"Bleak, fierce metal."
Nevermore clearly stands in an echelon above its peers in the metal wasteland. This is fierce, heavy stuff, but the band members also possess an important degree of genuine musicianship that other bands are sorely lacking. There is also a passionate vision looped around vocalist Warrel Dane's lyrical and musical ideas. The album's concept affirms this: it seems to be the story of a man losing his love to a cult of goofy mystics. Dane -- sounding like a blend of Matt Barlow (Iced Earth) and Geoff Tate (Queensryche), though not as good as either -- infuses the music with sincere feeling that comes through well, despite some overly emotive singing and some unsubtly pushy lyrics. Still, it's to Nevermore's credit that they capture any element of emotion with music so heavy. And it IS heavy, although songs like the title track and "Deconstruction" mix in softer acoustic moments for mood. The production raw and powerful, although it feels oppressively thick at times, which is unfortunate because it compromises some great vocal melodies from Dane. Songs like "Beyond Within" and "Poison Godmachine" are positively bloodthirsty, with devastating riffs and exciting leads. I liked the addition of female vocals on the title track. It wasn't her voice I liked, but the way she harmonized with Dane to heighten the atmosphere. Very nice. By all means check this out. Listen to some samples, and if you think you might like it, you probably will.
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