The decade between Neurosis albums has been an eventful one for the Bay Area psych-metal band. In 2019, vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till, drummer Jason Roeder, bassist Dave Edwardson, and keyboardist Noah Landis parted ways with co-founder and guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly, who essentially self-canceled and announced his retirement from music. Just like that, the future of a beloved band was in limbo. “Because of the nature of the change, we did put it on ice and took a step back to process and find perspective,” Von Till tells Apple Music—and with that perspective, eventually, came the decision to soldier on. “We felt a deep internal need to reclaim not only our life’s work, but also our way of dealing with living in a world of meaningless distraction and insanity. We need this now more than ever, and we suspect we are not alone.” Replacing a key member would not be easy, of course. But Neurosis found their man in Sumac and Old Man Gloom guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, whose earlier work with Boston post-metal titans ISIS was very much informed by Neurosis. “We’ve known Aaron since the ’90s and knew that he was as familiar as you could possibly be with where we have been and where we may be headed,” Roeder says. “Aaron has always been pushing boundaries in his own unique way and has an intensity and energy that matches ours,” Von Till says. “The first rehearsal felt so natural that the only weird thing about it was that it didn’t feel weird at all.” The result is one of Neurosis’ most powerful and evocative albums: An Undying Love for a Burning World. Turner and Von Till focus on a key lyric from each track on the album. “We Are Torn Wide Open” We’ve forgotten we are wild, so we suffer. Aaron Turner: “A lone human voice offers a gateway into the album—a moment of clarity without metaphor, serving both as a reflection of our shared experience and the collective pain we endure.” Steve Von Till: “Modern society’s disconnect from who we truly are is the cause of not only our own internal suffering, but the suffering we inflict upon each other and the human world. This direct, unadorned approach of screaming such a statement of intent out into the void may be a nod to our early punk influences, but this isn’t politics, this is what we have always been singing about: The fight for our very souls.” “Mirror Deep” We are the empty space/Our lives will leave no trace/From the other side/Of the dusk and breaking dawn. AT: “There was a moment in writing this song where one riff was repeated into a state of complete disintegration. Though we ultimately abandoned that long cyclic version of the part, that energy of a continually corroding refrain served as the inspiration for deconstructing and revisiting the song entirely.” SVT: “Dissonant chords, self-oscillating feedback, samples, and vintage synth sounds push it to the edge, only to be held together by the driving nature of the drums. It morphed into something so concise and aggressive that it earned its spot as the first proper track.” “First Red Rays” Low to the dirt we scrape, degraded and hollowed. SVT: “Our season of renewal and continued evolution has been made abundantly clear with the raw energy brought by our new family member. Aaron and Jason gathered together briefly one weekend on their own and ended up with the foundation of this crusher. When the rest of us heard the primitive rehearsal room recording, we were all so far in that we became addicted to the sound of that demo and spent a good amount of time chasing that ghost until we finally captured its essence.” “Blind” Stars are blind, burning in the shallows/While despair wipes away delusion. SVT: “This song not only contains some of our most musical parts but also explores new ways to combine our voices. It is inspiring to know that, after 40 years, we are still finding new and unique pathways to explore our emotionally heavy music.” “Seething and Scattered” We’re all disconnected/From ourselves and each other/From all that is sacred/The source of our fall. SVT: “When there are a myriad of voices competing for attention in your skull, sometimes it takes multiple voices to keep the cacophony at bay. The shifting landscapes at the end of this track were a trip to get lost in and were originally extended parts of a much longer psych-rock nature in rehearsals. Ultimately, we decided it was more powerful to get down to brass tacks and simply share the most exciting moments we discovered along the way.” “Untethered” Blind, we stagger on/As the hive has lost its fucking mind/I fall low/Too sick to look behind. AT: “When it becomes clear that the emotional intent of a piece is unhinged immediacy and a sense of urgency, less becomes more.” “In the Waiting Hours” In the waiting hours/The eye torn open searches. AT: “When you carry your shadow with you everywhere, there is nowhere to hide, not even in sleep. This nocturnal condition, while unfortunate, can lead to intense sonic forms of release.” “Last Light” Sorrow we feel as we harrow the fields/As we know death to be a ravenous beast/Weltering in the blood of our love/The river itself starts to weep. SVT: “This track is a complete journey of its own and a perfect way to conclude what is, for all intents and purposes, the most important record for us personally and emotionally.”