Souls at Zero

Souls at Zero is the third studio album from the Californian band Neurosis and their first for the Alternative Tentacles label. The name was taken from a chapter in the book The Great and Secret Show by horror writer Clive Barker. It was later reissued in 1999 with bonus tracks on the band's own Neurot Recordings label. Unlike their previous efforts, this album showcases the band's penchant for playing densely layered, folk-influenced music at radically slower tempos. While this album likely alienated a large portion of their early fan base, it has become an important landmark for newer Neurosis fans. In an interview the band stated that the famous cover art was inspired by the movie The Wicker Man but since they could not acquire the licence for the image affordably, they created their own straw figure for the artwork.

Track listing

1. "To Crawl Under One's Skin" – 7:51
2. "Souls at Zero" – 9:18
3. "Zero" – 1:41
4. "Flight" – 4:07
5. "The Web" – 4:55
6. "Sterile Vision" – 6:20
7. "A Chronology for Survival" – 9:34
8. "Stripped" – 8:01
9. "Takeahnase" – 7:56
10. "Empty" – 1:36
11. "Souls" (Demo, 1991) – 8:28 (1999 Bonus Track)
12. "Zero" (Demo, 1991) – 1:14 (1999 Bonus Track)
13. "Cleanse III" (Live in London, May 1996) – 5:38 (1999 Bonus Track)

Personnel

Band members

• Scott Kelly − guitar, vocals
• Steve Von Till − guitar, vocals
• Dave Edwardson − bass guitar, vocals
• Simon McIlroy − keyboards, tapes, samples
• Jason Roeder − drums

Guest musicians

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

Production

• Engineered by Bill Thompson
• Mix Doctor: Jello Biafra
• Recorded and mixed at Starlight Sound, Richmond
• Assistant engineers: Malcom Sherwood, Jeff Fogerty & Jeffrey Gray