NEVERMORE — Dead Heart in a Dead World (review)

NEVERMORE — Dead Heart in a Dead World album cover

Album · 2000 · Thrash Metal

4.5/5 · 2021-10-21
UMUR

"Dead Heart in a Dead World" is the 4th full-length studio album by US power/thrash metal act Nevermore. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2000. It´s the successor to "Dreaming Neon Black" from 1999 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Tim Calvert has left after a relatively short stint with the band. Calvert has not been replaced here, and therefore Jeff Loomis handles all guitars on the album (the first Nevermore album where he played seven-string guitars). There´s been a change in the producer chair too as Neil Kernon (who worked with the band on all previous releases did not work with the band on "Dead Heart in a Dead World". Instead Nevermore brought in former Sabbat guitarist Andy Sneap to produce the album.

"Dreaming Neon Black" is a dark and heavy album featuring a bleak concept story based on the real life disappearance of lead vocalist Warrel Dane´s old girlfriend after she entered a religious cult. In comparison "Dead Heart in a Dead World" is a bit different, as it features individual tracks with no conceptual connection other than the often heavy topic political/social lyrics (covering subjects like criticism of drug possession penalties and religion, love, loss, and humanity´s place in the universe). The heavy and quite brilliant cover of "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel fits perfectly within the context of the rest of the material. It´s always dangerous (or at least a bold move) to cover a track as iconic as "The Sound of Silence", but Nevermore pull it off in great style and make the song their own.

"Dead Heart in a Dead World" is a relatively diverse release featuring both crushingly heavy US power/thrash metal tracks like "Narcosynthesis", "Engines of Hate", and "We Disintegrate", a groove laden heavy track like "Inside Four Walls", the relatively slow and heavy "Evolution 169" and "Insignificant", epic power balleds like "The Heart Collector" and "Believe in Nothing", and a fast-paced thrasher like the closing title track. Nevermore always understood the importance of variation to make an album as effectful and intriguing as possible, but "Dead Heart in a Dead World" may be their most diverse album of the bunch.

Andy Sneap has created a powerful dry sound production which suits the material perfectly. It´s a bit more polished and less raw than the preceding Neil Kernon productions, but it´s a professional and well sounding production. It´s not always a bad choice to chose a new producer after sticking to the "safe" choice for a while. And that´s not a critique of Kernon, who did a great job on the early releases by Nevermore, but at this point in time, Sneap was the perfect fit for them.

The musicianship are on a high level on all posts. The rhythm section of drummer Van Williams and bassist Jim Sheppard deliver one powerful and skillfully executed rhythmic assault after another, guitarist Jeff Loomis shines as always with brutal sharp riffs and blistering solo work, and lead vocalist Warrel Dane is a singer extraordinaire. He has an instantly recognisable voice and a powerful paatos filled delivery, which brings that extra to the music, that only really great vocalists are able to.

So upon conclusion "Dead Heart in a Dead World" is another high quality release by Nevermore. The sound production is as mentioned a bit more polished than on the preceding releases and it makes the album slightly more accessible and catchy, but the actual music is as raw and powerful as ever. Nevermore´s ability to combine US power metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal elements to a unique sound is quite impressive. There really aren´t any other acts out there, who sound even remotely like Nevermore. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.