Dreaming Neon Black
Dreaming Neon Black is the third studio album released by Seattle progressive metal band Nevermore, and was released through Century Media in 1999. Unlike its predecessor, The Politics of Ecstasy, this album is very emotional and contains many slower, ballad-type songs.
| Dreaming Neon Black | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 25, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Village Productions, Tornillo, Texas | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal, speed metal, heavy metal[1] | |||
| Length | 66:05 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer | Neil Kernon | |||
| Nevermore chronology | ||||
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| Alternative covers | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Rock Hard | |
Dreaming Neon Black is also 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",
The story is based on Dane's personal experience: one of his former girlfriends, Patricia Candace Walsh[4], ceased contact with him when she joined a religious group and was never heard from again[5], and he began having nightmares of her crying out to him as she drowned. In reality, Walsh and her husband, Douglas Zyskowski, were hitchhiking in Georgia on a way to a religious workshop when they both fell victim to serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, also known as The Truck Stop Killer.[6]
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
All 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: At the end of the song Forever (2:35), there's 6:35 minutes of silence. After the silence, a 10-second section from the track Ophidian can be heard.
Credits
- 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
- Metal Crypt Review
- Dreaming Neon Black at AllMusic
- Schäfer, Wolfgang. "Rock Hard". issue 140. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "IMPACT - Interview with Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore)". September 19, 2016 – via YouTube.
- "Nevermore Interview, Part I - Infernal Dominion Magazine". www.angelfire.com.
- "Trucker Admits to More Murders". ABC News. 30 March 2012.