'We're Not Performers'

Regarded among heavy music’s most integral acts of recent times, Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till hopes the Americans’ legacy extends beyond their crushingly heavy fare itself merely facilitating legions of similarly-styled artists. However, he acknowledges that first and foremost, “We make it for ourselves, and we make it because we have to. We make it because this is our spirituality, this is our way of purging all the shit in the world and reflecting the universe back at itself in some sort of more productive manner than lashing out in non-musical ways, or going to those deep, dark places that we can confront in our music, without an outlet, without a safety net of some sort.

“So the fact that other people get that much out of it and are inspired by it is a great honour, and humbling. I would hope our influence on people is the same as the influences on us, where it’s not like a musical influence like you want to sound like somebody, but an influence, like the same things we got out of Killing Joke or Joy Division. You have these bands that just sound like nothing else, and totally come up with their own unique, intense, original, honest, emotional musical outpouring. So if we can inspire other people to pick up their instruments in that manner and express themselves, that’s… icing on the cake.”

Across a three-decade career Neurosis has commanded – demanded, even – audiences expend considerably, and not only time-wise. Their experimental, ambient sludge/doom, largely credited with birthing the post-metal genre, isn’t suited to merely casually being spun during a quick trip to the shops. An affront to easily accessible product, persistence pays dividends.

The Music suggests it’s testament to their fanbase that they remain devoted themselves wholly. “Yeah, I was thinking along those same lines the other day. I was contemplating certain things in my record collection, and what I felt like listening to… The world almost forces a short attention span on everybody, like a mass media-induced ADD inflicted on everybody.”

Thankfully, Von Till hears “endlessly” from supporters devising heartfelt descriptions for what Neurosis has meant to them. Their output ultimately fulfils a vital role, just as Amebix, Joy Division, Black Sabbath or the DIY punk scene overall that spawned Neurosis have for the axeman.

“We’re music fans too, and had similar experiences. We all have those albums at certain times that we’ve turned to, or that connect with whatever emotional situation at the time. Whether peace and solace, or an outlet for aggression, violence or solitude. I think music can be there for people, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to channel this music which I think has done a lot of that – for ourselves and others.

“So the fact that music fans in this mass media age are still willing to invest themselves in something like Neurosis, Swans or Sunn O))), where you really do have to let it immerse you and take you somewhere; you have to give it the time; you have to give it the energy. You can’t just put it on like pop music wallpaper. But I think that says a lot about music fans and their dedication still to wanting something intense and meaningful and deep out of their music, and out of their lives, because so much of the other things in the world seem like meaningless distraction.”

This bond is perhaps never more apparent than during the heavy-hitters’ much-vaunted live performances; hypnotic, multi-sensory experiences.  

“It’s not for everybody; it can be difficult and I think if somebody is not willing to, from a bystander point of view or a listener point of view, or even someone at a gig point of view. If somebody’s not willing to surrender to it, they’re probably not going to enjoy it, because it just becomes a conflict or adversarial to you wanting to hang out and drink beer with your buds,” he laughs. “You get out of it what you put into it, both us as the musicians and the listener. If you want to get something deep out of it, you’ve gotta give over and surrender to it. Otherwise, it’s going to be loud and annoying,” he chuckles again.

“You get out of it what you put into it, both us as the musicians and the listener."

“One thing I know that we represent is absolute surrender to the music. We’re not performers. We are truly driven by these sounds that we’re lucky enough to have discovered, to really give it our all; spiritually, emotionally, physically, to embody the music. To really let it flow through us. It’s not your average rock or heavy metal band getting up there and giving you a show. To us, this music is what has saved our lives and inspired us, again and again over the last almost 30 years. And we treat it that way constantly.”