Usually a new album is followed by a tour. When Enemies Of Reality came out in July we all knew, Nevermore would hit the European road soon after. It happened this past September and October together along with label mates, Arch Enemy, who have also released an album this year.
Unfortunately just two days before the Budapest gig took place, Arch Enemy canceled the rest of the tour for some infection caused by bloodsucking bugs. I have to admit, I saw the good in it. Of course I felt sorry for the Arch Enemy members and was sad not to see them in Hungary, but I hoped their absence would let Nevermore play a longer set. When I met the band before the show my hopes started to fade. Warrel seemed ill and hardly wanted to talk, he rather looked speechless rest while curing himself with Fisherman's Friend and some kind of a green tea.
I've been at quite a few gigs this year but this time I was about to see my favourite band live. What could top that? Nothing.
Though starting with the intro of their latest release would be more 'proper', Nevermore kicked off their show with Inside 4 Walls. The slowly whirling rhythms of the drums-guitar duet from the very first moment of this song provided the chaos in front of the stage - that is what Warrel usually wishes for. Nevermore was unleashed on us and we, the audience, went insane. We even sang (khm, rather shouted as loud as we were just able) along with Warrel starting from the first lines of the lyrics. I guess they chose it to open their set for its power and its aggression. It was followed by Never Purify from the new album, that first sounds calmer but its spiraling riffs are doing their work, keeping the insanity in front of the stage. Its rhythms constantly producing energy and you can't just stand there watching, you have to act as these rhythms dictate.
Sea Of Possibilities hit by surprise. They've rarely played from their first release but after considerating their fans' wishes they chose this song for presenting their self titled album. "One step closer, Everything comes back to you in time". The chaotic, fast parts are slowed down with dreamy, psychedelic passages ("Come with me, sail the sea of possibillities"), resulting even more insane moshpit at gigs when they speeded up again, as it just happened in this case as well. But surprise-time didn't end there. "Who Am I?" asked Warrel and the distracted Lost from Politics Of Ecstasy burst out from the speakers. In Memory came after, before they returned to DHIADW again. Narcosynthesis was followed by the sorrowful bass-vocal intro of Dead Heart In A Dead World that turned into The Heart Collector. A song that is filled with emptiness and pain. I'm not sure but as I recognized, their audience became even louder and more enthusiastic when they sang along with Warrel such lyrics as, "Just believe when you can't believe anymore"
After this, Ambivalent hit on us as a blast with its fast tempos and Jeff's crazy riffs, those are arising from madness and falling back into it. (These two, so different songs after each other, actually are quite manipulating). We screamed for our own souls "All my hate beneath me forms a cage". I still wonder how did they manage to create the light vocal melody to these lines while the music behind it sounds like a hate bubbling crater. While the sinister sounding vocals as Warrel sings "We are the enemies of reality, in a world thats unforgiving gives me goosebumps.
Here we arrived to the middle of the gig, so let's 'waste' some words on the musicians. Jeff, who looks like an innocent boy normally is rather devilish on the stage as he grimaces and headbangs at the same time. Looks like music takes over him... I know Steve Smyth is the premanent member of Testament and he only helped out Nevermore on this tour, but with his long blond hair and his goatee, he looks like the little twin of Warrel, in brief : fully qualified member of the Nevermore family. And in many way he is. As I saw, he put all his heart and soul into his playing. Jim is a master of his bass guitar as well, and Van was the loose perpetum mobile as he always is. He seems to beat the craziest, complex themes as easily as he was just sipping his afternoon tea. You can't see concentration or tension on his face though he is playing accurate and tight. And Warrel. What to say about him? His voice and his words have already burnt into our brains. He has got a fantastic voice. Powerful and passionate, visualizing everything he ever wrote about. His voice is transferring the pain, the desperation, the loneliness, the hate, the anger (...etc) he ever talked about through his lyrics to us. He wasn't in the best condition and sometimes you could even see the pain on his face, so let me say, his perfomance was near superhuman.
But let's get back to their set. I remember clearly as Warrel shouted 'I wanna see chaos!' on their Dreaming Neon Black tour in 99 and everytime he did that then, it announced the song Deconstruction. This time No More Will presented DNB, that is considered as one of their most suicidal songs by some. Acoustic guitar tunes led up The River Dragon Has Come and Warrel's accusing voice made us all feel blamed. The Seven Tounges Of God is more a straight forward, into your face song that's heavy thrash riffs kicks you in the butt and at gigs even if you felt tired it drags you back to life.
Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday was supposed to close the concert on first place. Warrel 'announced' this song with a little retrospection, telling us that he used to headbang and mosh at other bands' gig when he was young but he grew too old for that (and as he said in the interview he crushed himself too many times).
Of course it didn't really mean the end of the concert. We all know the game, the bands only need some stimulation for the encore. So we loudly wanted them back and they came back for two more songs . The slower Who Decides? prepared us for the more aggressive Engines of Hate.
They said good bye again and left the stage but a few moments later (due to our enthusiasm?) they appeared again to play the final song. 'Properly' it was the song that follows Engines of Hate on the album as well, the cover of Sound of Silence. Warrel wanted to see chaos again that was in fact an invitation to the stage and as good obedients, many volunteers started to climb up to them. In a few moments the stage was packed and some of the brave ones even sang in the microphone. Actually I think some of these 'fans' were far too exhibitionist but at the end, Warrel threw himself into the crowd so he seemed enjoying it and probably he took this fact easier than I did. Drumsticks and plectrums flew through the air as the band left the stage for the last time.
I don't know if I was able to give you back the atmoshphere and the feeling of this Nevermore gig or not. I feel like I could talk more about it, describing and analizing everything anybody did there but it wouldn't make much sense. If you've been to any Nevermore gig ever and you dig them as much as I do, then you know what I was trying to tell here, otherwise you just will never understand. They were here and they played for us. Their music is all that counts.
ps: next time bring some f*** merchandise!
your mom
Unfortunately just two days before the Budapest gig took place, Arch Enemy canceled the rest of the tour for some infection caused by bloodsucking bugs. I have to admit, I saw the good in it. Of course I felt sorry for the Arch Enemy members and was sad not to see them in Hungary, but I hoped their absence would let Nevermore play a longer set. When I met the band before the show my hopes started to fade. Warrel seemed ill and hardly wanted to talk, he rather looked speechless rest while curing himself with Fisherman's Friend and some kind of a green tea.
I've been at quite a few gigs this year but this time I was about to see my favourite band live. What could top that? Nothing.
Though starting with the intro of their latest release would be more 'proper', Nevermore kicked off their show with Inside 4 Walls. The slowly whirling rhythms of the drums-guitar duet from the very first moment of this song provided the chaos in front of the stage - that is what Warrel usually wishes for. Nevermore was unleashed on us and we, the audience, went insane. We even sang (khm, rather shouted as loud as we were just able) along with Warrel starting from the first lines of the lyrics. I guess they chose it to open their set for its power and its aggression. It was followed by Never Purify from the new album, that first sounds calmer but its spiraling riffs are doing their work, keeping the insanity in front of the stage. Its rhythms constantly producing energy and you can't just stand there watching, you have to act as these rhythms dictate.
Sea Of Possibilities hit by surprise. They've rarely played from their first release but after considerating their fans' wishes they chose this song for presenting their self titled album. "One step closer, Everything comes back to you in time". The chaotic, fast parts are slowed down with dreamy, psychedelic passages ("Come with me, sail the sea of possibillities"), resulting even more insane moshpit at gigs when they speeded up again, as it just happened in this case as well. But surprise-time didn't end there. "Who Am I?" asked Warrel and the distracted Lost from Politics Of Ecstasy burst out from the speakers. In Memory came after, before they returned to DHIADW again. Narcosynthesis was followed by the sorrowful bass-vocal intro of Dead Heart In A Dead World that turned into The Heart Collector. A song that is filled with emptiness and pain. I'm not sure but as I recognized, their audience became even louder and more enthusiastic when they sang along with Warrel such lyrics as, "Just believe when you can't believe anymore"
After this, Ambivalent hit on us as a blast with its fast tempos and Jeff's crazy riffs, those are arising from madness and falling back into it. (These two, so different songs after each other, actually are quite manipulating). We screamed for our own souls "All my hate beneath me forms a cage". I still wonder how did they manage to create the light vocal melody to these lines while the music behind it sounds like a hate bubbling crater. While the sinister sounding vocals as Warrel sings "We are the enemies of reality, in a world thats unforgiving gives me goosebumps.
Here we arrived to the middle of the gig, so let's 'waste' some words on the musicians. Jeff, who looks like an innocent boy normally is rather devilish on the stage as he grimaces and headbangs at the same time. Looks like music takes over him... I know Steve Smyth is the premanent member of Testament and he only helped out Nevermore on this tour, but with his long blond hair and his goatee, he looks like the little twin of Warrel, in brief : fully qualified member of the Nevermore family. And in many way he is. As I saw, he put all his heart and soul into his playing. Jim is a master of his bass guitar as well, and Van was the loose perpetum mobile as he always is. He seems to beat the craziest, complex themes as easily as he was just sipping his afternoon tea. You can't see concentration or tension on his face though he is playing accurate and tight. And Warrel. What to say about him? His voice and his words have already burnt into our brains. He has got a fantastic voice. Powerful and passionate, visualizing everything he ever wrote about. His voice is transferring the pain, the desperation, the loneliness, the hate, the anger (...etc) he ever talked about through his lyrics to us. He wasn't in the best condition and sometimes you could even see the pain on his face, so let me say, his perfomance was near superhuman.
But let's get back to their set. I remember clearly as Warrel shouted 'I wanna see chaos!' on their Dreaming Neon Black tour in 99 and everytime he did that then, it announced the song Deconstruction. This time No More Will presented DNB, that is considered as one of their most suicidal songs by some. Acoustic guitar tunes led up The River Dragon Has Come and Warrel's accusing voice made us all feel blamed. The Seven Tounges Of God is more a straight forward, into your face song that's heavy thrash riffs kicks you in the butt and at gigs even if you felt tired it drags you back to life.
Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday was supposed to close the concert on first place. Warrel 'announced' this song with a little retrospection, telling us that he used to headbang and mosh at other bands' gig when he was young but he grew too old for that (and as he said in the interview he crushed himself too many times).
Of course it didn't really mean the end of the concert. We all know the game, the bands only need some stimulation for the encore. So we loudly wanted them back and they came back for two more songs . The slower Who Decides? prepared us for the more aggressive Engines of Hate.
They said good bye again and left the stage but a few moments later (due to our enthusiasm?) they appeared again to play the final song. 'Properly' it was the song that follows Engines of Hate on the album as well, the cover of Sound of Silence. Warrel wanted to see chaos again that was in fact an invitation to the stage and as good obedients, many volunteers started to climb up to them. In a few moments the stage was packed and some of the brave ones even sang in the microphone. Actually I think some of these 'fans' were far too exhibitionist but at the end, Warrel threw himself into the crowd so he seemed enjoying it and probably he took this fact easier than I did. Drumsticks and plectrums flew through the air as the band left the stage for the last time.
I don't know if I was able to give you back the atmoshphere and the feeling of this Nevermore gig or not. I feel like I could talk more about it, describing and analizing everything anybody did there but it wouldn't make much sense. If you've been to any Nevermore gig ever and you dig them as much as I do, then you know what I was trying to tell here, otherwise you just will never understand. They were here and they played for us. Their music is all that counts.
ps: next time bring some f*** merchandise!
your mom
