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As is obvious from the title, Live at Roadburn 2007 documents Neurosis‘ performance at the great European heavy rock/metal festival of the same name. Frankly, Neurosis in concert isn’t that much different than Neurosis in the studio – their work in the latter environment has always sounded like a very well-rehearsed band just setting up and letting rip anyway. The point of Live at Roadburn 2007 isn’t so much the addition of any live energy – it’s to sum up the band’s recent era. Drawing most of its material from its last two albums In the Eye of Every Storm and Given to the Rising, the set showcases the Oakland sextet at its musical peak, blending hardcore rage, prog rock dynamics, ambient atmospherics and metal crunch with a sure grace its many imitators can never quite match. (Except for Isis, that is.) The mixture of power and majesty minus pretentiousness on “Left to Wander,” “Burn” and “The Doorway” (a genuine oldie from the band’s pioneering LP Times of Grace) will make you believe in metal as art. If you’ve been curious about Neurosis but unsure of with what to start, Live at Roadburn 2007 is your entry point.
