The Year the Sun Died - 9.5/10

[Talking Backwards]

TGE is a good one, but it lacks soul. It's more a demo of musicianship than anything else. Apart from Sentient 6 and the 3 last songs, the others lack depth. Det spoke of fast food music, a good part of TGE is exactly that: over-engineered drums, wanky soloing and catchy choruses.

http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Nevermore/This_Godless_Endeavor/83688/
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/3140/Nevermore-This-Godless-Endeavor/
http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=17316
http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles.aspx?id=2-3872

You seem to think that just because it's one of their most technical, that it can't also contain good songwriting as well.

 

[~Lynn~]

Some songs could have been longer... my only critique.

 

[Traxan]

One of the few things this album has over TGE is no Sneap. That dude has a serious bias against bassists. Listen to DNB. There's Shep all over the album with some nifty bass lines. Listen to all the Sneap-produced albums. Jim? Jim? Are you there Jim? Now with TYTSD and Zeuss at the helm, Jim is back.

I don't know what Sneap has against bassists but it's ridiculous. He gave Steve DiGiorgio the "And Justice for All" treatment on "The Gathering," which is stupid to bury a bassist like Steve D.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Everything, literally, is better on NM records than the new Sanctuary. TYTSD is awesome and I still listen to it daily. But no one replaces Jeff when he's on point (and he was on fucking point on EOR and TGE). Van's drumming is near perfect, especially on songs like Never Purify. WD sounds great on anything because he IS great, but his Nevermore stuff pre and post DNB destroys Sanctuary.

And your thing about no soul? Yea, that's right and that's the point. The world is cold and godless. There is no such thing as a soul. WD knows this (What if there is nothing more, what if there is only emptiness, what if there is nothing more beyond the cold of deliverance) and it's a point made far, far stronger on TGE than perhaps any other record. No, the sheer violence of EOR and the angst and sorrow on TGE are, respectively, milestones for the band (the greatest band that ever was).

 

[Talking Backwards]

And your thing about no soul? Yea, that's right and that's the point. The world is cold and godless. There is no such thing as a soul. WD knows this (What if there is nothing more, what if there is only emptiness, what if there is nothing more beyond the cold of deliverance) and it's a point made far, far stronger on TGE than perhaps any other record.

Has Warrel actually ever said he was an outright athiest? His lyrics have always been more towards agnosticism or even an "agnostic athiest". The lyrics you quoted for your point actually seem to be doing the opposite. If anything, he's mostly sung about if a god exists, why doesn't he seem to give a fuck? The lyrics on DNB are from the point of view of a person with absolutely no hope left, and quite frankly doesn't seem to even have enough will to entertain the idea that there's anything after death but nothingness.

I personally don't believe in god, or a soul but I'm also not foolish enough to state that either aren't a possibility. We just don't know. I do however believe that pretty much all religions are man made bullshit.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Terrorizer magazine interview when TGE came out:

"The world is Godless" - WD

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

The lyrics you quoted for your point actually seem to be doing the opposite.

Actually not if you interpret them in rhetorical, facetious sense, in which I take him to be using. I get the feeling he knows.

Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

This Godless Endeavor is the most overated Nevermore album of all time.

Dreaming Neon Black > Politics of Ecstasy > Enemies of Reality > Warrel Dane solo album > Dead Heart > In Memory > Nevermore > The Year The Sun Died > This Godless Endeavor > The Obsidian Conspiracy = The other two Sanctuary albums.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

ha

 

[Talking Backwards]

This Godless Endeavor is the most overated Nevermore album of all time.

Dreaming Neon Black > Politics of Ecstasy > Enemies of Reality > Warrel Dane solo album > Dead Heart > In Memory > Nevermore > The Year The Sun Died > This Godless Endeavor > The Obsidian Conspiracy = The other two Sanctuary albums.

That hyperbole looks infectious.
I just don't know how you could be so right for the most part with that order, yet so entirely wrong.

 

[Shpongled]

What really throws me off is the equals sign before the last two sanctuary albums. Does that mean that he loves those two albums the most out of anything Warrel's been involved in and that everything else before those two albums added together just merely equals the awesomeness of those two obviously superior albums? Because that's what it implies.

Or is he saying those two are so bad they aren't even worth mentioning by name and just used an equals sign instead of a greater than sign for whatever reason?

I can't figure it out....

 

[Talking Backwards]

What really throws me off is the equals sign before the last two sanctuary albums. Does that mean that he loves those two albums the most out of anything Warrel's been involved in and that everything else before those two albums added together just merely equals the awesomeness of those two obviously superior albums? Because that's what it implies.

I guess if you're looking at it that way, it implies that. Typically that's not what it means.

Or is he saying those two are so bad they aren't even worth mentioning by name and just used an equals sign instead of a greater than sign for whatever reason?

This. He thinks the first two Sanctuary albums are equal to ToC. Ironically, I can almost agree with that, because I just can't listen to Refuge Denied anymore aside from maybe two songs. It's not even necessarily the songs though, but more the really awful 90s "metal" production. Not all 90s albums had to sound like that, but too many do.
Into the Mirror Black though has aged very well.

 

[rebirth]

Mastering is still there - put it through a record player

NOB

Better yet listen to some abba through senn headphones!!

Wake up.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

His order is incorrect.

 

[Talking Backwards]

I don't really care what the "right" order is, but here's mine:

DNB > TGE (barely) > PoE > DHIADW > EoR > ITMB > TYTSD > In Memory > Nevermore > ToC > Refuge Denied > PTTWM (sorry, I can't really listen to an album where the only thing worth listening to are the vocals).

Mastering is still there - put it through a record player

NOB

Better yet listen to some abba through senn headphones!!

Wake up.

It's far too bright and anemic sounding. The guitars sound like they are as heavy as air, and there's just an overall reverb effect that just kills the production. It has nothing to do with my audio equipment, although it *might* sound better off of the record, which I do not have. Just the CDs. A lot of 90s metal albums have this kind of production for no apparent reason. I mean seriously, listen to Master of Puppets. That is how a metal album should sound.

 

[buzz21]

How about a shout-out for the epic vocal line in "Let the Serpent Follow Me" from 2:30 - 2:45:

"Edging closer - closer to the end of time, blindly follow, the leader will provide for all mankind"

Shades of old-school Refuge Denied styling there and punctuated even more with a nice solo right afterwards! Love this part!!!!!!!!

 

[prman]

Dreaming Neon Black > Politics of Ecstasy > Enemies of Reality > Warrel Dane solo album > Dead Heart > In Memory > Nevermore > The Year The Sun Died > This Godless Endeavor > The Obsidian Conspiracy = The other two Sanctuary albums.

No no no no. That´s incorrect information. The ABSOLUTE CORRECT ORDER OF ALL is:

Dreaming Neon Black > Politics of Ecstasy > Enemies of Reality > Warrel Dane solo album > Dead Heart > In Memory > The Year The Sun Died > This Godless Endeavor > The Obsidian Conspiracy > Nevermore = The other two Sanctuary albums.

At least in my opinion... or not... or just to troll... Ease up, dude...

 

[lorinc]

No no no no. That´s incorrect information. The ABSOLUTE CORRECT ORDER OF ALL is:

Dreaming Neon Black > Politics of Ecstasy > Enemies of Reality > Warrel Dane solo album > Dead Heart > In Memory > The Year The Sun Died > This Godless Endeavor > The Obsidian Conspiracy > Nevermore = The other two Sanctuary albums.

At least in my opinion... or not... or just to troll... Ease up, dude...

I could definitely not infer a complete order on all this albums, but DNB and POE would be at the top of my list, while PTTWM and the first Sanctuary albums would be at the bottom. DHIADW, TOC and Nevermore would somehow be lower than IM, EOR, TGE and TYTSD. I can't figure out something more accurate.

 

[~Lynn~]

fucking pigeon holers, all of you

 

[AsylumAnomaly]

Man... My friend in Poland is seeing Sanctuary twice and yet all of us in the states (at least east coast) haven't even got one show! This is one band I would literally drive 6 hours to see.
Sorry. Whiney rant.

I just want to see this album live. Omfg.