Neurosis
Sovereign

Eos. Arkhé. A new course doesn't necessarily correspond to a new origin. The Neurot Recordings brand appears for the first time on this early millennium EP by Neurosis, and the references to the other beast named Tribes of Neurot are perceptibly amalgamated with the compositional structures and typical sounds of the Oakland collective, already in evolution. The ambient interludes and hypnotic drone inserts are adopted as sound experiences.

Ancient Age. Middle Ages. Modern Age. Contemporary Age. And after? Civilizations cry out timidly trying to rise again from their ashes, epochs that follow one another always maintaining a connection between pre- and post-. A linking ring as it could be between "Times of Grace" and "A Sun That Never Sets". A continuation of the path already previously developed and that will then be emphasized in subsequent works.

Chaos. Gaia and Uranus. Cronus. Mythology that equates to a characterization of peculiarities and roles. Bucolic intros, holding within themselves something spiritual ("Prayer"), supported by tribal rhythms and percussions that release uneasiness ("Flood") end up resolving into closures of total violence, with a doom/sludge progression ("An Offering"). The long progressions opposed to sudden and devastating detonations ("Sovereign") seem to simulate the tension produced by Mother Earth, increasingly angry with her wretched guests.

Fire. Writing. Agriculture. A painful awareness of humanity's own role in temporal and spatial coordinates brings about a sense of hope. In the lyrics of the songs, the most positive side of the human soul is explicitly expressed, despite painful, terrible images seeping through everything around. The rediscovery of one's own nature and how great the human mind can be is a push towards the divine. A past of wars, a present of shadows, a future of faith. Humans can indeed do great things.

32 minutes total - 4 songs (a fifth, "Misgiven", is included in the 2011 reissue). Steve Albini at the helm.