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NEVERMORE - GOLD DISC REMASTERS - DREAMING NEON + ENEMIES OF REALITY + GODLESS ENDEAVOR
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***PRE-ORDER RELEASE DATE FOR CD: February 21st, 2022
NEVERMORE - DREAMING NEON BLACK (*NEW-GOLD DISC CD, 2022, Brutal Planet)
- 1999 classic that's been officially licensed from Century Media
- Elite 2022 Remaster by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound
- Gold Disc CD to discourage disc rot and add beauty and elegance
- Every CD comes with a deluxe foil-stamped collector's card of Nevermore
- Expanded 16-page insert with lyrics and additional band pics
- Gold Disc border on the front cover - but the back of the booklet features the front cover with no Gold border around the edges
- Includes the bonus track, "Love Bites" for the first time ever
- Before Nevermore Warrel Dane had a band name "Sanctuary" in 1990 with 2 albums "Refuge Denied" and "Into the Mirror Black"
- Received 99% out of 100 review from MetalReviews.com
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DREAMING NEON BLACK
Nevermore's Dreaming Neon Black, is one of the most unique records I have ever heard. First, I cannot name another band that would sound exactly the same as Nevermore. They have a truly unique sound. Second, the atmosphere of this record is almost unmatched in metal, with maybe the exceptions of The Crimson Idol and Operation Mindcrime. And third, the atmosphere is not only impressive, it is downright scary. One of my friends said it best once: “I sweat every time I listen to this record”. Gloomy and murderously dark music has never sounded better than Dreaming Neon Black.
Aleksie @ MetalReviews.com
The riffs are towering monoliths of pain and brutality in the most epic classic mix ever plus the solos and leads are a taste blend of both atonal and melodic sensibilities with some masterful phrasing from one of the most underrated guitar gods out there.
Metal-Archives Reviews
The dark atmosphere this album creates makes it a unique entry into the field of concept albums. There is a bleak and tortured aura that is beautifully woven into every track. The standard of quality and consistency is upheld here more thoroughly than on any other Nevermore album, which is what makes it their best work as a whole. Add to that the greatest performance by Warrel Dane and you have an outstanding album.
MetalCrypt.com
The greatest aspect of this ambitious recording may not be the concept, rather the magnificent musical palette of colorful heavy metal here painted.
Jonathan “Doc” Swank, HM Magazine
ABOUT THE ALBUM
If you have followed Nevermore, you will know this album is as dark as a desert blackout. Dreaming Neon Black, originally released in 1999, is essential metal on several levels. This is the first Nevermore album to consistently feature the technical metal sound the band became prominently known for. Their two prior releases had heavy technical elements but also branched into industrial and some grunge. This album makes a clean cut from the then-current sound that dominated the late 90s.
Secondly, the band added former Forbidden guitarist Tim Calvert to the line-up, giving the band even more edge and guitar harmony possibilities. Jeff Loomis certainly proves he can wield a wicked axe but this takes the crushing maelstrom of melodic thrash to a new arena.
Love Bites is an added bonus track for this Gold Disc Edition. It was originally a bonus track on the 2006 reissue of The Politics of Ecstasy, which is apparent by its industrial drum sound. The highlight of this one is how effortlessly Warrel hit the high note at the end.
Dreaming Neon Black is the epitome of a well-crafted conceptual masterpiece from the technical metal genre. There are several other bands who have pulled this off, but none with as much darkness, well-crafted songs, and consistent passion. An inadmissible album for any metal collection.
Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound provides an elite 2022 remaster, and every CD comes with a foil-stamped limited edition collector card. This jewel case release comes with an expanded 16-page booklet - to the delight of true collectors. Heavy Metal this masterful comes around a few times a decade if we are lucky. One of those treasures is here again, and we recommend being first in line to grab it, The 2022 Brutal Planet Records reissue takes all the magic of the original release and gives fans even more! Dreaming Neon Black takes special to entirely new levels.
TRACKS
1. Ophidian 0:47
2. Beyond Within 5:12
3. The Death Of Passion 4:10
4. I Am The Dog 4:13
5. Dreaming Neon Black 6:26
6. Deconstruction 6:40
7. The Fault Of The Flesh 4:55
8. The Lotus Eaters 4:26
9. Poison Godmachine 4:34
10. All Play Dead 4:58
11. Cenotaph 4:39
12. No More Will 5:46
13. Forever 2:34
14. Love Bites (bonus track)
DOWN THE LINE REVIEW - by Doug Peterson
Nevermore – Dreaming Neon Black (2022 Gold Disc Edition)
If you have followed Nevermore, you will know this album is as dark as a desert blackout. Dreaming Neon Black, originally released in 1999, is essential metal on several levels. This is the first Nevermore album to consistently feature the technical metal sound the band became prominently known for. Their two prior releases had heavy technical elements but also branched into industrial and some grunge. This album makes a clean cut from the then-current sound that dominated the late 90s.
Secondly, the band added former Forbidden guitarist Tim Calvert to the line-up, giving the band even more edge and guitar harmony possibilities. Jeff Loomis certainly proves he can wield a wicked axe but this takes the crushing maelstrom of melodic thrash to a new arena.
Also noteworthy is the fact this is a brilliant conceptual album. Vocalist Warrel Dane (RIP) lost his long time girlfriend to a religious cult in Seattle and later she went missing. Dane had nightmares of her drowning, hence the album content and cover art. Dane had some distance from losing his then-girlfriend before recording this. Nonetheless this is a painful narration of a tormented man deteriorating into insanity and self-harm. In the truth is stranger than fiction category, four years after this album surfaced, it became news that Dane’s then girlfriend was murdered by the so-called ‘Truck Stop Killer’ in 1990. Her body was not identified until 2003, four years after this album was made. You can not make this shit up!
Ophidian starts off with the spoken line, “Ask the darkness…It’s been waiting for you.” Following is a beeping heart monitor machine which then flat-lines, foreshadowing the end. The album’s narrative finds our broken and tortured man taking his own life thirty-four seconds in. No silver lining here, folks.
Beyond Within and The Death of Passion start the album furious and crushing like a wrecking ball on warp speed. The storyline is set with equal portions despair and concernment. “Tension, delirium, growing everyday…Welcome to the fall” and “I’m confusion and contempt, I am the void, You are the emptiness of black tomorrow, I feel so hollow.”
Next, I Am The Dog is an absolute tempest of melodious aggression. Compellingly stunning! “She was born in the year of the dog…Every night the dream is the same.” Our protagonist is having reoccurring nightmares and is slowly eroding into insanity with his loss.
The title track is a song of lament, beginning with a chorus of acoustic guitars. Vocalist Christine Rhoades adds a short appearance as the protagonist’s lost lover, beckoning him to meet her in his reoccurring drowning dreams.
Deconstruction is another brooding ballad which progresses into groove-laden thrash. “The fallen that dreams suicide, Takes the needle, instead of the gun, The victim who self crucifies can’t realize, Christ is a weapon that chisels at our lives.” What does one do when the one whom they loved has been brainwashed? Warrel finds it necessary to deconstruct, a death to any god who would poison his lost lover. The guitar work on this track is stunning, even with Flamenco laid down mid way through.
The Fault of the Flesh spirals further down into nihilism and despair with infectious thrash riffage. “We are but flesh and flesh is the weakness, We’re just spinning in this useless hole in time, On our way into the black unknown.” The chorus structure reminds me of the layered guitar harmonies of Big Wreck in their heavier moments.
Later, Poison Godmachine picks up the pace with grooving thrash. Religious TV media is addressed here: “In subtlety we obey through ink and broadcast wave, The doubts and fears that shadow media decay, Deprogram this affliction and the Cathode ray unclean, I am the last nail, the empty soulless screen….” Warrel not only wants it exposed; he wants it wrapped around his axels.
Cenotaph is a goth drenched metallic half-ballad that twists and turns with the tormented character realizing he is a slave to his dreams and attempts to build a cenotaph for his lost-lover. No More Will is bleak and dismal, peak playing with both vocals and guitars screaming.
Ending with Forever, this short subdued piece is the protagonist’s confession that he will be forever haunted by his lost lover, neon black being the re-occurrence of the drowning pool dreams. “I know you’re dreaming, I know you’re at peace, I’ll meet you in the dreamtime, Whenever you call me I’ll go under, I’ll swim through you.” Disturbing and tragic.
Love Bites is an added bonus track for this Gold Disc Edition. It was originally a bonus track on the 2006 reissue of The Politics of Ecstasy, which is apparent by its industrial drum sound. The highlight of this one is how effortlessly Warrel hit the high note at the end.
Dreaming Neon Black is the epitome of a well-crafted conceptual masterpiece from the technical metal genre. There are several other bands who have pulled this off, but none with as much darkness, well-crafted songs, and consistent passion. An inadmissible album for any metal collection.
--Doug Peterson, Down The Line zine
Dreaming Neon Black REVIEW by Dr Jonathan Swank of HM Magazine
Nevermore doesn’t cease to amaze with their new release, a concept piece loosely based on both a dream and reality. Many will think that Dane is completely insane or on drugs after listening to this, but we know that the latter isn’t true because of his stance against those who choose to let drugs control their lives. However, after listening to this one could wonder if Dane is really grounded in reality. The greatest aspect of this ambitious recording may not be the concept, rather the magnificent musical palette of colorful heavy metal here painted. Stepping the production quality up just a notch from the excellent Politics, the low end here really stands out, which gives the music a dark and foreboding quality.
In addition, Dane comes to the forefront here, making this his best vocal performance to date – sounding like a fusion of Geoff Tate and James Hetfield. With each release he continues to develop his own unique timbre and style. Instead of screaming at the top of his register, he really focuses on the lower end, which again gives this a darker, more gothic quality. One cannot help but listen to the chorus in the title track and be reminded of Type O Negative.
Musically, Jeff Loomis and Tim Calvert create some incredibly heavy yet melodic riffs and twisted solos, but the approach is less thrash oriented than Politics and there is a sense that finesse was more important in the songwriting this time around. One listen to the divine “Deconstruction” or the progressive “Poison Godmachine” will confirm these assumptions. The drumming of Van Williams is not to be ignored either as this performance could easily rival Lars Ulrich’s performance on Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets.
The theme seems to focus on the singer’s nightmarish loss of a girlfriend and how he deals with that reality. There are some dark spiritual themes presented here, which may surprise some of the bands more atheistic listeners, but Dane’s mistrust of established religion, government and the media are once again stated on the aforementioned songs.
Dreaming Neon Black remains one of the most powerful and gripping concept metal albums from the ‘90’s – the music and emotion still very intense, intricate and palpable all these years later
***PRE-ORDER RELEASE DATE FOR CD: February 21st, 2022
- 2003 classic that's been officially licensed from Century Media
- Band approved Andy Sneap mix
- Elite 2022 Remaster by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound
- Gold Disc CD to discourage disc rot and add beauty and elegance
- Every CD comes with a deluxe foil-stamped collector's card of Nevermore
- Expanded 16-page insert with lyrics and additional band pics
- Gold Disc border on the front cover - but the back of the booklet features the front cover with no Gold border around the edges
- Kelly Gray — QUEENSRŸCHE producer
- Before Nevermore Warrel Dane had a band name "Sanctuary" in 1990 with 2 albums "Refuge Denied" and "Into the Mirror Black"
- Received 8.5 out of 10 review from Blabbermouth.com
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ENEMIES OF REALITY
Every track is a virtual riff-fest with guitarist Jeff Loomis showing off his talents not only as a songwriter and rhythm guitarist but also as a great lead guitarist as well. Lots of shredding leads and other wild and fast riff changes can be found on almost every track. The band has maintained their trademark killer heavy but very abstract sound and Warrel Dane's performance is as good if not better than ever. I love his very charismatic scowl and prophetic vocal delivery that just seems to cut right through the band's wall of sound.
METALREVIEWS.COM
"Enemies Of Reality" is an astounding assault on the ears — a cavalcade of downtuned guitars and oppressive rhythms. It can be "modern" in its pummeling attack (the rapid fire opening title track) without losing the notion of several classic metal formulas.
BLABBERMOUTH.COM
Nevermore continues to produce quality metal time and time again. Enemies of Reality might be their best yet.
SEA OF TRANQUILITY.COM
Nevermore continued to craft their unique and aggressive blend of progressive thrash metal with Enemies of Reality.
Jonathan “Doc” Swank, HM Magazine
ABOUT THE ALBUM
The 2003 collection of metal madness from the rulers of modern progressive thrash Nevermore continues the trend of brutal yet melodic chaos started on Dead Heart in a Dead World back in 2000. This band was always super-heavy, but in the last few releases offered an intelligent sense of atmosphere and melody that started seeping into the music, and the nine tracks on Enemies of Reality shows the band maturing as songwriters, throwing in tons of brutally heavy riffs, complex arrangements, and catchy vocal passages.
Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound provides at elite 2022 remaster, and every CD comes with a foil-stamped limited edition collector card. This jewel case release comes with an expanded 16-page booklet - to the delight of true collectors. Metal this masterful comes around a few times a decade if we are lucky. one of those treasures is here again, and we recommend being first in line to grab it, The 2022 Brutal Planet Records reissue takes all the magic of the original release and gives fans ever more! Enemies of Reality takes special to entirely new levels
Tracklist
Enemies Of Reality 5:11
Ambivalent 4:12
Never Purify 4:03
Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday 4:35
I, Voyager 5:48
Create The Infinite 3:38
Who Decides 4:15
Noumenon 4:37
Seed Awakening 4:30
--Doug Peterson, Down The Line zine REVIEW
Nevermore – Enemies of Reality (2022 Gold Disc Edition)
It goes without saying Nevermore never did any mediocre work…Ever! This album reflects a seasoned metal band fulfilling its last album obligation with Century Media, had their budget slashed, and then were handed off to producer Kelly Gray, who worked on bands like Candlebox, on their ball-less budget. The band was stuck in studio purgatory for a year, which made for a metal cocktail that was both shaken and stirred.
The way Kelly Graves recorded was first tracking the whole band playing the music and then Warrel laying down his vocal goods on top. There are many bands for which this approach would work wonders for, but it sure as shit did not work well on the original mix of this album. The drums were buried and the vocals overbearing. Sometimes that original mix worked like a machinist’s mid-morning coffee routine and other times it came off with the haphazardness of a figure skater on melting ice.
Two years after this album was released, the band demanded a remix treatment. Andy Sneap, who produced their mind-blowing Dead Heart of A Dead World, gave this album the sound it should have had, particularly with more upfront drums and vocals better complementing the instrumentation. Gauging from nineteen years since this album’s inception, there is strong and essential works to be heard here.
The first couple tracks pace like the Tasmanian Devil on speed, cutting razor-sharp as needed. Ambivalent slays vindictively with its layered power riffs and cacophonous drumming. The melodious Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday is a power metal ballad, not to be confused with the commercial variety. Before hitting the 3 minute mark, this number throws down a thunderous unfurling that would give Symphony X a run for their money.
I, Voyager is the most accessible track of the album while not veering from the unpremeditated assault of their signature resume. Next is the fluidity of Who Decides, flowing between melancholic balladry to a crushing wall of dissonance. It’s just that good!
Bringing the album to closure, Seed Awakening showcases ridiculously technical playing evolving into hints of dark wave, then unrelenting thrash, and finally fades off into Eastern guitar elements. I am convinced that no band can hold a candle to what Nevermore is capable of accomplishing in one song. Simply brilliant.
Brooding drop-tuned guitars with lightning fast arpeggios, intricate and foreboding bass, precision power drumming that surpasses ninety percent of its competition, and soulful metal vocals with an unbelievable range…these are the elements that weld Nevermore for the league of their own. Enemies of Reality worthily contributes to the band’s legacy with memorably solid material. With each new listen, my appreciation has grown for how scrupulously they mastered their song craft.
--Doug Peterson, Down The Line zine
NEVERMORE - THIS GODLESS ENDEAVOR (*NEW-GOLD DISC CD, 2022, Brutal Planet) ***PRE-ORDER
***PRE-ORDER RELEASE DATE FOR CD: February 21st, 2022
NEVERMORE - THIS GODLESS ENDEAVOR (*NEW-GOLD DISC CD, 2022, Brutal Planet)
- 2005 classic that's been officially licensed from Century Media
- Elite 2022 Remaster by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound
- Gold Disc CD to discourage disc rot and add beauty and elegance
- Every CD comes with a deluxe foil-stamped collector's card of Nevermore
- Expanded 16-page insert with lyrics and additional band pics
- Gold Disc border on the front cover - but the back of the booklet features the front cover with no Gold border around the edges
- Before Nevermore Warrel Dane had a band name "Sanctuary" in 1990 with 2 albums "Refuge Denied" and "Into the Mirror Black"
- James Murphy (formerly of TESTAMENT and DEATH) lays down a solo on the minute-and-a-half instrumental "The Holocaust of Thought".
- Received 9 out of 10 review from Blabbermouth.com
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS GODLESS ENDEAVOR
"This Godless Endeavor" may just be the most complete and musically accomplished NEVERMORE album to date....anyone that's heard the last few NEVERMORE albums knows that the riffing is monumental and the soloing will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. If it's shredding you seek, look no further than the monster soloing on "The Psalm of Lydia"; the words "holy" and "shit" are sure to roll off your tongue.
Scott Alisoglu @ BLABBERMOUTH REVIEW
This Godless Endeavor indeed stands out of this sea of metal like a lightning rod with a storm approaching. A beacon that many other bands undoubtedly used for their bearings on today’s modern offerings. Nevermore created a haunting atmosphere of almost pagan proportions. An underlying menace that will finally get to you once you progress into its murky depths.
ROCKMUSICRAIDER.COM
Since 2005, This has been a favorite of mine. I see no flaws or imperfections. If you like heavy, progressive, melodic, intense, forceful and driving music with virtuoso performances, Then this is for you. I have not tired of this album for over 3 years, and will never do so. Utter ..... Perfection. 10 out of 10 Rating
GUITARMASTERCLASS.NET
While some may debate which Nevermore album is best, Godless is really the most mature, the most immersive, the most diverse, and certainly one of the most commanding and the songs have stood up well over the time span since this was originally released in 2005.
Jonathan “Doc” Swank, HM Magazine
ABOUT THE ALBUM
One listen to the 2005 magnum opus, This Godless Endeavor and you'll discover the classic NEVERMORE dark melodies are everywhere. "Final Product," "Born," "Bittersweet Feast," and "Medicated Nation" overflow with vintage NEVERMORE songwriting, all conveying that unexplainable feeling of sorrow, even despondency, characteristic of an album like Dreaming Neon Black. Spin this one a few times and you'll be hooked, no question about it. Seattle's Nevermore continue to prove that it is one of the best bands from the United States. Warrel Dane, Jeff Loomis and producer Andy Sneap have created a masterpiece that was one of the best releases overall in 2005 and still is today. Nevermore also added a second guitarist with Steve Smyth to support the solo master, Jeff Loomis. Warrel Dane's vocals continue to soar, along with the band's songwriting abilities. Every track on this album seems independent and special in its own way, while still supporting a common theme. "This Godless Endeavor" is kind of a prophecy--a harrowing portrayal of a dark future. With a towering wall of sound and the desperate, plaintive vocals of Warrel Dane, Nevermore laments the ills of American culture in powerful pieces like "Born," "Final Product," "Bittersweet Feast," and "Medicated Nation." They mold their distress into personal messages, as in "My Acid Words" and "Sell My Heart For Stones." They compose mysterious stories such as "Sentient 6" and "The Psalm of Lydia." But it all traces back to a common view of where we are today, and where we may end up tomorrow. This album does not necessarily lend itself to your understanding on the first listen. But that's part of what makes it special. This Godless Endeavor is arguably the greatest heavy metal release of 2005, if not an instant heavy metal classic. With an open mind and a little patience, you stand a good chance of finding the same beauty that we at Brutal Planet Records and many other metal fans have found in this CD.
Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound provides an elite 2022 remaster, and every CD comes with a foil-stamped limited edition collector card. This jewel case release comes with an expanded 16-page booklet - to the delight of true collectors. Heavy Metal this masterful comes around a few times a decade if we are lucky. One of those treasures is here again, and we recommend being first in line to grab it, The 2022 Brutal Planet Records reissue takes all the magic of the original release and gives fans even more! This Godless Endeavor takes special to entirely new levels.
TRACK LIST
Born 5:05
Final Product 4:21
My Acid Words 5:41
Bittersweet Feast 5:01
Sentient 6 6:58
The Holocaust Of Thought 1:27
Medicated Nation 4:01
Sell My Heart For Stones 5:18
The Psalm Of Lydia 4:16
A Future Uncertain 6:07
This Godless Endeavor 8:55
DOWN THE LINE ZINE REVIEWS
Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor (Gold Disc Edition, 2022)
In East of Eden, John Steinbeck penned, “There is more beauty in truth even if it is dreadful beauty.” Nevermore’s This Godless Endeavor exonerates such dreadful beauty. Whether Steinbeck would have ever gravitated towards metal had he been located in Seattle in the late ‘90s we will never know. But Steinbeck and vocalist Warrel Dane would have found much infinity in their disillusionment of society, their uncertainty of the future, and a common distrust for earthly powers.
This album is the follow up to the brilliant Enemies of Reality. Stylistically, Godless shares more in common with Dead Heart in a Dead World from fives years prior. Andy Sneap, the man overseeing bands like Killswitch Engage and Opeth, as well as rescuing Nevermore’s prior album, was brought in again for his production expertise. The outcome is nothing short of epic. Godless is comparable to fine vintage wine; at first it may not grab you, but it will grow on you over time and ensue a lasting and satisfying aftertaste.
Nevermore had the reputation of being Spinal Tap-esque when it came to holding down a second guitarist. This album broke that pattern in locating Steve Smyth of Dragonlord, Vicious Rumors and Testament fame as their permanent second guitarist. Not only does Smyth compliment the masterful Jeff Loomis in guitar shredding, he takes the compositions to new levels. The solid rhythm combination of bassist Jim Sheppard and drummer Van Williams is unprecedented on this album, especially after touring together for over a decade. Warrel Dane is at the top of his voice game here, bewailing how the world he saw is “swim (ing) the silent seas of sanity gone.” Herein lays the dreadful beauty of Steinbeck’s worldview as well.
Opening track Born sets a high bar with sonic clarity and melodic death metal tones. The addition of guitarist Smyth is significant on the layered dark melodies. Dane’s lamented singing is harmonically majestic. Final Product continues the bludgeoning with Loomis throwing down some gorgeous soloing.
My Acid Words never lets its foot off the acceleration for a second. It’s both grinding and melodic and touches on bereavement for the apathy of humanity, another unintentional nod to Steinbeck. Bittersweet Feast brings down the doom with a wall of guitar. Dane’s vocals are impassioned:
“The sheep march to the fire and wait to host the flies
Their greedy little maggots clean the wounds with pride
This is your final warning, a war on free will is coming”
Sentient 6 commences as a cabbalistic ballad with lurid piano accents that prowess toward harmonic flourishes, and finally go ballistic with a whirlwind of guitars.
Next, Medicated Nation continues the mayhem with driving bass and intricate, doom-inspired riffs.
The Holocaust of Thought is a goth-infused instrumental, tempo diminished, featuring guest James Murphy (Testament, Death) extrapolating neo-classical magic. It segues elegantly into Sell My Heart For Stone, a melancholic ballad that evolves with a colossal arrangement. The Psalm of Lydia, once again, raises the benchmark with insanely thick prodigious soloing. Absolute thrash brilliance! There are even subtleties of acoustic guitar thrown in for compositional fluidity.
The opening section of A Future Uncertain is dream-like in its guitar interludes and vocal harmonies. A quarter of the way through, it escalates into rage and mayhem.
Finally, the title track is the magnum opus of this project, if not Nevermore’s music repertoire. It starts off subtle, picks up speed, and then ascends into imaginative intensity.
“We contemplate oblivion as we resonate our dissonance
In godless random interpretation
The universe still expands, mankind still can’t understand
How to define you
So hide your face and watch us exterminate
Ourselves over you
Welcome to the end my friend
The sky has opened”
Classic Nevermore. Dane’s soaring vocals, the Loomis/Smyth guitar wizardry, and the pounding rhythm section catapult the song craft into another orbit.
If any band was commissioned to do the pedagogy of a flawless technical metal album, hands down, this is that album!
--Doug Peterson, Down The Line zine
This Godless Endeavor by - Jonathan “Doc” Swank, HM Magazine
Fans of true metal will be able to rejoice because This Godless Endeavor is an extremely well thought-out, well produced (sonically the best to date) slab of progressive thrash metal.
From the thrashy opener “Born” to the progressive and epic and mind-boggling title track there is not a dull moment, with only a slight instrumental interlude on track 7 which serves to give the listener a proverbial “chance to take a breath.” I would say that this music represents a great mixture of the aggressive sounds from Politics of Ecstasy with the clever choruses and songwriting from Dead Heart in a Dead World. In other words, this may actually be the band’s best work to date because it draws from everything they have done in the past, everything they have learned and perfected.
Dane’s vocals are perfect this time around – sublime melody with aggression. Like most of this band’s material, the songs are not immediately appealing, but after several spins the musical hooks of technical and artistic brilliance sink in and never let go. It is really neat to see the contribution of new guitarist Steve Smyth on several of these songs like “Bittersweet Feast,” a song that uses layered vocals, “A Future Uncertain,” with its incredibly important message “don’t waste your life on worthless hate and contradiction” and the somber semi-ballad “Sell My Heart For Stones.”
While all this stuff is breathtaking, “Sentient 6,” which could easily serve as the metal banner song for the Matrix trilogy, is just jaw-dropping both conceptually in lyrical content and musically in the hauntingly powerful trademark Nevermore way. In the spirit of “Narcosynthesis,” the band once again visits issues of substance abuse, both recreationally and medicinally in a weak-minded society with “Medicated Nation.”
A song like “Psalm of Lydia” is just so completely satisfying in a world where metal has become so sterile, generic and void of raw talent and artistic expression. In fact, the last 3 tracks really showcase the progressive metal side of this band in a way we have not heard before. The use of dynamic contrast here is brilliant, especially on the title track where Nevermore have expanded their sound immensely.
While some may debate which Nevermore album is best, Godless is really the most mature, the most immersive, the most diverse, and certainly one of the most commanding and the songs have stood up well over the time span since this was originally released in 2005.
Jonathan “Doc” Swank, HM Magazine