Nevermore "This Godless Endeavor" (Century Media)
By Eric Chon
Tuesday. Sep 06, 12:14 AM
Powerful, driving, and elegant.

(read an interview with guitarist Jeff Loomis here)

Nevermore are hard to describe. While their music remains aggressive and melodic like thrash metal, Warrel Dane’s vocals and their overall grandiose sound suggests a healthy influence of power and traditional metal as well. How they manage to straddle those two seemingly at-odds genres is the key to Nevermore’s success and inimitability. Factor in the virtuosity of main axe-man Jeff Loomis and it’s rare to find a detractor amongst metal fans of any genre.

That being said, This Godless Endeavor continues the band’s winning streak. If anything, it will convert those few remaining naysayers into rabid fans. While their previous releases were excellent, this new album shows Loomis and company at their peak, both in performance and writing.

Right off the bat with “Born,” Nevermore hit the gate at full speed. This is an unrelenting burst of pure metal anger and torment: a war cry against religious conformity. There is a sense of urgency and purpose unlike any other. Before realization, your are swept up into Jeff Loomis’ whirlwind guitars and Van Williams’ relentless rhythm. Warrel’s siren-call is unmistakable and unavoidable: once drawn in, there is no escape. Steve Smyth (guitars) and Jim Sheppard (bass) thicken the sound, taking these individual pieces and combining them into a towering slab of heavy metal.

And while many of their tracks do put the pedal to the metal (no pun intended), songs like “Sentient 6” ease the pace a bit and concentrate on creating mood and atmosphere. Unlike so many before them, Nevermore are able to tap into a more emotional facet of themselves without resorting to the maudlin ballad. Why can’t more artists realize that you can be sentimental without being sickeningly sappy?

Powerful, driving, and elegant, This Godless Endeavor is quite possibly Nevermore’s finest work. It succeeds on so many levels that it would take years to pick apart all its subtle nuances. For some strange reason, Nevermore have always been an underdog compared to the some of the bigger names in metal, despite outmatching many of them at their own game. With This Godless Endeavor, I expect them to take their rightful place at the top.
www.nevermore.tv
www.centurymedia.com

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Eric Chon

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