Neurosis Surprise-Drops First New Album in Over a Decade

Jason Roeder has been holding down the low end of heavy music's most uncompromising rhythmic architecture for over four decades, and on March 20, 2026, he and the rest of Neurosis made the kind of move that only a band operating entirely outside the industry playbook would attempt: dropping a full studio album with no prior announcement. An Undying Love For A Burning World, the Oakland post-metal institution's 12th studio album, arrived on all digital platforms without warning, ending a ten-year recording silence that followed 2016's Fires Within Fires.

The release came through Neurot Recordings, the independent label Neurosis founded in the early 2000s. A physical edition is due in early May 2026, with pre-orders already live via Neurot.

The album also introduces a significant lineup change. Aaron Turner, best known as vocalist and guitarist for Isis from 1997 to 2010 and currently active with SUMAC and Old Man Gloom, joins on lead vocals and guitars. Turner steps into the role vacated by Scott Kelly, who was fired in 2019 after the band discovered his history of domestic violence. The situation remained private until 2022 at the request of Kelly's wife; Kelly publicly admitted to the abuse that year and announced his permanent retirement from music. Turner now takes his place alongside Steve Von Till on vocals and guitar, Roeder on drums, Dave Edwardson on bass, and Noah Landis on keyboards and electronics.

Turner's connection to the band runs deep. "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. "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 rest of the band noted his "instant creative contribution and energy that felt like a natural fit from day one."

The album's own press framing leans into the weight of the moment, describing it as "a potent statement of intent and rebirth" and "an epic album of colossal hypnotism, beautiful, fearsome and utterly compelling." The eight-track sequence runs from opener We Are Torn Wide Open through Mirror Deep, First Red Rays, Blind, Seething And Scattered, Untethered, In The Waiting Hours, and closer Last Light.

Live, the return is equally deliberate. Neurosis will perform at Fire In the Mountains Festival in July 2026, their first stage appearance in seven years. In a statement, the band said: "I cannot think of a more appropriate environment for us to return to the stage. Last year's Fire In the Mountains festival was the most profound music event I have ever been a part of. 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 formed in Oakland in late 1985 as a crust punk act, built around Kelly, Edwardson, and Roeder, who had all previously played together in hardcore outfit Violent Coercion. Von Till replaced guitarist Chad Salter in 1989; Landis came aboard in 1995. The band insists this is not a reunion: they never formally disbanded. An Undying Love For A Burning World is simply what comes next.