NEVERMORE – Enemies Of Reality

I would have been first in line to review a new CD by Seattle’s finest – if not America’s finest these days – Nevermore. (Now I am only “next in line”). You see, and as you might have heard already, the promos sent out did not represent the final master. (The same thing happened last time with “Dead Heart In A Dead World” also, the final product had a much better sound, I think). The promo seemed God damn awfully compressed, like a 128 kbps compressed to 96 and then attempted reversed to 192. When singer Warrel Dane said “Oh, you like the album – well make sure you get the final master”, I must admit I thought “how much better can this really be”…

Thank that awful God in mention, the final album sounds better than its promo, not a whole lot, but better. The audio landscape is a bit muddy, indeed the dirtiest record Nevermore made so far, but it’s amazing what I can get used to from these fine musicians. For “Enemies Of Reality” sure is a great disc in true Nevermore style – Warrel’s trademark vocals and Jim Sheppard’s bass playing, although I think drummer Van Williams and guitarist Jeff Loomis are the ones who really shine this time. Both very underestimated indeed, there’s pure brilliance going into your ear canals when you play “Enemies Of Reality”. Personally, if you allow me to be a bit personal in a review (like this isn’t one man’s opinion anyway), I think Jeff Loomis is the most unique and classiest guitar player to come out in the nineties, no-one around these days have such an inimitable technique while at the same perfectly fitting a band. He’s dominant without overdoing it. Some say he’s taken a more death metal approach with this CD – they could be right, I don’t listen much to death metal because of its “vocals” – but Loomis delivers a great dose of aggression from his fretboard. (I could be in deep water here, but I don’t think the man even has an endorsement deal…)

Well, about the disc; “Enemies Of Reality” is not like anything the band has done before. That said, it sure sounds like Nevermore and nothing else – and that again indicates professionals at work. Without repeating themselves, investing in a new CD by this band is a total no-brainer for the fans. You get melody, power, progression, dark atmosphere, highly skillful performances, amazing lyrics and an overall dedicated deliverance all nicely tied together.

The title track and opener is a nice bridge between the band’s previous work and what is about to come – the track is a good representation of the band’s width. Next up, “Ambivalent”, is an aggressive one with Warrel’s singing a little, but not too much, distorted. The band slows it down while Jeff showcases emotional playing in the solo section, not only fast and furious hammering style. More melodic and but also very technical is “Never Purify”. The chorus has a little touch of Soilwork’s melody structure (not so strange as they toured with Nevermore a few years back). The riff halfway into the song is the one of coolest I have heard out of Loomis’ amps. Again, it shows that this man can not be touched by others, not even reached after. “Tomorrow Turns Into Yesterday” sets the pace down. Not a big chorus like “The Heart Collector”, it’s just as melodic and flows better. The solo is simply stunning by the way, but you all know that by now. This is a song to highlight from the record, if the label cares…

I won’t go into details about every piece of eargasm on “Enemies Of Reality”, I’ll let you make up your own mind after having rushed out to your local dealer. Fact is: Nevermore can still be counted on, and will be in many years to come. Not even producer Kelly Gray (yes, that guy who turns every band into shit) can hold this band down. Nevermore, and their distinctive ways of making the best in metal, is a too strong unit.