Once upon a time, rock and roll was scary. Hell, somewhere right now, some parent is afraid of the picture their son or daughter just put on the wall of their room depicting a singer or band that makes them nervous about the future. Quite possibly, out there in the world right now, there is a band playing that is scaring the heck out of their audience, and for a brief fleeting moment, rock ’n’ roll is even dangerous again.
In the magical time of the 1990s, Oakland, California’s Neurosis were scary and intimidating, and their live shows were often fraught with the impending feel of a bad trip coming on. In fact, to drop acid at a Neurosis show was worthy of some sort of secret Boy Scout badge that only the most badass kids would seek out. When you combined their heavy-as-a-cement mixer punk, death, and hardcore sound with the dark, painful, primal fear-inducing imagery their visual directors (who were really the sixth member of the band) would put together between 1990 and 2012, there was nothing else like it. If you were there, you know, and if you are brave enough to venture out to The Van Buren on July 16, you’ll get a glimpse of what rock ’n’ roll can truly be.
Neurosis play with Converge and Amenra on Monday, July 16 at The Van Buren. Tickets are $30 at songkick.com.