NEVERMORE: This Godless Endeavor

Produced by Andy Sneap

Released: 2005

A few years back and it looked like the wheels had fallen off for Nevermore. Following up Dead Heart in a Dead World was never going to be easy but the task was made harder by a miniscule budget and Kelly Gray’s disastrous production that all but ruined Enemies of Reality and, in the process, almost destroyed the band’s reputation. The remix of that album proved that some great songs existed beneath the murk, but it’s clear that Nevermore needed something big to help them bounce back from 2003’s disappointment.

Things don’t get much bigger than This Godless Endeavor, an immense heavy metal album that lets you know right from the first note that it is simply going to rule and that the band that created it is one of the most supremely gifted acts of their kind. ‘Born’ launches the album in a truly malevolent style, fierce thrash riffs, violent drumming and near-death metal growling that almost doesn’t sound like Nevermore at all. It’s immediately clear that this is a force to be reckoned with.

From here, This Godless Endeavor begins to sound like classic Nevermore again, but at the same time there is a further progression into darkness and rage. The introduction of Testament guitarist Steve Smyth to the line-up is a masterstroke as he and Jeff Loomis seem to make it their mission to push each other towards higher and higher pinnacles of achievement: scathing riffs, spectacular lead breaks and stunning injections of melody. Then of course there’s the singularly distinctive voice of Warrel Dane striking a perfectly controlled balance of mid-range melancholic howls and higher-end shrieks. For a man who could once barely stay in tune, he has now developed a genuinely unique style and his songwriting abilities are close to genius.

There are no dud moments on This Godless Endeavor. It is as near to the perfect embodiment of a modern metal album as anything is likely to come.

1. Born


2. Final Product


3. My Acid Words


4. Bittersweet Feast


5. Sentinent 6


6. Medicated Nation


7. The Holocaust of Thought


8. Sell My Heart for Stones


9. The Psalm of Lydia


10. A Future Uncertain


11. This Godless Endeavor

Rating: 95%