Band:	Nevermore
Album:	Dreaming Neon Black
Style:	Heavy metal, Progressive metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	1999
Guest review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Ophidian
02. Beyond Within
03. The Death Of Passion
04. I Am The Dog
05. Dreaming Neon Black
06. Deconstruction
07. The Fault Of The Flesh
08. The Lotus Eaters
09. Poison Godmachine
10. All Play Dead
11. Cenotaph
12. No More Will
13. Forever

Dreaming Neon Black is quite the interesting album in Nevermore's discography. It's an absolutely amazing album, I personally think it's their best, and yet it's generally regarded less highly than Dead Heart in a Dead World and This Godless Endeavor... which are both amazing albums, but Dreaming Neon Blacl[i] has something that they don't. This album has an aura of mystique, of something hidden behind the music, behind the lyrics. This may perhaps be because it's a concept album. Well, whatever the reason, this is truly a masterpiece.

What makes the music on [i]Dreaming Neon Black so excellent is the delicious combination of melodic and heavy. This is a style that Nevermore has always done well, before and after this album, but never have they nailed it so well before or since. Take the title track for example: there's the introductory verse, over a very calm, beautiful guitar melody over the lyrics... and then what? Van and Jim come crashing in at the "Meet me in the dream time water drown..." section. This continues, only to return to the melodic verse. "Deconstruction" follows something of the same structure. Some of the songs on the album are definitely heavier than others, but they all seem to have this perfect combination of epic and heavy that never ceases to amaze me every time I play through the album. Van Williams and Jim Sheppard hold down the rhythm quite nicely, and, as usual, Warrel Dane and Jeff Loomis have this way of "dancing" (that's the best way I can describe it) around each other with their parts. And of course, Jeff's solos are nothing short of amazing... check out the ones on "The Death of Passion" and "Deconstruction."

Then the lyrics. Apparently Dreaming Neon Black is a concept album of sorts, about a man who goes insane after losing a woman very close to him. Concept albums can be difficult for bands, as there must be something of a story-line made with the lyrics. Nevermore pulls this off perfectly. And the lyrics aren't bland, silly, or tasteless: they're somewhat deep and thought-provoking. I personally really enjoy the lyrics to "Deconstruction" and "The Lotus Eaters."

This is a mind-blowing album. The individual parts all come together to make a truly amazing spectacle. What Dreaming Neon Black may lack in music (if anything), it makes up for with the lyrics, and vice versa. It is an album of true art and a somewhat surreal, mysterious atmosphere, and it might just be the crown jewl of the band's career.