Good things CAN happen

More than 3 years ago now, Neurosis went out — not with a bang or even a fizzle, but with a really depressing deflation. The story is a real bummer, and so one of the most important bands in the universe to me seemed to retire more or less in shame, realizing that their entire legacy was tainted by a guy they didn't know as well as they thought they did. It's amazing yet true how well sociopaths can hide in plain sight from their closest friends for decades.

But they never actually said they were breaking up. And now, in a feat that seems nigh-impossible for a band of their stature in the year 2026, they have dropped an album completely by surprise. And what have they done to fill the void? They enlisted Aaron Turner of the bands ISIS, Old Man Gloom, and SUMAC. He's approaching legendary in his own right, and ISIS was severely indebted to Neurosis in the first place. There's nobody on the planet who makes more sense.

The album, though? Man, it's good. It's really good. If you are a fan, listen immediately. And while you're at it, go around the internet and look at comment threads about this. Not something I'd normally advocate, but there is a borderline-universal joy over this.

See, Neurosis isn't just a band, even a highly influential one, to the people who love them. They're an example of how to be a band with integrity and authenticity, which is why it was so painful to see them laid low by Scott Kelly, and why it's so incredible for them to return in such a triumphant way. It's also not lost on me that it's the spring equinox today, which seems very intentional for them.

So... the world has some problems right now, to be idiotically understated about it. But you can't ruin my day because Neurosis is back.

Fugazi, anyone?