Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy [2010]

Nevermore has never been a consistent band, but their career highlights are extraordinary. With puzzling releases such as The Politics of Ecstasy and Enemies of Reality coming after better outings like the self-titled album and Dead Heart in a Dead World respectively, it should have been expected that Nevermore would follow their best album (the astounding This Godless Endeavor) with their worst; and yet I remained in denial through the five year break, through the solo excursions, through the shaky interviews, and through initial listens to some of the album's tracks. Yep, it shouldn't have been a surprise that The Obsidian Conspiracy sucked, but it was, and it was a bitter one at that.

The songs here are shorter, more simplistic, and more accessible than ever before. That might not be a problem if most of them were actually good. Gone are the lethal thrash riffs, the raw production, the cynical yet evocative vocal performance, and the crushing energy. They've all been replaced by a soft, apathetic feeling fraught with extremely modern trappings and incompatible song parts. Seriously, the verses and choruses don't even fit together half the time (see "The Declaration Proclamation"), passing off mechanical structures with hollow spirits as album centerpieces. Others are unacceptably repetitive and annoying ("Your Poison Throne"), while a couple show promise but botch it with bad decision making at some point within ("Without Morals" and "She Comes in Colors"). Few tracks are flat out offensive (I'd have to site the empty title track in particular), but most are forgettable and mediocre enough to kill any enjoyment I could possibly get out of them.

The performances of the two head honchos here are sub-par at best. It's obvious that a mutiny was imminent from the sheer lack of care on display throughout each and every track. Jeff Lommis's excellent soloing is mysteriously absent, instead dwelling on braindead, whiny leads. It's frustrating to hear talent restrained, and I'm sure he was frustrated as well. At the forefront of this issue is Warrel Dane, who evidently doesn't care, selling out his signature emotive snarls for an uninspired clean approach. Even the lyrics, which were one of the band's best aspects, are watered down and awful, coming across not as the political hate machine Warrel once was, but as an old man struggling with dementia. It's like he's trying to continue his style from his (admittedly satisfying) solo album on a Nevermore record. I shouldn't have to tell you that it doesn't work.

I can only guess that the entire purpose of The Obsidian Conspiracy was to make Nevermore marketable to the masses, a move that resulted in an album that only vaguely resembled the band in the first place. No wonder Jeff Loomis left; what we have here is basically Soilwork, Warrel Dane's solo material, and a pinch of old Nevermore put together in one questionable concoction. The Obsidian Conspiracy is an entre that tastes decent at first, but assaults your digestive system and pains you on its way out. Finally, it ends up in the toilet where it belongs. Now we can only hope that it stays there.

   Overall: 4.25/10 (Poor - This is why I hate you)