Well I gotta say I was more pumped about this release than any other this year save for maybe the new METALLICA. One look at the "Enemies Of Reality" cover artwork and a listen or two to the title track MP3 available at the Century Media homepage last week was all I needed to feel comfortable that all was well in NEVERLAND. As a diehard NEVERHEAD, I must admit that my worries and suspicions were on high when I learned some time ago that Kelly Gray was producing
I had never liked what he did to SVEN GALI or DOKKEN nor his work with QUEENSRYCHE. With the full promo copy in hand, I can first tell you that I am relieved to tell you that he did not fuck this thing up
with that out of the way, let's move on and see how it measures up to past masterpieces and what is new.
First things first, Warrel Dane is a vocal god .as if you did not know this. I cannot begin to describe the power and ability he has to get the lyrical message through quite fuckin' eerie to say the least. For the most part, you see very little of his higher octave SANCTUARY voice which I really was quite fond of. He is every bit as good on this new platter as he has ever been. Man, he writes some of the most descriptive and poetic lyrics in Metal. All good, all good!
I really think Jeff Loomis played guitar in the womb. He just shreds start to finish, front to back, up and down, all around! One thing I noticed on this material is the riffs stand out a bit more than in the past. They have always had wicked guitar but I always found it often created a wall of sound here it is, well, more riffy. I really dig his ability to do a mellow acoustic passage and make it so haunting and still fuckin' heavy that's a friggin gift, oh yes, a friggin' gift I say!
NEVERMORE is now a four-piece band as far as writing and recording does. Has it hurt them? I don't think so. The rhythm section is intense as always enough double bass to keep my ears partying. So with the writing section intact, I can't see really any difference. Obviously the material requires a second guitarist on tour I was sorry to see Curran Murphy leave to ANNIHILATOR he was absolutely killer live! I'm sure they will find a suitable axe-master to fill the spot.
Opening track "Enemies Of Reality" sets the tone as they usually do on all their past releases fast, thrashy and powerful. It's a double-bass-festivus with lots of vocal multi-tracking and echo on Dane's vocals if I sounded that fuckin' cool, I'd want to sing with myself too! There's some very nice lead-work a little over half way through too. Nothing changes pace-wise with "Ambivalent". The rhythm guitar and recurring riffs throughout is mighty and very infectious. The solo just shreds here as well. "Never Purify" is a catchy thrasher built around a dead-solid riff. I like the desperation and natural agony of WD's vox here absolutely incredible. It's "Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday" where things remain heavy yet slow down out comes that haunting, epic, story-telling NEVERMORE sound that frequently appears in a way no other Metal band has ever matched. It is the pummeling rhythm section and song chorus that stands out to me in "I, Voyager". The riff in "Create The Infinite" is from chunky city and the spoken bridge here changes things up nicely but only momentarily. Things to here have really been pretty fast and heavy. "Who Decides" would be classified, I guess, as a NEVERMORE ballad, which manages to get a lot faster and heavier, in the latter part, but is reminiscent of slower, powerful material we have heard from them before. That spookiness we have come to expect from them is up front in "Noumenon" I don't think a NEVERMORE release would be complete without this sound. It has a sweet use of effects on the guitar sound that lends to this. The final track "Seed Awakening" really impressed me with its right-hand-picking pattern. I don't think I have heard that since the mid 80's when METALLICA showed us how it was done very wicked.
So production wise, this thing is fine. I never noticed anything negative nor did it stand out in any way. I have found NEVERMORE to be a band that, for the most part, is as steady as they come in Metal. "Dreaming Neon Black" is their masterpiece they have yet to top. I find the material here to be most similar to their two earlier CDs in style, sound and quality. Although an excellent piece of work, I don't think it quite measures up to there last opus "Dead Heart In A Dead World" which I would score exactly as our Leader, Alex did. I was a little disappointed to find it only 41 minutes long usually they have material and then some. Nothing they have done though would be less than a 9/10 to me so the penalties are minimal! I am hoping with a few more listens, I am wrong and this will grow immensely I know for sure it won't drop in score it's NEVERMORE! (Online July 17, 2003)
First things first, Warrel Dane is a vocal god .as if you did not know this. I cannot begin to describe the power and ability he has to get the lyrical message through quite fuckin' eerie to say the least. For the most part, you see very little of his higher octave SANCTUARY voice which I really was quite fond of. He is every bit as good on this new platter as he has ever been. Man, he writes some of the most descriptive and poetic lyrics in Metal. All good, all good!
I really think Jeff Loomis played guitar in the womb. He just shreds start to finish, front to back, up and down, all around! One thing I noticed on this material is the riffs stand out a bit more than in the past. They have always had wicked guitar but I always found it often created a wall of sound here it is, well, more riffy. I really dig his ability to do a mellow acoustic passage and make it so haunting and still fuckin' heavy that's a friggin gift, oh yes, a friggin' gift I say!
NEVERMORE is now a four-piece band as far as writing and recording does. Has it hurt them? I don't think so. The rhythm section is intense as always enough double bass to keep my ears partying. So with the writing section intact, I can't see really any difference. Obviously the material requires a second guitarist on tour I was sorry to see Curran Murphy leave to ANNIHILATOR he was absolutely killer live! I'm sure they will find a suitable axe-master to fill the spot.
Opening track "Enemies Of Reality" sets the tone as they usually do on all their past releases fast, thrashy and powerful. It's a double-bass-festivus with lots of vocal multi-tracking and echo on Dane's vocals if I sounded that fuckin' cool, I'd want to sing with myself too! There's some very nice lead-work a little over half way through too. Nothing changes pace-wise with "Ambivalent". The rhythm guitar and recurring riffs throughout is mighty and very infectious. The solo just shreds here as well. "Never Purify" is a catchy thrasher built around a dead-solid riff. I like the desperation and natural agony of WD's vox here absolutely incredible. It's "Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday" where things remain heavy yet slow down out comes that haunting, epic, story-telling NEVERMORE sound that frequently appears in a way no other Metal band has ever matched. It is the pummeling rhythm section and song chorus that stands out to me in "I, Voyager". The riff in "Create The Infinite" is from chunky city and the spoken bridge here changes things up nicely but only momentarily. Things to here have really been pretty fast and heavy. "Who Decides" would be classified, I guess, as a NEVERMORE ballad, which manages to get a lot faster and heavier, in the latter part, but is reminiscent of slower, powerful material we have heard from them before. That spookiness we have come to expect from them is up front in "Noumenon" I don't think a NEVERMORE release would be complete without this sound. It has a sweet use of effects on the guitar sound that lends to this. The final track "Seed Awakening" really impressed me with its right-hand-picking pattern. I don't think I have heard that since the mid 80's when METALLICA showed us how it was done very wicked.
So production wise, this thing is fine. I never noticed anything negative nor did it stand out in any way. I have found NEVERMORE to be a band that, for the most part, is as steady as they come in Metal. "Dreaming Neon Black" is their masterpiece they have yet to top. I find the material here to be most similar to their two earlier CDs in style, sound and quality. Although an excellent piece of work, I don't think it quite measures up to there last opus "Dead Heart In A Dead World" which I would score exactly as our Leader, Alex did. I was a little disappointed to find it only 41 minutes long usually they have material and then some. Nothing they have done though would be less than a 9/10 to me so the penalties are minimal! I am hoping with a few more listens, I am wrong and this will grow immensely I know for sure it won't drop in score it's NEVERMORE! (Online July 17, 2003)
