The Obsidian Conspiracy

The Obsidian Conspiracy
Studio album by Nevermore
Released	June 8, 2010
Recorded	August - October 2009
Genre	Progressive metal, thrash metal[1]
Length	45:01 51:13 (Limited Box-Set Edition)
Label	Century Media
Producer	Peter Wichers
Nevermore chronology
This Godless Endeavor (2005) The Obsidian Conspiracy (2010)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Bloody-Disgusting	[3]
Drop-D	[4]
Metal Review	[5]
The New Review	[6]
Pop Matters	[7]
Rock Reviews	[8]
Sputnik Music	[9]
Rock Hard	[10]

The Obsidian Conspiracy is the seventh and final studio album by American progressive metal band Nevermore. The album was released on June 8, 2010 in North America by Century Media^[11] and was released at the end of May in Europe.^[12] The band's previous album, This Godless Endeavor was released in 2005, making the five-year gap the longest between two consecutive Nevermore albums. The album was met with generally positive reviews. The Obsidian Conspiracy was the band's first album to chart in Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States Billboard 200. As the band remains on an indefinite hiatus since mid-2011, The Obsidian Conspiracy remains the last studio recording by Nevermore thus far.

Writing and recording

Nevermore, having written 13 new songs, entered Wichers studio, North Carolina, in August 2009, to record the album. Van Williams completed recording the drumming on the album as 17 August, in Seattle. The whole recording process was finished in October.

Warrel Dane commented on the writing process: "These songs are full of newfound rage, lyrically and musically. Jeff Loomis has come up with some amazing new riffs that will no doubt please old and new fans alike. Also, I think the combination of Peter and Andy (production & mixing) will result in something very, very special."^[13]

Jeff Loomis commented on the writing of the album: "I think that with the new Nevermore, it still sounds like the band, but I think I'm giving Warrel a little bit more room this time around for more vocals rather than all the notey, kind of complex stuff and all that, so this time around it's just a little bit more wide open musically for him to really be able to do whatever he wants vocally this time around. So we'll see what happens. It's gonna be an interesting album for us, for sure."^[14]

Jeff Loomis has also stated in a recent interview that Peter Wichers had a major part in the songwriting, encouraging Loomis to "cut out the fat, and make the songs catchier and hookier", thus creating a simplistic and stripped down sound that differs from the original 7-8 minute complex tracks which Loomis originally wanted to record.^[15]

Release history

Region	Date
Australia[16]	May 28, 2010
Austria[17]
Germany[18]
Switzerland[19]
Denmark[20]	May 31, 2010
France[21]
Greece[22]
Norway[23]
Portugal[24]
United Kingdom[25]
Italy[26]	June 1, 2010
Spain[27]
Finland[28]	June 2, 2010
Sweden[29]
Brazil	June 6, 2010
United States[30]	June 8, 2010
Japan	July 21, 2010

Track listing

All lyrics written by Warrel Dane; all music composed by Jeff Loomis.

The Obsidian Conspiracy
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Termination Proclamation"	3:12
2.	"Your Poison Throne"	3:54
3.	"Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)"	4:03
4.	"And the Maiden Spoke"	5:00
5.	"Emptiness Unobstructed"	4:39
6.	"The Blue Marble and the New Soul"	4:41
7.	"Without Morals"	4:19
8.	"The Day You Built the Wall"	4:23
9.	"She Comes in Colors"	5:34
10.	"The Obsidian Conspiracy"	5:16

Limited edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Temptation" (The Tea Party cover)	3:26
12.	"The Crystal Ship" (The Doors cover)	2:49
13.	"The Purist's Drug"	4:45

^[31][32]

Chart positions

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart[33]	34
Belgian Albums Chart[34]	87
Dutch Albums Chart[35]	69
Finnish Albums Chart[36]	35
French Albums Chart[37]	108
German Albums Chart[38]	13
Greek Albums Chart[39]	3
Hungarian Albums Chart[40]	27
Swedish Albums Chart[41]	41
Swiss Albums Chart[42]	40
US Billboard 200[43]	132
US Rock Albums[43]	41
US Independent Albums[43]	18
US Hard Rock Albums[43]	13
US Tastemakers[43]	19

Credits

Nevermore

• Warrel Dane - lead vocals
• Jeff Loomis - lead guitar
• Jim Sheppard - bass
• Van Williams - drums

Production

• Peter Wichers - production, engineering
• Andy Sneap - mixing, mastering
• Travis Smith - cover art

References

1. Pop Matters Review
2. The Obsidian Conspiracy at AllMusic
3. Barkan, Jonathan (June 8, 2010). "Album Review: Nevermore 'The Obsidian Conspiracy'". BloodyDisgusting.com. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
4. Keane, Jonathan (August 19, 2010). "Nevermore, The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". Drop-D. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
5. Brandon, Jim (June 2, 2010). "Review of Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy". Metal Review. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
6. Anderson, Keith (June 4, 2010). "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". The New Review. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
7. Colgan, Chris (June 23, 2010). "Nevermore: The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". Pop Matters. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
8. Stein, Lior (May 6, 2010). "Music Review of The Obsidian Conspiracy CD by Nevermore (2010)". Rock Reviews. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
9. Spencer, Trey (June 4, 2010). "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". Sputnik Music. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
10. Kaiser, Boris. "Rock Hard". issue 277. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
11. "NEVERMORE To Release 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' In June". Blabbermouth.net. March 8, 2010.
12. "NEVERMORE's 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' To Be Released In Europe A Week Earlier". Blabbermouth.net. March 12, 2010.
13. "NEVERMORE's WILLIAMS Completes Drum Tracks For New Album". Blabbermouth.net. August 17, 2009.
14. "NEVERMORE Guitarist Says New Material Is 'A Little Bit More Wide Open Musically'". Blabbermouth.net. August 10, 2009.
15. "NEVERMORE Guitarist Talks About Making Of ' The Obsidian Conspiracy'". Blabbermouth.net. June 17, 2010.
16. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Australia). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
17. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Austria). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
18. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Germany). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
19. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Switzerland). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
20. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Denmark). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
21. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (France). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
22. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Greece). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
23. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Norway). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
24. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Portugal). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
25. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (United Kingdom). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
26. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Italy). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
27. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Spain). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
28. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Finland). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
29. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Sweden). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
30. "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (United States). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
31. "NEVERMORE: 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' Track Listing Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
32. "NEVERMORE: 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' Two-Disc Limited Box Detailed". Blabbermouth.net. Apr 18, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
33. "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy - austriancharts.at". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
34. "Belgian Albums Chart". ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
35. "Dutch Albums Chart". Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
36. "Finnish Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
37. "French Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
38. "German Albums Chart". Musicline. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
39. "Greek Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
40. "Hungarian Albums Chart". Mahasz (in Hungarian). Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. May 31, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
41. "Swedish Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
42. "Swiss Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
43. "The Obsidian Conspiracy - Nevermore". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2010.

External links

• Nevermore's official website