NEVERMORE ENEMIES OF REALITY
Century Media - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
Enemies of Reality is the 5th release by the Seattle-based Nevermore and it is clear that this band is at its creative peak. Enemies of Reality has the band at a much more aggressive and pissed off sound than with their last 2 releases. It also has more in common to The Politics of Ecstasy because the songs are more straight-forward, thrashier, faster and there is not much room to breath like there was with Dreaming Neon Black and Dead Heart In A Dead World.
At 40 minutes, Enemies of Reality is a an incredibly fast journey that is led by Warrels outstanding baritone singing and his malicious look on life. If the previous album had brought the metal worlds attention to Jeffs skill as a guitarist then this album will do nothing to diminish that well deserved reputation, in fact it should be enhanced after listening to songs like I Voyager, Ambivalent and Enemies of Reality. The rhythmic duo of Van and Jeff at drums and bass respectively is nothing short of spectacular. Vans drumming has always been great but I hope that with his performance here will give him more attention because he is not mentioned very often as one of metals top drummers and in my mind he definitely needs to be recognized more. Not everything is all fast and without a doubt Tomorrow Turns Into Yesterday will become a live staple and it has quickly become my favorite Nevermore ballad.
Now it has to come to the one but important negative of this album and that is Kelly Grays production. I have no clue why he produced this album as he has never produced a metal album before and it is clear why he has not. The sound is extremely muddy and it is quite hard to pick out the individual performances, at times it just sounds like one big wall of noise. This may be the reason why it took me longer to get into this album because of the simple fact of trying so hard to hear what the band was doing at times. It is truly a shame that this happened and supposedly there will be a re-mix done, do not quote me on that it is just rumors I have read on various places.
If the production would have been better then Enemies of Reality would have been a much better album. I highly enjoy it and I am listening to it on a daily basis but one can only wonder how good it could have been. One thing is for sure, I can not wait to hear these songs live as I am sure they will be much better. Overall, its a great album that is hindered by that one huge negative.
Century Media Website
Nevermore Official Website
Century Media - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
Enemies of Reality is the 5th release by the Seattle-based Nevermore and it is clear that this band is at its creative peak. Enemies of Reality has the band at a much more aggressive and pissed off sound than with their last 2 releases. It also has more in common to The Politics of Ecstasy because the songs are more straight-forward, thrashier, faster and there is not much room to breath like there was with Dreaming Neon Black and Dead Heart In A Dead World.
At 40 minutes, Enemies of Reality is a an incredibly fast journey that is led by Warrels outstanding baritone singing and his malicious look on life. If the previous album had brought the metal worlds attention to Jeffs skill as a guitarist then this album will do nothing to diminish that well deserved reputation, in fact it should be enhanced after listening to songs like I Voyager, Ambivalent and Enemies of Reality. The rhythmic duo of Van and Jeff at drums and bass respectively is nothing short of spectacular. Vans drumming has always been great but I hope that with his performance here will give him more attention because he is not mentioned very often as one of metals top drummers and in my mind he definitely needs to be recognized more. Not everything is all fast and without a doubt Tomorrow Turns Into Yesterday will become a live staple and it has quickly become my favorite Nevermore ballad.
Now it has to come to the one but important negative of this album and that is Kelly Grays production. I have no clue why he produced this album as he has never produced a metal album before and it is clear why he has not. The sound is extremely muddy and it is quite hard to pick out the individual performances, at times it just sounds like one big wall of noise. This may be the reason why it took me longer to get into this album because of the simple fact of trying so hard to hear what the band was doing at times. It is truly a shame that this happened and supposedly there will be a re-mix done, do not quote me on that it is just rumors I have read on various places.
If the production would have been better then Enemies of Reality would have been a much better album. I highly enjoy it and I am listening to it on a daily basis but one can only wonder how good it could have been. One thing is for sure, I can not wait to hear these songs live as I am sure they will be much better. Overall, its a great album that is hindered by that one huge negative.
Century Media Website
Nevermore Official Website
