The Obsidian Conspiracy

Nevermore: The Obsidian Conspiracy

Original Author: The Uncreator

Artist: Nevermore

Album: The Obsidian Conspiracy

Genre: Progressive Metal

Tracklist

01. The Termination Proclamation
02. Your Poison Throne
03. Moonrise (Through Mirrors Of Death)
04. And The Maiden Spoke
05. Emptiness Unobstructed
06. The Blue Marble And The New Soul
07. Without Morals
08. The Day You Built The Wall
09. She Comes In Colors
10. The Obsidian Conspiracy
11. Temptation* (Digipak Bonus)
12. Crystal Ship* (Europe only bonus I believe)

Guitars

9 / 10

5 years after "This Godless Endeavor" - One of the most perfect albums of all time - Nevermore release "The Obsidian Conspiracy", And does it deliver? Absolutely. After the 5 year break and a solo album, Loomis comes back with complete and total force. The color and tone of his guitars is very reminiscent of "Dead Heart In A Dead World", But with a much more precise production. The opening track, "The Termination Proclamation" will knock you out of your shoes and burn your socks off. Its such a strong opening track, Precise and technical, with the brutal heavy gallops carrying the verse. The solo in "Your Poison Throne" is beautiful and the tone sits so nicely with the song, And the rest of the album. "The Day You Built The Wall" is a perfect of example of just plain, deadly, precise, and heavy riffing, And the song before it - "Without Morals" - Is a beautiful execution of groove and technique. Lastly, I must mention the title track, "The Obsidian Conspiracy" because the song is absolutely ridiculous - In a good way. The riffs are just fresh and new, and they show that Nevermore, although having quite a long break, are nowhere near through with producing new and original music.

Bass Guitars

8 / 10

This particular Nevermore album, has such a beautiful low end. I listened to it for the first time through my studio headphones, and its produced beautifully. Now, having learned a lot more about album production myself - I feel I have never truly understood the low end of music until recently, and with this new bit of knowledge, I can say that the bass guitar carries the album magically. Its melodic where it needs to be, As in the song "The Blue Marble And The New Soul" and destructively precise as in "The Termination Proclamation" and the title track. The tone carries a lot of low end, while stilling holding the high notes well, no loss in volume or strength. Overall, it just adds so much more power to the album.

Drums

8 / 10

I have always thought Van Williams is such an overlooked drummer, He plays on the subtle end of things a lot more than most other players, And he knows the value of knowing when to display technique and power when necessary. I think his drums add such a tight and precise ambiance to Nevermore's music, And most don't notice it I think. "Without Morals" has got such a cool groove to it, and the drums in the beginning of "The Day You Built The Wall" are the perfect tune to march to war for. His fills are always just off the wall, The title track has such a cool fill in the second chorus, And he is one of the those drummers who can produce truly memorable grooves.

Vocals

10 / 10

My favorite part of any Nevermore album is always torn between Loomis, because I myself play guitar, and the vocals of Warrel Dane. I have to give his performance a perfect 10 - Its production shines superbly throughout the record, And the performance itself is beautiful. Warrel Dane is such a powerful singer, every word has such a gritty cleanliness (Paradox?) to it, That carries such a strong and visceral emotion. For every pained verse he sings, you really feel that pain, for all the sorrow he portrays, you can truly hear it in his voice. His anger and frustration gives the album a tense underlying coat of brutality, and his voice always has this haunting feel to it - Which is what I love about it - And which also lends itself to the dark foreboding feel of the album. Vocally, this album is a breathtaking performance.

Lyrics

9 / 10

Some of Dane's best I believe. As with his lyrics, they are always very dark and carry a sense of urgency - giving them strength and a strongly impressionable tone. Here are some of my favorites from the album.

From "The Termination Proclamation"

Eyes that shall never see
A life chose not to be fulfilled
Fates does choose a life before the hand of man
As the ants march you to your grave

Welcome to the violent station
The Termination Proclamation
All who enter here are killed
Prepare for death, Forget will

The lines of right and wrong
Are blurred in the name of freedom
As those who cannot speak
Assume the positions - And die
Feel the hook pulled by the system slave

Dead eyes can never see the beauty of disorder
As the army ants march you to your grave

From "Emptiness Unobstructed"

Take me to the southern shore within emptiness unobstructed
My search for something more
Take me to a higher plane within emptiness unobstructed
Some things just can't be explained

Here we are in this simple valley of deception
Where does it go, is it swimming against the flow
Or does no one ever know
Destiny, Tranquility, Validity of soul
And I will say once more
The world is still a spinning ball of confusion
That no one understands

Within the cold absolute, The cold brutal truth
There is a pained angel

From "The Blue Marble And The New Soul"

Welcome to planet earth
Tread your steps carefully
For the ground may twist and turn
Choose your friends wisely
For just when you think you know someone
They could abandon you with scorn
Oh little one
Your mother will hold you in her arms
Your father will teach you his dignity and charm

Welcome to planet hate
To this emotion that I berate
Yet some people force me to feed my violent seed
What have we become?
The damage remains and cannot be undone
On little one
Your brother may stab you in the back and laugh
Your sister will love you unconditionally as all life should be

From "The Obsidian Conspiracy"

Blank in your selfish state and enraged
Never should one die that cannot decide the truth
Never should one cry, So suffer the children
The snakes arrive to assist and surround the stage
Black expression is force-fed rage

Create and deny your subversive wings
The Obsidian Conspiracy is rising
Justify your shame
The Obsidian Conspiracy is rising

Regardless of the consequence
We drown inside our arrogance
We choose to bring our nameless
To this false place so shameless

Never should one die that never could see the absolute
Never should one cry, Let nothing destroy them
The blades align in indifference they feed the plague
This black agenda of hate is born of pain

Overall Impression

9 / 10

A devastating album that displays strength and power, as well as serenity and calm. The riffs are catchy and memorable, and heavy as hell. The solos are always epic and impossible, The vocals are amazing and Warrel Danes melodies are catchy and will stick in your head for a lifetime, The drums are a bombardment of power and overall this is such a well done album - That it has settled down into one of the best albums Metal has seen in a long while, Fresh sounding and just plain good music.