive riffery. At the end of the song, a repititive riff closes, reduced eventually to only the bass playing the riff, making for a very satisfying end.

This is a sonic journey. It's not for the faint of heart. However, it is an essential for stoner doom fans. It's a shame that Bongripper is unsigned currently. A new LP re-release of this album came out this year with a fresh new album cover from the same guy who illustrated Bongripper's recent LP "Satan Worshipping Doom". I would recommend this to any metal fan, casual or hardcore. They just have to be willing to experience a song that kicks fucking iron giant ass. Yeah, that much.