Souls at Zero

Souls at Zero is the third studio album by American avant-garde metal band Neurosis. The name was taken from a chapter in the book The Great and Secret Show by horror writer Clive Barker. The album was released in 1992 under the Alternative Tentacles record label.[9] It was later reissued in 1999 with bonus tracks on the band's own Neurot Recordings label.[9] On February 15, 2010, the album was reissued on CD and digitally with new artwork under Neurot.[9] On February 14, 2012, a fully remastered version was released on vinyl via Relapse Records.[10]

Souls at Zero
Studio album by Neurosis
Released	May 19, 1992
Recorded	February–March 1992, Starlight Sound, Richmond
Genre	Sludge metal[1] post-metal[2][3] experimental[3] post-hardcore[4] industrial metal[5]
Length	61:15
Label	Alternative Tentacles
Producer	Bill Thompson, Neurosis
Neurosis chronology
The Word as Law (1990) Souls at Zero (1992) Enemy of the Sun (1993)
Reissue artwork

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[6]
Allmusic	[7]
Drowned in Sound	9/10[8]
Exclaim!	favorable[3]

The album marked a dramatic change in Neurosis' sound, which was previously firmly based in hardcore punk. The shift was also evident on their contribution to the Dead Kennedys tribute Virus 100. The band embraced doom metal influences and experimented with elements of post-punk and gothic rock, noise rock and industrial music, psychedelic, progressive and folk music. Along with their subsequent 1990s work, this established the band's unique style, highly influential to the development of post-metal and sludge metal.

In an interview the band stated that the cover art was inspired by the movie The Wicker Man. Since they could not afford to buy the licence for the image from the film, they created their own straw figure.

Track listing

Souls at Zero

No.	Title	Length
1.	"To Crawl Under One's Skin"	7:51
2.	"Souls at Zero"	9:18
3.	"Zero"	1:40
4.	"Flight"	4:05
5.	"The Web"	4:55
6.	"Sterile Vision"	6:20
7.	"A Chronology for Survival"	9:34
8.	"Stripped"	8:00
9.	"Takeahnase"	7:56
10.	"Empty"	1:36
Total length:		61:15

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Souls" (demo version)	8:28
12.	"Zero" (demo version)	1:14
13.	"Cleanse III" (Live in London)	5:38

Personnel

Neurosis

• Scott Kelly − lead vocals, guitar
• Steve Von Till − lead vocals, guitar
• Dave Edwardson − bass, backing vocals
• Simon McIlroy − keyboards, synthesizers, samples, effects, backing vocals
• Jason Roeder − drums, percussions

Additional musicians

• Adam Kendall − visual media
• Kris Force − violin, viola
• Sarah Augros − flute
• Walter P. Sunday − cello
• Siovhan King − trumpet

Technical personnel

• Neurosis − production
• Bill Thompson − production, engineering
• Jello Biafra − mixing
• Malcolm Sherwood − engineering
• Jeffrey Gray − engineering
• Jeff Fogerty − engineering

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
Worldwide	1992	Alternative Tentacles	CD
Worldwide reissue	1999	Neurot Recordings	CD
	February 15, 2010	Neurot Recordings	CD, digital
	February 14, 2012	Relapse Records	LP

References

1. Palmerston, Sean (January 31, 2011). "Neurosis – Souls at Zero (reissue)". Hellbound.ca. Retrieved March 30, 2017. Back in 1992, when sludge metal was still in its infancy, Neurosis was taking it in completely unheard-of directions...
2. Jahdi, Robin (June 24, 2015). "The 40 best post-metal records ever made". Fact. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
3. Dawes, Laina (February 14, 2011). "Neurosis – Souls at Zero". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
4. Grow, Kory (November 22, 2016). "Neurosis on 30 Years of Finding 'New Ways of Being Heavy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
5. Gardner, Noel (October 8, 2016). "Neurosis – Fires Within Fires". The Quietus. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
6. Norton, Justin. "Neurosis - 'Souls At Zero'". About.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
7. Raggett, Ned. "Souls at Zero - Neurosis". Allmusic. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
8. Drever, Ryan (March 4, 2011). "Neurosis - Souls at Zero". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
9. Hughes, Josiah (December 28, 2010). "Neurosis Announce Souls at Zero Reissue". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
10. "Neurosis: Classic Albums To Be Reissued On Deluxe Vinyl". Blabbermouth.net. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2012.