NEVERMORE - DREAMING NEON BLACK + 1 Bonus (*NEW-GOLD DISC CD, 2022, Brutal Planet)

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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) 637405143300

If you’ve 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 90s.

Secondly, the band added former Forbidden guitarist Tim Calvert to the line-up, lending 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/cover art. Dane had some distance from losing her 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. However, 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 a broken and tortured man taking his own life thirty-four seconds in. There is 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 story 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.”

I Am The Dog is an absolute tempest of melodious aggression. “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.  

Next, 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 evolves 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 love 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 riffs. “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 rhythmic thrash. Religious TV media is addressed: “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. The tormented character realizes 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 nightmares. “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’s a Judas Priest cover that was originally a bonus track on the reissue of The Politics of Ecstasy, which is apparent by its industrial drum sound. The highlight here 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.

• Jonathan “Doc” Swank, Heaven’s Metal Magazine