Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 07/29/2003
Seattlites
Nevermore carved a unique little niche for themselves, mixing
power metal,
thrash, and traditional
heavy metal stylings into a heady, dark witch's brew that's as muscular as it is melodic. While previous platters
Dead Heart, in a Dead World and
Dreaming Neon Black were sprawling, epic concept albums,
Enemies of Reality has more elements of a nasty little
thrash record, clocking in at a relatively brief 40 minutes and letting rip with the pummeling aggression of the leadoff title track (which boasts typically stellar guitar work courtesy of
Jeff Loomis, who carefully balances technical shredding with rock-solid, articulate riffs). Producer
Kelly Gray's (
Queensrÿche,
Dokken) mix sounds a bit botched during the maniacal tempo changes and dizzying fretwork of cuts like
"Ambivalent" and
"Never Purify," which would definitely benefit from a fine-edged, less muddy guitar sound; however, his knob-twisting sharpens the dynamics of stunningly effective power
ballads "Who Decides" (just try prying that guitar hook out of your brain) and
"Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday," which boasts the crystalline quality demanded by the down-tempo, clean arpeggios of the verses, and explosive peaks for the chorus' rib-crunching body blows. Vocalist
Warrel Dane's lyrics are, as usual, devastatingly bleak and poetic, especially when schizoid voices overlap during psychedelic, out-of-body experience
"Noumenon" -- "There is no stronger drug than reality," he warbles, reprising the line over the hoof-pounding
thrash gallop of album closer
"Seed Awakening." While
Enemies of Reality doesn't necessarily break down any new barriers for
Nevermore, the album is a manic, panicked, pissed-off disc compared to other entries in the group's discography; and there's really no arguing with the band's consistency, especially when its top-shelf songwriting skills and musicianship are so willfully and skillfully on display. Even if fans long for the skills of past producers
Neil Kernon or
Andy Sneap, they'll still find
Enemies of Reality to be a nasty little
thrash record with plenty of depth. [The limited-edition import version of the album came packaged with a bonus DVD featuring three promo videos and two live clips from the band's 2001 tour.]
~John Serba, All Music Guide
;)
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