Nevermore

I might have been anticipating the new Nevermore album a little too much. After being wowed one more time by 2005's This Godless Endeavour, I couldn't help having high expectations for the band's seventh album. The five-year wait didn't help (and Warrel Dane's solo album, Praises to the War Machine, seemed like just a teasing interlude). For the first couple of songs, The Obsidian Conspiracy didn't move me. It wasn't until the third track, "Moonrise," that I started to catch on to the record's groove. The next song, "And the Maiden Spoke," didn't let that groove settle in, switching rhythmic gears with every twist in lyrics and atmosphere. Then, by the time the catchy momentum of "Emptiness Unobstructed" got going, I realized I was hooked once again. The Obsidian Conspiracy is unmistakably Nevermore: a little thrashy, a little prog-ish, technical here and there, all on top of the aforementioned groove. Minor deviations affect the overall mood more than anything, giving the album a laidback quality no matter how heavy it gets, at times. The latest Nevermore is enough to make up for lost time, but feels a bit like a diet version of the real thing.