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A Sun That Never Sets | 
 enlarge | Artist: Neurosis
Label: Relapse
Category: Music
Buy New: $16.98
New (33) Used (13) from $7.98
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 115608
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 766496
UPC: 781676649624
EAN: 0781676649624
ASIN: B00005M1D2
Release Date: August 7, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Erode | | • | The Tide | | • | From The Hill | | • | A Sun That Never Sets | | • | Falling Unknown | | • | From Where Its Roots Run | | • | Crawl Back In | | • | Watchfire | | • | Resound | | • | Stones From The Sky |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
The 7th album for this uncompromising outfit promises to expand upon the band's dense, esoteric, apocalyptic vision. Onthe Relapse label, 10 tracks.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
Pleasant to the neurons... March 2, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For the longest time I avoided this band because for some reason I thought they were just some black metal band or some other offshoot of typical heavy music...I was completely wrong!
The sound is dark and heavy, but not prototypical metal and for the most part NOT FAST! What?! Yeah - this is not your generic headbanging metal - this is moody, atmospheric, intelligently composed metal! In fact most of the album is instrumental and the majority of the vocals are delivered at a slow pace - whether in deep growls, harsh yells, droning whispers, or softly sung melodies. The drumming is very deep and tribal sounding - moving from quiet to heavy or simple to complex as the composition unfolds. The mixture of bizarre sound effects and keyboards creates a lot of the atmosphere and such instruments as the violin add to the beautiful texture of the album. The guitar work is wonderfully executed - acoustic melodies, distorted feedback, sludgy grooves, clean rhythm and solo work - all layered into the songs with purpose and precision.
Comparisons? Remember the dark mysterious track called 'Black Sabbath' that would become the name of the legendary band? This album contains that same sort of dramatic spooky effect. Elements of Porcupine Tree and Opeth can be heard, but a comparison to them could be decieving - Neurosis have a unique and distinguished sound. The sludgy guitars remind me of the stoner-rock band Kyuss - particularly on the final track "Stones from the Sky" - and don't let the last 40 seconds of the CD fool you...it isn't your player messing up...it's just part of the sound effects...
RECOMMENDATION: If you are an open minded music lover and enjoy not just the heaviness of this album, but it's diversity also then you may enjoy a late 60's/early 70's progressive band called It's a Beautiful Day (you can read my review on their debut album). For the heavy music lovers...well...you probably already know about Opeth! ;)
This is brilliant March 8, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I first found this album while working at a CD store, and thought I'd listen to it as a joke. What i heard blew my mind. Neurosis have managed to create an album that moves from the most despairing depths, through to the hope that lies beyond desparation. As a work of artistry, you would be hard pressed to find something that outdoes this. While it has the heaviness necessary for a true metal band, it adds a chilled aspect that enhances the grinding guitars and drums. It flows slowly through the ideas, while never losing the listener or boring them. This is, in a word, awesome. Buy this album.
Still Going Strong After 7 Albums... February 9, 2006
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
NEUROSIS - A Sun That Never Sets
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Neurosis is an aural force that is basically unmatched in the world of heavy music... They have laid the seeds for such bands as Isis, Pelican, Red Sparowes and countless others. This being their 7th album they further explore the multi-layered textures of music, pushing the bounds of sound...
The Vocals of Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly have never sounded better... Their dark, almost Tom Waits-inspired singing accompanied by thick screams and yells blends a powerful vocal force to be reckoned with. On top of them the Tribal Drumming, the Crunchy Guitars, thick low-end Bass, and the variety of other instruments such as Violin and Keys only further add to this dark textured atmosphere. Neurosis sinks you in like few other bands can... What is best about Neurosis is their music is modest and less pretentious than many other `progressive' bands. They choose to slowly build lush layers of beautiful, yet heavy soundscapes instead of all-out flashy musicianship.
Neurosis is best enjoyed when other distractions are not present, A nice walk with head-phones on... or lying on your bed with the lights out and the tunes blaring...
Neurosis is the "Napalm Death" of Post-Metal and have spawned countless other bands so if you like any of the previous mentioned bands or any of today's modern post-rock/metal be sure to check out From Where Its Roots Run.... Neurosis.
Favorite Songs: Falling Unknown, The Tide, Stones from the Sky and Watchfire.
-5 Star
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And the burning sun shines on. September 6, 2005
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
Neurosis are easily one of the most unique and influential (just ask Isis, Pelican, The Red Sparows, etc.) metal bands out there, and this album is no exception. Continuing the evolution that started with Times Of Grace (which was a slight move away from the dark bludgeonings that characterized Through Silver In Blood) and the Sovereign EP, A Sun That Never Sets establishes the band's embrace of a more melodic "post-metal" sound.
Now, when I say "metal," throw out your normal expectations of metal, including classical/pentatonic fretboard runs, lyrics about Satan and death, and endless blastbeats. A Sun Never Sets is more concerned with texture, using a sense of sparse minimalism and repetition to achieve gradual, swelling impact. Tracks frequently stretch out to 8 minutes or more, taking their time to unfold and develop into epic soundscapes. The distorted guitars are augmented with keyboards, viola, and Jason Roeder's thundering drums as Steven Von Til and Scott Kelly's harsh vocals paint images of nomadic cultures and cracked earth under a burning sky. Repeat until soul is either nourished or destroyed (depending on your mood)..
After a brief intro, The Tide throws the listener deep into Neurosis' ravaged world, its chanted vocals, slow-building melody, and explosive climax an excellent summary of the band's sound. The closer Stones In The Sky begins with ominous tolling bells and develops into one of the most shattering conclusions of any album I've ever heard--a wall of sound raging against the final darkness. In between you have tribal interludes, bleak dirges, and bizarre, experimental sounds.
In other words, a classic. Fans of brilliant, emotive, progressive music (metal or otherwise) MUST have this one.
Neurosis=Gods October 30, 2004
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
As a rather non-creative person myself, I find it rather difficult to imagine where bands like Neurosis get their ideas. That said, we should all be thankful such original and intelligent bands exist, hard to find though they may be. While this band's titanic riffs, harsh vocalizations, and generally disaffected atmosphere all scream "metal," there's a lot more going on here. Yes, these guys do a great job of replicating the dark mood that has defined the metal genre since Black Sabbath's emergence, but Neurosis are clearly one of the few bands that can experiment freely without losing any credibility among the headbanging crowd. "A Sun That Never Sets," Neurosis's seventh album and a worthy successor to the shockingly brilliant "Times of Grace," is a perfect example of their agenda. Heavy though it may be, many aspects of this album are unmistakably progressive, from the epic song lengths to the extended lighter passages to the occasional use of strings, bagpipes, and keyboards. Now, lest anyone be scared off by the use of the term "progressive," Neurosis share little to nothing in common with the more pretentious likes of Dream Theater or Opeth (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with those bands, but Neurosis is a different beast entirely). They may push boundaries, but Neurosis are still one of the heaviest bands out there, and the aforementioned periods of relative quiet only make it more punishing when they resume their furious metallic assault. And when Neurosis bear down, they can deliver quite an assault indeed, propelled mainly by the twisted guitar work of Steve von Till and Scott Kelly and Jason Roeder's thunderous tribal drumming. "Watchfire" is perhaps the weirdest and most brilliant song in the Neurosis catalog to date, a musical and emotional roller coaster that seemlessly blends all the disparate elements that make Neurosis Neurosis. Of course, it's rather unfair to single out just one song on this album for praise, as they all demonstrate superior musicianship, songwriting, and atmosphere, but it'll have to do. Now that the Red Sox have just won the World Series, I'm convinced nothing's impossible, but I'd still be shocked if Neurosis were to release a bad album. Get everything of theirs you can find, throw it in your stereo, and prepare to be shocked. You can't stop Neurosis; you can only hope to contain them.
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