They are back! The unbeaten Gods of… um, what actually? I mean, was NEUROSIS not the definition of this style itself? Since the beginning. Well, ok, to make it easier for the new ones to this band, we also accept the little drawer labeled Post-Hardcore. At least that is the one all these endless followers, epigones and clones are fitting in that walk right now in NEUROSIS’ footsteps. I guess there is no need to name anyone, everybody knows who’s meant. And again they all fell short. An awareness that took me awhile to grasp…
I have to confess, I had some difficulties in the beginning with Given To The Rising, I didn’t have anymore since the grandiose Times Of Grace album back then. Always again a NEUROSIS album flowers out late, acts unwieldy, lateral thinking and never sounds like as one might expect.
After the stirring record The Eye Of Every Storm one could have thought of an album that is even quieter. Wrong thinking! Given To The Rising draws the bow back to more heaviness and doom, but still with much of 70’s psychedelic. At some point this record is nasty and unwieldy, with much feedback and background noise.
Stop! This record is definitely NOT an exercise in “how heavy we can be?”. Of course, in the perfect moments, quieter parts, fragments and interludes appear. That is why Given To The Rising does not sound like made in one pour. That is, why this masterpiece sounds broken. And if one does not listen exactly, one might miss the red thread.
But if one does once more, a titanic monolith gets unfold, still uncovering new tunes, tones and atmospheres after all these years of musical work and expressiveness.
Not only the mighty opener and title-track Given To The Rising reminds at points to the Melvins. Those who listen attentively will hear out a seeming preference for Hawkwind-like psychedelic. The weighty To The Wind gets broken in the middle by a long, psychedelic drone break. At The End Of The Road even seems like not getting off the grid at all and sounds in the beginning like an experiment of the Tribes Of Neurot twin band.
These kinds of breaks one will find on the entire record. And that exactly is, what makes Given To The Rising so special. And the tension was kept. Just listen to the discordant Distill, the secret finale, and to the mystically wavering Origin, the closing song on this album.

As usual, NEUROSIS never repeat themselves. But they also don’t make it easy for the dedicative listener. Why should they? What is left is another masterpiece of this legendary band, captivating and thrilling and defy any convention. A lateral thinking that indeed reminds of Times Of Grace, added by the knowledge and will of psychedelic from the last albums. Maximum rating!