For the life of me, I can't understand why 'Times of Grace' is rated so low on this website. Personally, it ranks as one of my favourite cornerstone albums of modern experimental metal, even with some of the obvious flaws. Neurosis are famous for being the instigators of the 'post-metal' movement, but as this album shows, their vision and execution go far beyond your run-of-the-mill style post metal. Indeed, calling this post metal would probably detract from the overall attraction of the album. This is brutal, thought provoking, dark, heavy and mystical music. Make of it what you will. That's it's beauty.

As you may expect, the riffing is heavy and dense, paced in a low to mid tempo (although not drone). The crushing density of the soundscapes however is not simply limited to stereotypically metal, indeed, the most cerebral and emotionally crushing track on the album is thoroughly minimalist, with other movements containing sinister but odd instrumentation like bagpipes. The combination of paint-shredding vocals, martial grooves and dense orchestrations creates a wonderfully ornamental atmosphere. Indeed, paraphrasing a contemporary (I can't remember where I got this from, so apologies in advance), one could do worse than to stare into the eye of the wolf on the album cover while listening to the album. Then you'll get it. While the trademark heaviness is pleasing and powerful, I must admit that on occasion it does seem a bit predictable, but stylistically that's probably the point. Also, while the production is a little messy and murky, in the overall aesthetical design, the slightly chaotic blueprint only further enhances the atmosphere. Don't fret though, it's not underground black metal bad.

Those looking to get into post metal would probably be advised to look elsewhere at first. This is by no means an easy album to admire or grasp. However, if you persist with it, it will reward you immensely. The maelstrom of emotions and imagery present here will not only keep you interested for repeated plays, but will also give you a greater appreciation of the ironic subtleties of this behemoth of a band.

Ric, I'm getting close to your Godspeed playcount.