Formation and early years (1985–1995) In December 1985,
Scott Kelly (guitar/vocals), Dave Edwardson (bass/vocals), and
Jason Roeder (drums), formerly members of Violent Coercion, founded Neurosis as a hardcore punk outfit, inspired also by British
crust punk in the vein of
Amebix. The name came from the intro song "Neurosis/Faith or Fraud" by Violent Coercion. The band released their first demo tape in July 1986. In January 1987, Chad Salter was added on second guitar and vocals. In June 1987 Neurosis signed to Alchemy Records/Southern Studios, and the band's debut LP, "
Pain of Mind", released in December 1987. Artwork for the record was done by Jason B. Storey, former vocalist of Violent Coercion. In December 1988 guitarist/vocalist Chad Salter left the band and was replaced by the band's roadie, Pete Rypins. In January 1989 Neurosis released 3-song EP "Aberration" on
Lookout! Records and went on 6-week US tour from January to February 1989. After the tour in March 1989 Pete left and was replaced by
Steve Von Till, who previously played in bands Transgressor, Peace Test and Tribe of Resistance. During the December 1989 the band recorded their next album, and in February 1990 "
The Word as Law" was released via
Lookout! Records. From June to August 1990 Neurosis went on 10 week tour through the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Also in June 1990 "Empty" live EP was released via Allied Recordings. In April 1991, Simon McIlroy joined the band as a synthesizer/sampler player with Adam Kendall as a visual artist (Adam and Simon have been friends since they were teenagers and they were doing a lot of experimental music together before). Adam Kendall helped built the initial visual setup for the band, collecting and compiling imagery and was the first to travel with the band, taking this out across the U.S. and Europe. At this point, keyboardist Simon McIlroy also began contributing to developing the band's visuals. He previously did different psychedelic visuals with a similar setup for underground raves, and while the imagery was completely different, the band interacted with other experienced visual artists which allowed Neurosis to borrow and steal techniques that were helpful. In May 1990 "
The Word as Law" was re-released on CD with bonus tracks. With
The Word as Law, Neurosis began to transition from the rapid-fire hardcore punk of "
Pain of Mind" to the more experimental sound of "
Souls at Zero", which featured slower tempos, unorthodox song structures, and guest performers on instruments like trumpet, violin and flute. The album would ultimately prove critical in the development of the
post-metal genre and
atmospheric sludge metal. In October 1991 Neurosis signed to
Alternative Tentacles, and a four-song demo for the upcoming album was recorded. In February-March 1992 the band recorded next album, and on May 19 1992 "
Souls at Zero" was released. Next album "
Enemy of the Sun" was released on August 17, 1993 also via Alternative Tentacles. Neurosis' signature sound came into full force with this recording, with
The Quietus observing that "at the time few could have predicted this black hole of agonizingly precise metal riffs, unnerving backmasking, industrial folkisms and extensive sampling".
Through Silver in Blood to The Eye of Every Storm (1996–2004) In 1996, Neurosis attracted mainstream attention with its
Relapse Records debut,
Through Silver in Blood and subsequent tour with
Pantera. In 1999, Neurosis released
Times of Grace, which was designed to be played synchronously with
Grace, an album released by Neurosis' ambient side project,
Tribes of Neurot. In the early 2000s, the band founded their own
independent record label,
Neurot Recordings, which, in addition to releasing material from Neurosis and its associated projects, signed several other artists. Beginning with
A Sun That Never Sets, Neurosis began incorporating clean vocals and acoustic instrumentation with a growing
folk music influence, more noted presence of classical
string instruments (which had been used sparsely since
Souls At Zero) as well as slower tempos and a more contemplative sound.
Allmusic described this change as an "aesthetic sea change". 2004's
The Eye of Every Storm expanded upon this change by incorporating more ambient textures into the mix and presenting a softer post-rock oriented sound.
Given to the Rising, Honor Found in Decay, Fires Within Fires (2007–2019) The band released their ninth studio album
Given to the Rising on May 8, 2007, through Neurot Records. On this album Neurosis re-incorporated a more aggressive approach into their music once again, and the album was well received by critics. The band entered the studio in December 2011 to record the follow-up to
Given to the Rising. The new album, entitled
Honor Found in Decay, was released in late October 2012. The band performed at Roadburn 2016, with Brooklyn Vegan's Ian Cory writing that "once the house lights came up it was hard to justify watching anything else." This was part of their series of shows performed in celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band. On May 5, 2016, Relapse Records confirmed they were reissuing
A Sun That Never Sets and
The Eye of Every Storm on vinyl on June 17 with new artwork. On August 1, 2016, the band released a teaser trailer for their upcoming album online. Their eleventh studio album, titled
Fires Within Fires, was released on September 23, 2016.
Scott Kelly's dismissal and hiatus (2019–2026) Following a Facebook post confessing to allegations of abuse towards his wife and family, Scott Kelly retired from music and public life in August 2022. According to a statement released by the band's Facebook page the next day, Kelly had been quietly expelled from the group in late 2019 when his bandmates discovered the extent of his abuse and domestic violence. The band never made any prior formal announcements regarding this "out of respect for [Kelly's] wife's direct request for privacy, and to honor the family's wish not to let their experience become gossip in a music magazine." In the post, the band condemned Kelly's abuse and described being filled with "disgust and disappointment" towards "a man who we once called Brother". During this hiatus, there was no announcement or info on whether or not the band will continue or disband, as "in due course, when it's appropriate, we will provide more information about our future musical endeavors, but that time is not now." In a follow-up post, Roeder denied he was retiring from music altogether, and further stated: "As far as Neurosis goes - I don't know. The remaining members are truly amazing people and with or without me I am sure they will continue to do mind-blowing work, whatever form it takes."
End of hiatus and addition of Aaron Turner (2026–present) On March 20, 2026, the band surprise-released their 12th studio album,
An Undying Love for a Burning World, and announced the addition of vocalist/guitarist Aaron Turner, best known for bands such as
Isis and
Sumac, who began rehearsing with the band in April 2024. On that same day, the band announced their first show in seven years at the Fire in the Mountains festival in
Montana. ==Visuals==