Just a few months before the new millennium, the progenitors of apocalyptic metal are back with another doom-filled record. This time though, the band allows its soft side to be seen (relatively speaking) while still remaining one of the heaviest bastards on the face of this Earth.

The record starts with nauseating, narcotic drones of "Suspended in Light," which puts you in the state of uncomfortable anxiety, like an augmenting feeling of lurking terror, and before you know it, "The Doorway" comes up and blows your socks (and speakers) off. From here on, "Times of Grace" is a methodical gradation of pummeling, gut-wrenching guitars, hefty, tribal drums, guttural screams, and subtle, doleful passages and interludes, which, while not assaulting all your senses at once, continue to conjure the unsettling feelings of tension, perturbation and woefulness (check out "Descent" which sounds like a Scottish funeral march), thus, not letting you off the hook. Only during "Away," a listener can breath easily while the band cools down with some cello drones, clean guitars and tranquil vocals, but not for long. Before the song's end, Neurosis again return to the raging, terrifying frenzy, taking you back into the abyss from which they pulled you just a few minutes ago.

"Times of Grace" is another essential album in this seminal band's already impressive catalogue.

© 1999 boris