Thank the hair on your balls this review is available a month prior to the official European release of Nevermore's comeback. This gives you, dear reader, a special glimpse into the delights within this hotly anticipated album. It's always better to be informed early of your future musical purchases, right? For that segment of the human race who've been experiencing nocturnal emissions from the feverish wait, rest assured 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' is a guaranteed winner except for a voice at the back of your head telling you something is amiss here.

Casting doubt aside, the ride is off to an in-your-face start with 'The Termination Proclamation'. It's got fast paced yawning grooves, ample heaviness, and Warrel Dane's ever timeless vocal fusillades in that fearsome voice of his. Judging by its strengths, the album's opening salvo earns itself a permanent place in Nevermore's live set list. 'Your Poison Throne' eases the tempo a bit, setting the stage for shivering rapture as the band erupt in chants of "Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise!" before Warrel glazes over the melody with his cynical lyrics. Barely a heartbeat after it wraps the Seattle quartet tear it up for the brain melting intensity of 'Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)'. Blessed by an impressive chorus, lyrical gold, and a flawless sheen second nature to the band, it's on this song where Jeff Loomis sunders the very heavens with those smoldering leads.

Fear and gloom prevail on 'And the Maiden Spoke' whose narrative driven lyrics tell of a young woman possessing supernatural gifts. When it's finished, Nevermore jump aboard the ball tingling wagon for the breathless proportions of 'Emptiness Unobstructed' but it pales beside 'The Blue Marble and the New Soul', a moving semi-ballad that will bring many close to tears. 'Without Morals' counts itself among the album's harder cuts and it isn't until the title track at the end where the foursome cook up a sonic firestorm. In between are a pair of doom-laden tunes that belie the quartet's flare for the complex and contemplative. Ever impressive this late in their careers, whether it's Loomis six string flare, or the Van Williams-Jim Sheppard rhythm section, or Mr. Dane's icy croons, it's all peaches.

Yet despite its towering success, there's this uncomfortable awareness that the album is but a hair's-breadth from perfection. Why not utter perfection? Why? What's missing?

Rating: 9½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Miguel Miranda
05/04/2010 18:08