Neurosis

Not just a clever title, Official Bootleg.01.Lyon.France.11.02.99 is exactly what it advertises: a sonic capturing of the irresistible gravitational force that is a live Neurosis show. Taken from their Times of Grace period, back when they were still the heaviest of the heavies, even as they incorporated more and more melodies into their artistic doom, Bootleg is Neurosis’s first "official” live performance (guess those bonus tracks scattered about the re-issues don’t count) and also the first in this new live series designed to combat shitty Neurosis bootlegs. Featuring excellent audio quality, but not too pristine, and a stirring Neurosis performance, this six-song, near-hour-long musical tectonic upheaval draws mainly from Times of Grace, with a truly awe-inspiring version of "Lost,” from the heaviest album ever made, Enemy of the Sun, being worth the price of this document on its own. True, with its artistic visual collages lacking, as is the terrifyingly oppressive live intensity and volume of a Neurosis show, a live Neurosis document is only half complete at best. Still, they have yet to find a format that could adequately contain Neurosis’s visual/audio devastation, and while you had to have been there to understand, Official Bootleg.01.Lyon.France.11.02.99 brings it all rushing back for those that were, and offers a great musical set for those that weren’t.