Neurosis — the long-running, avant-garde metal group — announced a reunion, of sorts, on Friday, following years of uncertainty. In 2019, the band parted ways with one of its co-founding members, guitarist-singer Scott Kelly, after he admitted to abusing his wife and kids through coercive control. In a 2022 statement, the rest of the group said it was unaware of Kelly’s behavior prior to his dismissal. “In due course, when it’s appropriate, we will provide more information about our future musical endeavors,” the group said at the time. Now they have surprise-released a new album featuring a new lineup, saying in a statement that it’s “not a reunion; we never broke up.”
The band’s 12th overall album, An Undying Love for a Burning World, which is streaming now with physical copies available for preorder, is their first since Fires Within Fires from a decade ago. It features the arrival of Aaron Turner, the singer-guitarist who leads the sludge-metal group Sumac and, for years, led the progressive-meal outfit Isis. This lineup of the band will make its live debut in July at the Fire in the Mountains festival in Montana.
“We need this, perhaps more than ever, and we suspect we are not alone,” Neurosis said collectively of their return in a statement. “The trials and tribulations in our personal lives and as a band, combined with simply trying to navigate the insanity of our society, with the stress, anxiety, and isolation that come with it can be excruciating. … This strange, emotionally charged music has always been our method of trying to survive this and this is what we’ve always been singing about.”
Although drummer Jason Roeder had stated in 2025 that he was retiring from music, he is present on the album, which features the same musicians as Fire Within Fires, other than Kelly. They recorded the album with Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac) over three weekends at Seattle’s Studio Litho.
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Turner, in a statement, expressed his excitement to be part of a band he long admired. “From the moment I first heard Neurosis over 30 years ago, I felt this was the music my heart and mind had been seeking but not yet heard,” he said. “Now after many years traveling along various musical paths of my own, the singular sound and spirit embodied by Neurosis continues to speak to the depths of my being. It is an honor and a true pleasure to have been welcomed so warmly into a band that not only shaped my perspective on the limitless possibilities of music — but has lived and exemplified the necessity of upholding creative integrity and camaraderie above all else.”
The band’s first concert in seven years will take place on the Blackfeet Nation as part of Fire in the Mountains. They will headline alongside a reunion of Sixteen Horsepower, an Immortal tribute group called Between Two Worlds featuring former Immortal members, and Baroness. Neurosis vocalist-guitarist Steve Von Till has long been involved with a nonprofit organization called the Firekeeper Alliance, associated with Fire in the Mountains, teaching students on the reservation about how metal can be used as an outlet for catharsis as an alternative to contemplating suicide.
“I cannot think of a more appropriate environment for us to return to the stage,” Von Till said. “Last year’s Fire in the Mountains festival was the most profound music event I have ever been a part of. The weekend took on a healing, cathartic ceremonial nature that is difficult to put into words. Using emotionally heavy music to build community and collectively stare darkness in the eye is something we have always believed in, but using it to directly address the heartbreaking reality of suicide, grief, loss and trauma is taking it to another level.” Neurosis, who have long supported good mental health, notably included the number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) and the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988) when it announced its split from Kelly.
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An Undying Love for a Burning World Track List
1. “We Are Torn Wide Open”
2. “Mirror Deep”
3. “First Red Rays”
4. “Blind”
5. “Seething and Scattered”
6. “Untethered”
7. “In the Waiting Hours”
8. “Last Light”
