“Under the Surface” is a track from American post metal legends Neurosis’ sixth album, Times of Grace. It was released as a single with a video when the album came out, only the band’s second.
Cave In/Mutoid Man leader Stephen Brodsky knows his way around covers. Cut to the Core Vol. 2 is his second volume of covers of ’90s hardcore/metalcore and adjacent songs performed on acoustic guitar. Initially performed live on social media, Brodsky has now professionally recorded all of them. Though Neurosis is a metal band that helped invent “post metal,” Brodsky has included his cover of “Under the Surface” in this second collection.
One of the descriptions of Neurosis’ music is “atmospheric sludge metal,” which gives non-fans some idea of how loud and slow this music is. The original has screamed lyrics, pounding drums, sludgy, distorted guitars and, yes, atmospheric sound effects (before the pummeling guitars really kick in).
Brodsky strips away all of that – it’s him and his acoustic guitar to start. He sings the lyrics rather than screams them. He adds an acoustic slide guitar and double tracks his voice as he goes. For the section in which the guitars really kick in during the original, Brodsky adds additional guitar and some kind of droning instrument, which gains prominence in the break. Four minutes in, he adds a synthesizer briefly, the rare moment the arrangement deviates from being fully acoustic.
This cover reveals the song behind the sludge. Metal bands like Neurosis can be hard to approach for people uncomfortable with their volume and aggression. But these bands do indeed write actual songs. And Brodsky’s cover is proof of that – he is faithful to the structure and the melody but the almost entirely acoustic arrangement shows there’s a good song here. Perhaps this cover is even a gateway.
