Search - Nevermore :: Dead Heart in a Dead World

Not Dead at All

Snow Leopard | Urbana, IL | 12/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you have read any of the reviews here (or for Nevermore in general) and are not already familiar with Nevermore, then a couple of things may already be apparent: that there's a rabid fan base for this band (completely deserved, by the way), accompanied by the truly baffled question, "Why aren't these guys more famous?" A part of this review, of course, is to make them less obscure, but also to try to explain why.



Part of the reason why you will read here so many people saying it is an injustice that Nevermore are not better known is because they truly are, without exaggeration, one of the most inspired bands working in "metal". I'd like to say, "The most immediate first impression of the music is ...," but the fact of the matter is that it's not just Warrel Dane's vocals, it's not the literally off-the-map and limitlessly inventive riffing of Jeff Loomis (though that's what is most often pointed to, and is certainly the most obvious "holy s**t" aspect of this music), it's not the pummeling intensity of the rhythm section or lyrics that include a line like "Vilipend and amend the sins you condign" ("vilipend" and "condign" are practically archaic words), and not even the gorgeous guitar sounds and total orchestration of the music ... It's the total, 100% commitment of the musicians to the music itself, as a total package, that makes the first and most immediate impression. Although extremely different in mood, sound, and attitude, still these guys are as serious about their music as Pantera ever was (the eight second solo at 1'53" in "Inside Four Walls" alone makes this clear).



"Narcosynthesis," at 5'31", kicks things off with a grinding guitar roll and full-bore band aggression, while Dane's lyrics growl over the top, treated in different ways on two of the lines. These lyrical variations (which Dane uses not just to vary how the vocals sound and are delivered, but also to emphasize in different ways what he's expressing) are matched by guitar variations as well. In the first 30 seconds, there are two different guitar riffs (a conventional metal move), but the second riff, which is just straightforward thrash, also makes slight variations of the line itself. This may seem overly narrow, but it is precisely this tendency to vary delivery, riff, and tone of vocals and lead guitar (it's not as obvious in the bass and drums, but it's there too) that goes a very long way toward making Nevermore's music as compelling as it is, because they almost never let themselves get stuck in a rut. The classical music scholars tell us that an immense amount of music's effectiveness arises from surprising people's expectations; where most bands write music, and then predictably play it, Nevermore (either deliberately or by nature) constantly surprise expectations. Here, it is especially the style contrast between the grinding verse, and the Dimmu Borgiresque "clean-vocals" chorus, but (as always) attention to details as well (how the vocals are overdubbed in the chorus, and the almost too subtle second guitar line accompanying the solo around 4'06").



Normally, I like to review/describe each song, but Nevermore are so packed with ideas that it would balloon this review excessively. "We Disintegrate," at 5'11", is more or less structurally the same as "Narcosynthesis," including the thrash-lush contrast between verse and chorus. The ending however opens up into a rising, gorgeous fog of slightly Eastern guitar, that is blasted apart by ...



"Inside Four Walls," at 4'39", starts with the usual teaser riff, but then drops into one of those things that makes you immediately realize, "This is not the metal I'm accustomed to hearing." It's still basically thrash, but the accents and rhythm are brilliantly broken up. Notice the snare accents that hit between guitar chords (but not all the time; at 42 seconds the expected snare hit doesn't happen ... expectations); notice the "piano" sound (it may be guitar harmonics) floating behind the line "inside four walls" (around 46 seconds) and how it adds creepiness to the lyrics; notice the throw-away riff (at 1'11") that exists only to get back to the verse; the frantic solo at 1'52 and key change that skitters away before you know it's over, but also the extra viciousness of the thrash underneath it. Pointing out these details isn't merely gratuitous either; they're apparent enough when listening. And this is only half of the song, and doesn't even include the handsome "official" guitar solo.



"Evolution 169," at 5'51", takes a canny break from the straight thrash, opening with a slow, down-sludging line that betrays Nevermore's Seattle origins. Once again, the song seems built like "Narcosynthesis," with an especially melodic chorus to contrast the rhythmically sharper verse (notice the bell-like acoustic guitar that goes with it). Expecting a guitar solo, Loomis starts with doubled, bent harmonics, but then abruptly lurches away into another album moment that will grab you by the ears; four powerful notes swap off with crazy runs and arpeggios covering the whole neck of the guitar, but far too briefly before a triplet rumble gives way to the bent harmonics again, and the chorus returns (maybe not as smoothly as one could hope). The main riff rumbles out to the end of the song (note Dane's weird guttural "don't set your mind ... to one side," occasionally screaming or whispering the last ... surprised expectations.)



"The River Dragon Has Come," at 5'05", starts with that metal-obligatory, a soulful acoustic bit, but spatters its brains in only 28 seconds with another throw-away saw-like teaser. The riff that follows, though simple and powerful enough, is brilliant tweaked before opening into yet another musical idea with Dane in full multiple echo chorus behind it. This more or less repeats, full of surprises, until Loomis launches into the "official solo" (there are always minor solos peppering each song before the official one)--it starts off blindingly, if plainly enough, with some conventional finger-riffing, but then sails out of itself into this really delicious-sounding set of arpeggiated runs up and down the neck while the rhythm section pummels away.



"The Heart Collector," at 5'55", is one of the most sadly beautiful songs (and one of the all-time great metal ballads) Nevermore has ever done. Starting with a big, booming version of the chorus, the verse is first delivered acoustically (of course), with the chorus returning, sounding like there are about 90 layers of perfectly heaped up power-melody. Meanwhile, while a perfect power ballad that employs the acoustic/electric contrast with heart-stopping effectiveness and has a completely worthy orchestra of guitar solo, the lyrics introduce the "heart collector," someone who seems half clown, half something Bowie might have thought of in his early days. And then, even though there's nothing left to prove, at 4'22", the chorus returns, but drops down one fret (for the "big finish" it's usually up one fret), which not only is surprising, but the new key it is in makes the song sound even more lush; it's the "sang" here that sounds like Bowie to me. But, the song is not over. A minor acoustic guitar thing, under cut by chord accents suggested a down-beat outro, before it opens into an almost ominous final theme.



"Engines of Hate," at 4'42", dispels the grandeur of the last song with a pounding opening chord-bash, but then gives way to sheer speed. This is another "too many ideas to describe" song, featuring a solo bursting with arpeggios and even a sneaky, slower but not quite introspective mood.



"The Sound of Silence," 5'13", opens with enough of a reference to Simon & Garfunkel's song of the same name that you know what to expect, but it's only the lyrics that are the same. Immediately, the most vicious heap of guitar aggression on the disc pummels around--not the sound of silence at all, and then a signature Loomis death-chug, sounding gorgeous and visceral and wicked ... But not even this is the main verse riff yet, which enters, metallically dissonant, with Dane delivering Simon's words and pulling out the alienation in them with spine-tingling effect. I'm not going to try to describe this masterpiece of reinterpretation. Utterly. Phenomenal. Buy this CD.



There's yet more good music on this disc, but this review is long enough already. Ultimately, if I tend to listen to Nevermore's "Politics of Ecstasy" or "Dreaming Neon Black" more often, "Narcosynthesis," "The Heart Collector" and "The Sound of Silence" will always bring me back. Dane, certainly, is as 100% here as anywhere else, and I wouldn't want to not have this disc in my Nevermore collection.

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