Personnel: Warrel Dane (vocals); Jeff Loomis (guitar); Van Williams (drums). Audio Mixer: Andy Sneap. Recording information: Cadillac Limo Studios; Robert Lang Studios, Seattle, WA. Nevermore are a band built on bucking musical trends and going their own way, and continue to carve their own path for themselves on their seventh album, The Obsidian Conspiracy. Borrowing from thrash, progressive, and power metal, the band still has a feeling that is driving and epic. Their ability to blend genres creates a kind of tempering effect, with the power metal aspects making the prog less cerebral, but not dumb, with songs that provide listeners with equal opportunity to scratch their chins or pump their fists as the mood suits them. The whole thing is driven forward by the thrash elements, which keep the album moving along before it strays too far in any direction. The middle ground this fusion achieves really lets the vocal talents of Warrel Dane shine, giving him plenty of room to utilize his full vocal range and deliver the strangely catchy hooks that the band is known for. While it may be hard to pin down Nevermore's genre, The Obsidian Conspiracy is an easy album to like. ~ Gregory Heaney
