Neuraxis is a Canadian technical/melodic death metal band. Characterized by their unique riffing style, the band has worked hard over the years to become one of the biggest forces in the Quebec technical death scene, in addition to having had just about every notable death metal musician from Quebec and Ontario in their ranks at one time or another.
Formed in Montreal in 1994 by Maynard Moore (vocals), Steven Henry and Felipe Quinzanos (guitars), Yan Thiel (bass), and Mathieu Royale (drums), the band spent several years honing their craft at the start; come 1997, Imagery hit, though Quinzanos had left by that time and was replaced by Rob Milley. Several assorted demos followed in the four years between that album and A Passage into Forlorn, their second full-length, along with multiple vocalist and drummer shifts, and by the time that album hit, the mic and kit were being manned by Ian Campbell and Alexandre Erian, respectively. A deal with the Montreal-based indie label Galy Music was inked that following year, and with it came the third full-length, Truth Beyond..., which featured the same lineup for once. Erian left that following year to strike out on his own with his new band Despised Icon, and Etienne Gallo briefly took his place before leaving as well and being replaced by Tommy McKinnon, forming the Trilateral Progression lineup, with said album dropping that same year. Another lineup shift took place in 2006, with Henry being the one to leave this time and William Seghers taking his place. Campbell left the year after that and was replaced by Alex LeBlanc, and with that lineup came a live album that year and The Thin Line Between, another full-length, that following year. Of course, in true Neuraxis fashion, two more members left in 2009, with Thiel, the only remaining founder, being one of them, along with McKinnon. Thankfully, the two Oliviers (Pinard and Beaudoin, respectively) came along to replace them, and all was well for another year or so until Seghers left in 2010 and was not replaced.
Undaunted, the band soldiered on and released Asylon in 2011, and with it came another round of touring. Things have slowed down since then, however, with Beaudoin leaving and later joining Kataklysm, Pinard joining Cryptopsy, Milley joining Phobocosm, and LeBlanc's time being limited by his pro wrestling career, and while it hasn't been officially announced, the band is basically dead at this point. As of 2015, Rob Milley has formed Akurion with Pinard, McKinnon, and Mike DiSalvo (who is making his return to music), though Pinard merely said that Neuraxis was "on a break" as opposed to broken up.
Discography:
- Imagery (1997)
- In Silence (1999) - demo
- Virtuosity (1999) - demo
- A Passage into Forlorn (2001)
- Truth Beyond... (2002)
- Truth | Imagery | Passage (2005) - compilation
- Trilateral Progression (2006)
- Live Progression (2007)
- The Thin Line Between (2008)
- Asylon (2011)
The band contains examples of the following tropes:
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: The neuraxis is the axis of the central nervous system and denotes its direction.
- Epic Rocking: "The Apex" at 6:00 and "The Thin Line Between" at 8:32.
- I Am the Band: Rob Milley as of now.
- In Name Only: No founding members remain; Yan Thiel, the last one to leave, departed in 2009.
- Melodic Death Metal: One of the heavier examples.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted when there were two Oliviers (Pinard and Beaudoin) in the band.
- Revolving Door Band: In the nineteen years that they have been around, there has been a truly jaw-dropping amount of lineup shifts. Ironically enough, this is one of the few major Quebec-based death metal acts that neither Youri Raymond nor Patrice Hamelin (two people known for being in a lot of different bands over the years) have been in.
- Special Guest: They've had a decent amount of these over the years, with Jason Netherton, Bill Robinson, and Luc Lemay being some of the more notable ones. Also, Oli Beaudoin was originally one of these for Max Duhamel while the latter was in rehab before he wound up joining full-time after Duhamel decided to leave for good.
- Start My Own: Erian with Despised Icon. Milley himself has started Akurion with Pinard and McKinnon plus Mike DiSalvo as of 2015, though it remains to be seen whether it will just be a new project or if it will be the final nail in Neuraxis' coffin.
- Technical Death Metal: Less in-your-face technical and more because of unusual riff structures and melodic ideas. Also an Ur-Example of melodic tech along with Anata, though Arsis is probably the main influence of most melodic tech acts.
