Nevermore
The Obsidian Conspiracy

Reviewing a Nevermore album is never easy, whether it's for that innate eclecticism that has always made them difficult to categorize or for the difficulty of remaining impartial in judging one of the greatest modern metal bands to emerge from the New Continent.

It has been five years since that sonic monument that bore the name "This Godless Endeavor", a monument of magnificent metallic decadence, grandiloquent and colossal. Its successor, "The Obsidian Conspiracy", presents itself from the title as a dark and fierce record, but (alas, some would say) turns out to be quite the opposite. Nevermore has always made stubborn experimentation and choices outside the box and predictions a banner, but the partial change of direction that is perceived in the quartet's music (we remember the departure of Chris Broderick, who went to join master Dave Mustaine in Megadeth) is one capable of radically dividing fan opinions.

Let's start with the production by Peter Wichers, guitarist of the Swedish band Soilwork, already behind the console for Warrel Dane's solo album "Praises to the War Machine": although the "usual", crystalline, and perfect mixing by master Andy Sneap adds weight, it is evident how the new choice of sounds has been aimed at downsizing the metallic and steamroller irruence of the Nevermore sound that had thrilled us so much in "Dead Heart in a Dead World", "Enemies of Reality" (the remastered version, mind you!) and the already mentioned "This Godless Endeavor". There are references to those golden moments (especially "And the Maiden Spoke"), but it's clear how Jeff Loomis, always the group's main composer, has chosen a more natural approach faithful to the song form, so as to build more conventional soundscapes for the ever-amazing vocal dexterity of the ever-astonishing Warrel Dane.

Although the reasons for this choice remain unclear, one cannot help but realize that in many instances, the guitarist seems "scholastic" and lacks impact, dedicating himself to a simple exercise of craft, rather than heartfelt and hard-won composition. It pains to admit it, but this Nevermore album doesn't spare some fillers that could have been avoided ('The Day You Built the Wall'), although it still proves brilliant and engaging in a final judgment. Sure, there are still metallic outbursts filled with that apocalyptic atmosphere so dear to us, but they are reduced to a few songs or sudden rhythmic surges by the blond guitarist (a bit disappointing in terms of solos, too often falling into predictable repetitions). The four seem to want to focus more on a musicality inherent in the songs, which are shorter, more linear, and, to a certain extent, captivating.                                                        Complex construction gives way to immediate aggressiveness, while maintaining the excellent performances of the musicians (Loomis still subdued). A second mention of applause for Warrel Dane, truly passionate and engaging on this album, both in the text writing and the vocal performance, dark and with the usual jester of decay style at its peak.

Ultimately, if you have always loved the more progressive and extreme side of the Seattle four, you will probably be disappointed by the gentleness of Loomis' guitar on this album, however, if you have always thought that Dane's exceptional voice deserved more room to express itself (and the moving ballad 'The Blue Marble and the New Soul' is a shining example of this) then most likely you will enjoy this melodic transformation. An honest, simple album, and perhaps thought to capture new fans, maybe in view of a subsequent "classically Nevermore" masterpiece (Attila Voros, Loomis' new six-string companion, bodes well for a permanent entry).

For longtime fans, perhaps not advisable, for those who discovered them with Dead Heart... a highly recommended purchase.