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Neurosis > The Word as Law > Reviews > Thumbman
Neurosis - The Word as Law

A Transitional Record - 75%

Thumbman, December 20th, 2011

In 1990, Neurosis released their second album, Word As Law, on vinyl. This version contained eight tracks. A year later, they released it on cd, adding seven additional bonus tracks. These included re-recordings of several songs as well as a cover and a new track.

Word As Law features different production than their debut. While this by no means has a polished production, Pain Of Mind was much more raw. The gritty punk energy is not as well captured on their sophomore. One thing that may strike some people as odd about this album is the bass; it is not unusual for it to be higher in the mix than the electric guitar. There are some truly killer bass lines, but at times it can become distracting. Songs like "Double-Edged Sword" and the fantastic "Tomorrow's Reality" confirm that Neurosis is still strongly rooted in the punk scene. One thing that makes "Tomorrow's Reality" awesome is the dynamic between the two singers, something that's not as prevalent on this album as it was on the debut. While Neurosis would come to be much more metaphorical in their lyrics, lines like "today's nightmare is tomorrow's reality" shows that Neurosis is still sticking with the political lyrics typical to punk bands. The creeping atmospheric section in "To What End?", the lingering guitar at the beginning of "Insensitivity", and their attempt at a new style of song with "Blisters" show Neurosis trying to do something atypical and new.

Five of the seven tracks added for the 1991 version are re-recordings. While decent, a few of the re-recordings aren't exactly necessary. The only one that could really be considered an improvement would be "Life on Your Knees". The bass is awesome on this version and the production and vocals are much more powerful. The forceful yells of "life on your knees, get down on your knees" is one of the best parts of this record. "Pain Of Mind" is a decent re-recording with the riff becoming much more crushing. The version of "Pollution" featured on this record is completely unnecessary. It is basically just a more sanitized version of the original. "Grey" is especially disappointing. While the chorus was one of the best parts of Pain Of Mind, they change the timing of the vocals on this version, destroying what made the song special.

"Day Of Lords" is a cover of a haunting Joy Division song. It is really something to admire when a band can take an amazing song and make a high quality cover in a completely different style than the original. Neurosis keep the song slow and use an almost doom metal approach. Like the original, the Neurosis version is strong on the atmosphere front, but their version evokes a completely different ambiance than Joy Division. The album ends with an untitled track that is pretty much ten minutes of weird feedback, evoking a creepy mood. This is one of those tracks you have to be in the right mood for or it won't be enjoyable at all. While it would have been alright if this track was four or five minutes long, but ten is just too damn long. While longer song lengths are often needed to establish atmosphere, a shorter length would have sufficiently done so here. This track is notable because it foreshadows Tribes Of Neurot, Neurosis's ambient side project, which began releasing music in 1995.

This record shows Neurosis in a transition between their punk roots and coming to their own unique sound. Word As Law tends to lean more on the punk side, but there are numerous hints at their future style. Steve Von Till has said during this period they wanted to create something more, but weren't yet able to bring to life what they heard in their heads. This is something that would become realized two years later with the release of the groundbreaking Souls At Zero. While this album undoubtedly contains some really great songs, not all of them are amazing. Also, the album (with the 7 new tracks) does seem a little long and can be a bit much for one sitting and is something more variety would have remedied. Despite probably being Neurosis's least enjoyable full length, it is a very important part of their discography as it shows them beginning to deviate from genre based restrictions.