Band : Nevermore
Album: This Godless Endeavor (2005)
# of tracks: 11
When one thinks of metal bands with legendary talent NEVERMORE should be damn near the top of that list. However they likely are one of those bands that, unless you are immersed in the metal scene, you haven't heard of before. Which, to me, is a musical injustice of the highest order. Despite touring in support of more well known bands they never quite caught on with the popularity their immense talent so richly deserved. However to those that had been initiated, they were kings.
This Godless Endeavor, as a new release, was my introduction to the band and from the opening of Born, I was hooked. I remember, hearing Van Williams' thundering drums, paired with Jeff Loomis and Steve Smyth's in unison shredding, backed by Jim Sheppard's bass undertones, thinking “Oh damn! This is great.” Then Warrel Dane's uniquely epic vocals started and I knew I had found a new favorite band.
Final Product opens with soaring guitars and pounding drums that lay the groove heavy foundation for Warrel's scathing lyrical condemnation of the media. “The media loves the latest tragic suicide
They exploit it, then package it and profit from the people who die...” Sound familiar? Seems not much has changed in all the years between then and now. Dane's powerful vocal delivery is clean yet full of enough menace to convey utter contempt for feckless media shills.
The gentle, almost melancholy guitar work at the beginning of Bittersweet Feast sets a pervasive emotional through line for the song and the ominous drums that slowly fade in add to the bleak feeling. Theses layers build in tempo, setting the stage for Warrel's vocal assault. “Please let me help you, bury your dead, They've made the incision and driven their industry's waste in your head! This is your final warning, a war on freewill is coming” You may start to notice a reoccurring theme in the songs on this record. On a album full of lyrically potent songs, this track may be the most poignant. “This is your final warning, the holocaust of thought is dawning”
Sentient 6 is a bit of a slower burn than the rest of the songs on this album, beginning with some almost gothic piano. Theoretically, it's written from the perspective of a robot or android that is programmed to serve but is envious of human emotion and souls, so it will become humanity's destruction instead. “I am sentient number six, I stand in line, I am the prototype of a benign convenience for mankind, Superior is digital, human flesh is so trivial, I hate that I can't see the one that made me” Given the perspective of time, I would argue that now, these haunting lyrics can be applied to AI and the dangers of over reliance on the “benign convenience” of technology.
The beautiful, lilting way that A Future Uncertain starts, belies the heavy and fast paced song that it becomes. Warrle's voice is hauntingly melodic and seems to almost harmonize with Loomis' playing, building to a crescendo of Williams' blast beats that transform the tempo of the song into a crushing Juggernaut of a track. As always, Warrel pulls no punches with his words. The lyrics paint a bleak picture of humanity and how we treat one another. Though it does end with some advice “To set our mind free you must first just listen, Don’t waste your life on worthless hate and contradiction...”
Heavy in both musical composition and lyrical content this entire album, from start to finish, is fantastic. It doesn't contain a single weak track in my opinion. In fact this is one of those rare albums that I can listen to over and over again with out getting tired of it. I highly recommend you take the time to do a full listen through of this and their other records. They were far from one hit wonders and all their albums are of a similar quality. This one is definitely my favorite though. While it's true I was introduced to them towards the end of their tenure (they disbanded after the next album The Obsidian Conspiracy) I will always be a fan of their music and appreciate the conviction with which they presented themselves.
Medicated Nation kicks in loud and heavy from the get go. This song is unrelenting in it's presentation of addiction, both illicit and prescribed. Shining a harsh light mankind's apparent obliviousness to “...the scourge that stains their hands. All you feel and all you do, the medication controls you.” The driving blast beats are fantastically underscored by the exquisite expertise of Loomis' guitar work, especially evident after the second verse leading into the chorus “Now slap your vein, I’m the power of pain and pleasure symbiotic, I am, I am, In a medicated nation of blind neurotics, I am, I am Psychotic pain baptized in pure narcotics, I am, I am”
It's almost as if Warrel had the ability to see into the future.
