NEUROSIS Vocalist/Guitarist Discusses 'Enemy Of The Sun' Reissue

Vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly of long-running Oakland, California-based industrial/alternative/metal pioneers NEUROSIS was recently interviewed by Justin M. Norton of Hellbound about the making of "Enemy Of The Sun" to coincide with the reissue of the album on the band's label, Neurot Recordings. Kelly also discussed the band's decision to release a live album, his growth as a person and a musician and a fallout with one-time label Alternative Tentacles. A couple of excerpts from the follow below.

Hellbound: "Enemy Of The Sun" came out 17 years ago in 1993, right when grunge was nearing its peak popularity. The record is very much not a product of its times. What was going on with the band when you were recording it?

Scott Kelly: We were still trying to come of age. I was 25 and trying to find my way in the world. I think we all were. We had started to find our sound and were able to express ourselves in a way we had been trying for a long time. "Souls At Zero" (1992) was a step in that direction. When I listen to it I find songs where we were tapping into it. But it was hit or miss, especially with keyboards and different textures. We had to get more proficient at our instruments to pull the things in our heads out. "Enemy" was a bold step in that direction. "Souls At Zero" was the first time we had any sort of legitimate following, where people cared about what we were doing, particularly in Europe and the Bay Area. Up to that point we were so transient with our sound and approach that we constantly gained and lost fans. We tried to do things we couldn't do. In a lot of ways this was a much more concrete record, even though "Zero" was packed with more songs. Every song and every moment on "Enemy" is deliberate.

Hellbound: For those who haven't seen the new reissue, how is the album different from the last remastering done in 1999?

Scott Kelly: It's not a whole lot different. The tracks are all the same. The packaging is different. It's' just the first time NEUROSIS has been able to claim the album. It's always been out there. We just wanted to take the initial pressing back from Alternative Tentacles and stop the bleeding. Now we've established this label, painstakingly put things together. The label is viable on some level and definitely the place to find our music. As we get back the rights to our records we'll re-release more.

Hellbound: You describe yourself as a self-made psychedelic cyborg. What do you mean?

Scott Kelly: I mean that I made a conscious decision to destroy my brain with psychedelics and remake it. I was so damaged from my childhood that I needed to do that to survive. I spent a lot of time putting myself into positions where I would have to adapt to uncomfortable situations. I purposely put myself in harm's way psychically and forced my brain to confront uncomfortable things. I had a strong desire to leave a large portion of my life completely behind, and I had a really strong desire to play music. I felt this was what I had to do.

Hellbound: You say you put yourself in harm's way psychically… Can you elaborate?

Scott Kelly: Not without getting into too much personal shit. A lot of stuff from my childhood I wanted to leave behind. I tried to confront it using psychedelics. But you can't erase the past that way. I don't have any regrets, but I did become a person that was easily provoked and prone to being forgetful.

Read the entire interview at Hellbound.