This Godless Endeavor

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This Godless Endeavor
File:ThisGodlessEndeavor2.jpg
Studio album by Nevermore
Released July 26, 2005
Recorded Feb - Apr 2005 at Backstage Recording Studios, UK
Genre Progressive metal, heavy metal
Length 57:18
Label Century Media
Producer Andy Sneap
Nevermore chronology
Enemies of Reality
(2003)Enemies of Reality2003		 This Godless Endeavor
(2005)		 The Obsidian Conspiracy
(2010)The Obsidian Conspiracy2010

This Godless Endeavor is the sixth album by Seattle-based American progressive metal band Nevermore and was released on July 26, 2005. The album was produced by Andy Sneap and is distributed by Century Media Records.

Overview

Guitarist Jeff Loomis revealed in an interview that This Godless Endeavor is not a concept album but a "topic-to-topic" album, with all the songs dealing with "real life issues" that can "allegorically refer to the loss of identity, the system that we roove in, the meaning of life, the denouncement of God as a solution to all the problems that are caused by the conflicts that all the religions have initiated in various parts of the world. It's basically about human beings."

One might note that the track "A Future Uncertain" has very similar lyrics and main riff to the track "World Unborn" from their 1992 demos.

In the middle of the song "Sentient 6" there is a message played backwards that says "I am the bringer of the end, fear me, I am the beast that is technology." "Sentient 6" refers to a robot or an android that has been programmed to annihilate humankind, but actually envies humanity for their possession of emotion and a soul. The content is paradoxical and written from the perspective of the machine. The song also picks up lyrically where "The Learning" left off in The Politics of Ecstasy. In addition, it seems to have many parallels with the story of V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The music video for "Born" premiered on the January 27, 2006 edition of Headbangers Ball. It was shot by acclaimed director Derek Dale, resulting in what the band considers "a thought-provoking conceptual piece."[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
allmusic 4/5 stars[2]
PopMatters 8/10 stars[3]
Anti Music 4/5 stars[4]
CoC 10/10 stars[5]
Metal Eater 10/10 stars[6]
Rock Hard 10/10 stars[7]
Sea of Tranquility 4.5/5 stars[8]
Maelstrom 9/10 stars[9]
Metal Crypt (4.6/5)[10]
Metal Storm 10/10 stars[11]

This Godless Endeavor ranked at #2 in Unrestrained! magazine's top 20 albums of 2005.[12] It was also ranked #88 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time.[13]

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia praised "the soaring vocals of Warrel Dane and lead guitar heroics of Jeff Loomis" as "twin beacons shining out from the band's gloriously metallic bulk." He declared, "Don't forget the near-nine-minute title track, which culminates in what must surely stand as one of Nevermore's most consistent LP's in suitably epic fashion. Indeed, American-bred heavy metal doesn't get any better than this."

The album's review via PopMatters noted the complex influences as "traces of '80s progressive metal greats such as Queensrÿche, Savatage, and Fates Warning" as well as "monstrous doses of European elements, such as blazingly fast tempos, tautly performed arrangements, and unrelenting blastbeats." In one of PopMatters' only complaints, the song "Bittersweet Feast" was considered "one track too many on an otherwise extraordinary album." Overall, within Nevermore's catalog, This Godless Endeavor was touted as "yet another chapter in what has become one of the more impressive album streaks in recent metal history."

The German Rock Hard voted it Album of the Month and called it "the best and most intense metal album of the decade".[14] The album was later ranked number 256 in their book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Born"   Jeff Loomis, Warrel Dane 5:05
2. "Final Product"   Loomis, Dane 4:21
3. "My Acid Words"   Loomis, Dane 5:41
4. "Bittersweet Feast"   Steve Smyth, Dane 5:01
5. "Sentient 6"   Loomis, Dane 6:58
6. "Medicated Nation"   Jim Sheppard, Dane, Loomis 4:01
7. "The Holocaust of Thought" (Instrumental) Sheppard 1:27
8. "Sell My Heart for Stones"   Smyth, Dane 5:18
9. "The Psalm of Lydia"   Loomis, Dane 4:16
10. "A Future Uncertain"   Smyth, Dane 6:07
11. "This Godless Endeavor"   Loomis, Dane 8:55

Credits

The Band:

Guest Musician:

Production:

  • Andy Sneap - Production, Engineering, Mixing, Mastering
  • Hugh Syme - Cover art
  • Olle Carlsson - Band and background photography
  • Stefan Wibbeke - Layout and booklet design

Chart positions

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 73
French Albums Chart[16] 134
German Albums Chart[17] 26
Swiss Albums Chart[18] 63
US Independent Albums[19] 23
US Top Heatseekers[19] 11

In Popular Culture

In the Marvel comic Runaways (comics), one of the characters, Chase Stein, mentions the track "The Psalm of Lydia" to a coworker as a flirt while at his job at a radio station.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Premiere of "Born" video on Headbanger's Ball this weekend Nevermore.com (2006). Retrieved on 2-21-09.
  2. ↑ This Godless Endeavor at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Pop Matters Music Reviews
  4. ↑ Antimusic Review - Nevermore
  5. ↑ Chronicles of Chaos Review
  6. ↑ Metal Eater Review
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Sea of Tranquility Review
  9. ↑ Maelstrom Review
  10. ↑ Metal Crypt Review
  11. ↑ This Godless Endeavor Staff Review
  12. ↑ Nevermore in UNRESTRAINED! top 20 of 2005 Nevermore.com (2006). Retrieved on 2-21-09.
  13. ↑ 100 greatest guitar albums of all time Chud.com (2006).
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Dutch Charts website
  16. ↑ Les Charts website
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Hit Parade Swiss website
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 This Godless Endeavor at AllMusic
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