Dreaming Neon Black is the third studio album released by American heavy metal band Nevermore, and was released through Century Media in 1999. Unlike its predecessor, The Politics of Ecstasy, Dreaming Neon Black contains many slower, emotional songs.
| Dreaming Neon Black | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 26, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Village Productions (Tornillo, Texas) | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal, thrash metal, heavy metal[1] | |||
| Length | 66:05 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer | Neil Kernon | |||
| Nevermore chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative covers | ||||
 | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Rock Hard |    [3] |
Dreaming Neon Black is a concept album; according to Nevermore's lead singer, Warrel Dane, "it's a very simple story about a man who slowly goes insane after losing a woman that he was very close to. Progressive levels of insanity are expressed in the songs, he goes through phases of denial and self-blame, blaming God, then denouncing God. The ending is a little...tragic, a little depressing. Shakesperian. Everybody dies, it's all happy."[4]
The story is based on a personal experience of Dane's. One of his former girlfriends, Patricia Candace Walsh,[5] ceased contact with him when she joined a religious group and was never heard from again,[6] and he began having nightmares of her crying out to him as she drowned.[citation needed] In actuality, Walsh and her husband Douglas Zyskowski were murdered by serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades in January 1990 while hitchhiking to a religious workshop in Georgia,[7] although Dane was initially unaware of this.
The spoken word samples from the intro "Ophidian" and its 10-second reprise at the end of "Forever" are from the Clive Barker movie Lord of Illusions.
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Warrel Dane; all music is composed by Nevermore
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ophidian" (instrumental) | 0:46 |
| 2. | "Beyond Within" | 5:11 |
| 3. | "The Death of Passion" | 4:10 |
| 4. | "I Am the Dog" | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Dreaming Neon Black" | 6:26 |
| 6. | "Deconstruction" | 6:39 |
| 7. | "The Fault of the Flesh" | 4:54 |
| 8. | "The Lotus Eaters" | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Poison Godmachine" | 4:33 |
| 10. | "All Play Dead" | 4:58 |
| 11. | "Cenotaph" | 4:39 |
| 12. | "No More Will" | 5:45 |
| 13. | "Forever" | 9:20 |
Note: The song Forever has a run time of 2:35, followed by six minutes and 35 seconds of silence. This silence is followed a 10-second section from the opening track Ophidian.
Credits
edit- Nevermore
- Warrel Dane – vocals
- Jim Sheppard – bass
- Jeff Loomis – guitars
- Tim Calvert – guitars
- Van Williams – drums
- Additional personnel
- Christine Rhoades – additional vocals
- Production
- Neil Kernon – production, mixing, mastering
- Justin Leeah – additional engineering
- Bobby Torres – additional engineering
- Raymon Breton – mastering
- Travis Smith – illustrations, design, photography
- Karen Mason-Blair – band photography
- Louis Rusconi – additional photography www.Rusconi.com
- Brad Gilson Jr. - additional photography
References
edit- ^ Metal Crypt Review
- ^ Dreaming Neon Black at AllMusic
- ^ Schäfer, Wolfgang. "Rock Hard". issue 140. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ Metal Injection
- ^ "IMPACT - Interview with Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore)". September 19, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Nevermore Interview, Part I - Infernal Dominion Magazine". Angelfire.
- ^ "Trucker Admits to More Murders". ABC News. March 30, 2012.