Nevermore

[Iceni]

Oh how I love this band. I only found them recently too. Nevermore is a four-man band (was, as Jeff Loomis and Van Williams have quit) that plays a kind of progressive metal that's quite unique. They actually hit harder than many death metal bands, but they have clean vocals. The lead vocalist Warrel Dane has quite a range, and his voice works well for the lyrics that he writes. The lyrics of Nevermore are a talking point. They're usually written very well. Dane writes from an atheist perspective, expressing disillusionment in the world. This is compelling because men of his theological ilk don't always give off the impression that moral authority is hard to find in a world without God. Usually they're quite arrogant and flippant about it. However, these lyrics confront that idea. The song 'The Godless Endeavor' is very interesting, questioning whether his secular perspective holds all of the truth. At the same time, it seems he even pities God for being censored by man over the years and seems to realize the sad consequence of his passing like Nietzsche did. 'The Termination Proclamation' seems to be a song about abortion, lamenting the fact that the fetus is exterminated before it even gets a chance at life, something that he as an atheist probably holds very dear. The guitars from Jeff Loomis are legendary and rightly so. He brings a powerful, fast-paced and low-pitched crunch to the band, very much defining their sound. He also makes use of a lot of very doomy-sounding chords that help to make more of an atmosphere. Van Williams' drumming simply helps to hammer home the message even better. So, what do all of you think of this Seattle-based juggernaut? One of America's finest, no doubt.

[Judith Marie]

Re: Nevermore I love Nevermore. It's kind of pity that there are only Jim and Warrel left in the band. BTW keep forward to hear something new from them.. tVP4CqJ7SK4 ePyPEUz6Nc0 THIS IS IT!

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Nevermore I like Sanctuary better, but they're still pretty good. I like some albums better than others (Deaming Neon Black takes my top spot) and have to be in the right mood, but they can be enjoyable.

[NTNR]

Re: Nevermore Sanctuary is overrated, Nevermore was an vast improvement. It's too bad they disintegrated.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Nevermore Refuge Denied features Warrel's best vocal performance, as well as some excellent riffs and songwriting. Into the Mirror Black is darker, and yet catchier somehow. I like both better than any Nevermore album, though Dreaming Neon Black does come pretty close.

[NTNR]

Re: Nevermore Dreaming Neon Black is easily one of the heaviest albums in existence. That and Dead Heart in a Dead World are their best IMO. Warrel wasn't a bad vocalist in Sanctuary, but I think he was better in Nevermore. Either way, both bands are good. I am curious as to what the new Sanctuary will sound like however.

[Iceni]

Re: Nevermore I definitely prefer Nevermore. Perhaps I haven't heard enough Sanctuary, but Nevermore is a lot more technical to my ears. I like This Godless Endeavor and The Obsidian Conspiracy myself. Now true, there are some weak moments on these albums but I think Dane is more low-pitched. That's what I was looking for when I found Nevermore; really low-pitched heavy stuff. So Dane's nigher-pitched vocals on the older albums put me off too much even if the musicianship was great. Well, I've just looked over the lyrics to Dreaming Neon Black, and most songs seem OK so I'll check it out.

[NTNR]

Re: Nevermore

I definitely prefer Nevermore. Perhaps I haven't heard enough Sanctuary, but Nevermore is a lot more technical to my ears. I like This Godless Endeavor and The Obsidian Conspiracy myself. Now true, there are some weak moments on these albums but I think Dane is more low-pitched. That's what I was looking for when I found Nevermore; really low-pitched heavy stuff. So Dane's nigher-pitched vocals on the older albums put me off too much even if the musicianship was great. Well, I've just looked over the lyrics to Dreaming Neon Black, and most songs seem OK so I'll check it out.

Nevermore is a billion times more technical than Sanctuary. This Godless Endeavor was their last good effort. I was very excited for The Obsidian Conspiracy's release, but after hearing it I'm glad I never bought it. It was just boring to me, filled with rehashed and watered down riffs. There was a lot of strife between Loomis and Dane, with Loomis wanting to make a heavy and technical beast and Dane wanting to make a simpler radio friendly album. He had just come off a tour for his solo album (which while surprisingly good) was very simple and radio friendly. I'm sure it's one of the reasons Looms and Williams left. Dreaming Neon Black is worth your time and money. Check it out.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Nevermore Technicality doesn't concern me, they wrote better songs in Sanctuary and before they started trying to sound like Meshuggah on Enemies of Reality IMO. Have to agree with NTNR though, if you haven't yet you need to check out Dreaming Neon Black.

[Iceni]

Re: Nevermore Actually I did listen to a bit of Dreaming Neon Black. I don't really like it as much as This Godless Endeavor and The Obsidian Conspiracy...I suspect the sound production muddles my perception of how good the album is, but I think they repeat riffs a bit too often. On the other hand, I'm not really averse to The Obsidian Conspiracy that much. I just wish Nevermore would play to their strengths a bit more. I think (insert name of Nevermore's new guitarist here) should do crunchy shredding and Dane might want to keep up with his lower-pitched vocals. I listen to Nevermore for the unrelenting heaviness, mainly.