A pretty heavy lineup this week, though we do at least hit five different subgenres ...
Alice in Chains, “Frogs.” From the album Alice in Chains (1995). For some reason, Alice in Chains’ 1995 self-titled album never seems to really get its due. It produced its hits, but wasn’t quite as straightforward, perhaps, as Dirt or Facelift. This dark, moody number is a perfect example of that with a quirky melody and Layne Staley delivering the end of each verse line in a lilting, high tone. Not my favorite song from the record, but good stuff nonetheless.
If there’s a balm for fans to ease the breakup/hiatus of Nevermore, it has to be this: The first new music from Sanctuary since 1989.
Four-fifths of the original lineup returned for the band’s 2010 reunion and for The Year the Sun Died — vocalist Warrel Dane, guitarist Lenny Rutledge, bassist Jim Sheppard and drummer Dave Budbill. Only guitarist Sean Blosl passed on the reunion. He’s replaced on the album by Brad Hull, who joined the touring band in 2011, after the departure of Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis.
The 2014 version of Sanctuary has, perhaps, a bit of a chunkier and heavier sound, with some shades of Nevermore’s more progressive leanings coming into play at times. Dane’s vocals are the deeper warble we’ve become accustomed to with Nevermore, rather than the youthful shrieks of the late 1980s, but no less powerful.
Nevermore’s latest outing, The Obsidian Conspiracy, is at once recognizable as a Nevermore effort yet still not quite like anything they’ve done before. The primary hallmarks of the band’s style are there: tight performances, fantastic musicianship and the unmistakable combination of Jeff Loomis’ blazing guitars and Warrel Dane’s distinctive vocals. But there’s something of a peeling back of the more progressive elements that have become a bigger part of their sound over the years and certainly a toning down of the aggression of their last outstanding effort, This Godless Endeavor.
In a strong year for metal releases, I thought many of these records would make my year-end top 10. Close, but not quite. That doesn't mean they're not well worth checking out, though.
Firewind, "The Premonition." Perhaps the most consistent band in the power metal genre. Gus G. should become a bonafied guitar hero.
Extreme, "Saudades de Rock." The funk-rockers successfully morph themselves into a 1970s rock style that really works. Plus, Nuno Bettencourt gets the shred on again.
Hank III, "Damn Right, Rebel Proud." While not as good as his last record "Straight to Hell," this one sees the introduction of more of the hellbilly style he's practiced on the side. (Review to come soon).
When you play in a group of extremely talented musicians who are all trying to grab their piece of the spotlight, it’s no surprise that, at some point, you’d want to do your own record and put yourself in the spotlight. Already considered one of the best vocalists in metal, Warrel Dane now indulges his own tastes a bit to showcase that voice outside the confines of Nevermore. He’s recruited ex-Soilworkers Peter Wichers (who also recorded and mixed the record) and Dirk Verbeuren and Matt Wicklund, formerly of Himsa, to back him on a record that, while not alien-sounding to Nevermore fans, allows Dane to stretch his horizons.
It’s an easy and obvious comparison, but Praises to the War Machine is somewhat similar to a Bruce Dickinson solo record, in that it’s a record that allows Dane to be the star of the show without having to share time with other band members. Like Dickinson’s records, in some ways this one is almost superior to Nevermore. There’s certainly a bigger focus here on song structures and songwriting than technicality. Not every song needs a blast of virtuosic performance, not even from Dane himself. It also gives Dane a chance to show more of his range from the warbling vocals Nevermore fans are familiar with to some nice lower register work which is surprising in spots.
The record is, at times, a bit indulgent, but that’s really the point of a solo record. There are certainly things you’d never hear on a Nevermore record, like a fairly faithful cover of the Sisters of Mercy’s “Lucretia My Reflection” - one of the highlights of the record - or the melancholy, almost gothic “Your Chosen Misery” or the sort of bluesy feel of the opening of “This Old Man,” both of which showcase a lower, more subdued side of Dane than we’re used to hearing. Many of the slower songs here are a bit morose and there seems to be an obsession lyrically with the death of a family member that runs through several of the songs. Even the slower songs provide some moments of undeniable power, though, like the soaring chorus of “Brother.”
There’s also a conscious effort here to not alienate fans of Nevermore, as evidenced by opening tracks “When We Pray” and “Messenger” (featuring Jeff Loomis on guitar), neither of which would cause fans to bat an eye if they appeared on his regular band’s next record. Perhaps the most surprising moment on the record is an unexpectedly heavy, very Nevermore-ish cover of Paul Simon’s “Patterns,” which is another highlight of the record. He closes with a bang, delivering the pounding, crunching sound of his main band on “Equilibrium.”
Praises to the War Machine is not a huge departure from what we’ve heard Dane do before. While it gives him a chance to show some things we don’t normally hear in his regular gig, the music here is more like Nevermore than unlike. The big difference is that it’s arranged to showcase the vocals and, yes, deliver up perhaps a few more accessible moments to those who aren’t obsessed with virtuosic performances. It’s hard to get choruses like the one from “The Day the Rats Went to War” (which brings in the title of the record) out of your head, and maybe the songs here are, at times, a bit catchier than the average Nevermore fare. But fans of the band won’t be disappointed, nor will fans of great melodic metal in general. This one’s easily a top 10 release for the year.
If you're not familiar with Seattle's reigning kings of melodic metal, it's time to get acquainted.
Nevermore's last two albums "Dreaming Neon Black" and "Dead Heart in a Dead World" set a high standard for the band, so they took their time crafting "Enemies of Reality." It was time well spent.
While this album isn't incredibly different from Nevermore's previous offerings, it does seem to have a little more depth. "Enemies of Reality" has all the speed the band's fans expect on songs like the title track and "I, Voyager" and the progressive rock flair on "Noumenon." But there's also a mellower side that comes out on this album, it's a side that fans may have only caught glimpses of before. The most obvious manifestation of this is "Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday," which is perhaps as close to a ballad as Nevermore has ever come.
Warrel Dane's distinctive vocals warble between dramatic, soaring singers like Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson, but also occasionally drift into the snarls and growls of extreme metal. The rest of the band follows his lead, alternatively offering up spacey interludes, crushing riffs and ferocious bursts of speed. It's that versatility that sets them apart from other bands in the genre and makes Nevermore one of the best bands out there.
