60 Degrees

After many years as epic noisescape frontiersmen Neurosis' even more experimental wing, Tribes of Neurot — who consists of the entire Neurosis lineup and extended musical family — amassed enough recorded material by the late '90s to finally be considered on merit apart from Neurosis. Naturally, though, Tribes of Neurot is more a complete id extension — expansive, indulgent, trippy, at times quite interesting, and at others soporific. 60 Degrees, issued in tandem with the Neurosis EP Sovereign, which collected the remaining Albini-produced tracks from Times of Grace, does more or less the same thing: assemble detritus and volunteer it in digital format. Sixty Degrees and Sovereign, unlike Times of Grace and the Neurot project Grace, do not snap together an expanded listening formula. What Sixty Degrees specifically exists for is the compilation of separate Tribes of Neurot limited-edition releases: EPs, compilation tracks, and some unreleased material. As usual, one's like or dislike for the disc will be determined by whether or not one likes dark ambience or not, or whether one can tolerate Neurosis' Sturm und Drang. Generally, it's love or hate. It's really quite simple — Sixty Degrees does not diverge from the Neurot forumula.