"The obsidian conspiracy" CD by Nevermore

by Oliver Kube (15.07.2010) Five years of absence from a studio, an awesome live DVD, various solo projects, serious health problems of several band members plus the exit of guitar player Steve Smyth - all that has happened since the masterpiece "The godless endeavor" was released 2005 and now, but the Prog / Thrash icons from Seattle have persevered. To be more exact: Warrel Dane, Jeff Loomis & Co. once again do present us with a genre gem. Complex, sometimes even brutal, sometimes epic "And the maiden spoke" is an epitome of Nevermore’s style, as is the melancholic, yet angry-aggressive half-ballad "Emptyness unobstructed". Also brilliant: "The blue marble and the new soul", starting acoustically and developing into a sluggish, heavy anthem, or wonderfully experimental (especially towards the end) "She comes in colors". It’s really hard to pick a fave - the songs are all first-class material.