‘Enemies Of Reality’ drew quite a lot of flak among Nevermore’s fan base. Most blamed Kelly Gray’s production, which did drain the music of quite a bit of its power, but when Andy Sneap remixed the album two years later, much of the song material was still lacking. Its follow-up ‘This Godless Endeavor’ fortunately proved that Nevermore still had whatever made ‘Dead Heart In A Dead World’ so good and then some. It still stands as one of the greatest post-2000 metal relaeses to me, with its unique blend of monstrously heavy riffs, Warrel Dane’s excellent vocals and interesting song structures.

Stylistically, ‘This Godless Endeavor’ is very much in line with anything else Nevermore has done before or since, but it’s just done better than on any album that isn’t ‘Dead Heart In A Dead World’. Jeff Loomis’ downtuned, but highly complex riffs are exactly like the fans would want them and Van Williams’ drum parts are still surprisingly tom-heavy for a metal drummer. It may help that the band employed a second guitarist in the shape of Steve Smyth this time around and he contributed to the songwriting significantly. One of his compositions, the pulsating ‘Bittersweet Feast’, is actually one of the highlights of the album.

Nevermore usually isn’t a band to go for thrash metal tempos, which is why it is all the more surprising that the album starts with ‘Born’, which is built on a thrash polka and some of Dane’s most aggressive vocals until it reaches its ultra-melodic chorus. A great way to kick off the album. Other highlights of the album include the contemporary heaviness – with again a heartfelt chorus – of ‘My Acid Words’, the way ‘Sentient 6’ builds from a desperate-sounding ballad towards a vengeful ending and the simply excellent ‘Final Product’, which doesn’t really do anything special, but is just a fine example of the Nevermore formula.

Admittedly, the second half of ‘This Godless Endeavor’ isn’t quite as strong as its first half, but it still contains a couple of excellent tracks. The nine-minute title track is undoubtedly the best-discussed of the bunch and it is in deed a fantastic epic that through its dynamics doesn’t let up for even a second. When Dane’s vocals and Loomis’ lead guitar sound simultaneously it proves itself as a true work of art, but the first heavy riff turns monumental when the multi-layered vocals are addded on top. ‘The Psalm Of Lydia’ is another great track which is quite surprising when an acoustic guitar solo briefly interrups the thrashing madness of the rest of the song. ‘Sell My Heart For Stones’ is a surprisingly calm, earnest ballad.

For me, ‘This Godless Endeavor’ comes very close to ‘Dead Heart In A Dead World’ in being Nevermore’s best album. While I think the latter is a bit more consistent, I can see people being more enamored by the more compact and direct nature of the former. Unfortunately, Dane’s untimely death three years ago means that Nevemore will likely never top this release, but some bands would kill to make even one record this good. Recommended to those who wish modern metal had better vocals.

Recommended tracks: ‘Bittersweet Feast’, ‘My Acid Words’, ‘Sentient 6’