Neurosis Explain Why Aaron Turner Was The “Obvious” Choice For The Band’s Reinvention

The return of Neurosis earlier this year came as a genuine surprise to longtime followers of the influential post-metal pioneers. For many, the band appeared finished following the 2022 departure of vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly, who publicly admitted to abusing members of his family — actions that led the remaining members to condemn him and place the band on indefinite hiatus.

That silence ended abruptly on March 20th when Neurosis unexpectedly released a new studio album, ‘An Undying Love For A Burning World’, while simultaneously revealing that Aaron Turner (SUMAC, Old Man Gloom, ex-Isis) had joined the lineup.

Given Turner’s deep roots within the post-metal scene — and his long creative overlap with Neurosis’ influence — many fans viewed the pairing as inevitable. In fact, during the early 2000s, the stylistic similarities between Neurosis and Isis became so widely discussed that the term “Neur-Isis” emerged as a shorthand genre label among listeners.

Speaking with Bandcamp, guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till reflected on how the band approached rebuilding itself creatively and why Turner ultimately became the right fit.

“We were thinking about how we could reinvent ourselves with the same energy that we reinvented ourselves with when I first joined, when we went from ‘The Word As Law’ to ‘Souls At Zero’. But we’re no longer young men. What kind of puzzles could we put in front of us to create that level of reinvention when time doesn’t move the same way it used to? It came down to finding the right energy.

Honestly, the only hesitation about Aaron at first was that it seemed so obvious. And we weren’t convinced that he wasn’t too busy with his own work to just want to drop everything and join our dysfunctional old man band.”

Turner explained that the collaboration was less sudden than it may have appeared publicly, noting that his history with the band stretches back decades through shared projects, tours, and releases connected to Neurosis’ Neurot Recordings label.

“It’s not like Steve and I had never spoken, and he all of a sudden asked me to join. Our paths became interwoven a long time ago. Numerous projects of mine released stuff on Neurot. I did some artwork for Neurosis. Neurosis took my old band ISIS on tour.

This is a relationship of community where everybody is doing stuff with each other constantly, and there are always ideas flowing back and forth. In that way, it wasn’t surprising to me. At the same time, it was definitely a what-the-fuck moment for me because this is a band that I had been deeply influenced by in many ways, both musically and ideologically.”

According to Von Till, the band wasn’t simply searching for someone to replace Kelly’s role, but rather a collaborator capable of reshaping Neurosis’ creative identity moving forward.

“We’ve always been a collective, and we need the energy. As much as people may think they understand what happens behind the scenes in certain bands, Neurosis has always been collaborative. This album being a reinvention, we didn’t want the same old shit.

We wanted somebody to come up with new ideas and a fresh approach—to make not only the old stuff their own, but to bring new stuff. All ‘Neur-Isis’ jokes aside, it’s really been what Aaron has done with SUMAC, the really unhinged sonic dynamics and mastery of raw emotion, and his unique approach to guitar, that we felt was really going to click with our energy.”

The arrival of Turner signals a new chapter for Neurosis — one rooted less in replacement and more in evolution — as the band continues redefining itself following one of the most turbulent periods in its history.

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