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(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
This was the overall the critic's pick for the best metal album of 2000 (or at least tied with Brave New World for the title) from the other "saviors of American metal" (along with Iced Earth), Nevermore. I ignored it for quite a while, thinking it was a death/thrash album. I mean, with a band name like that what are people supposed to think? And then we have the cover. Album covers are supposed to give some sort of a picture as to what the album is like, right? Am I the only one who thinks this cover looks quite similar to the cover to Sepultura's Chaos A.D.? Hmm?
Well, it's not a death/thrash release, this is sort of the same thrash/power metal style as Iced Earth with a lot more emphasis on power metal. A lot of the melodies are quite good, and some of the songs are excellent. The opening "Narcosynthesis" is on the faster thrash level, the best of those on the album. "Evolution 169" is another great, with some of the most melodic guitar on here. The best are "The Heart Collector" and "Believe in Nothing," a pair of incredible ballads with very catchy and memorable choruses, and are highly melodic all throughout.
The biggest problem with Dead Heart In A Dead World is that power metal is already finished. It's over. Move on. The reason Iced Earth have been successful is that their mixture of thrash and power metal has its own distinct sound, and rarely ends up sounding like either genre, but always a mixture of the two. Nevermore here don't have a mixture, they just play power metal with thrash influences. But power metal is dead. Iron Maiden haven't released a true power metal album in years (instead they are pursuing a more progressive direction), and I believe even Judas Priest have changed their style somewhat from what I understand.
Why isn't Dead Heart In A Dead World a classic? It delivers NOTHING new. "Inside Four Walls" has a section in the middle with some information concerning what the band considers to be injustice in length of prison sentences (drug offenders do more time than rapists and murderers). Now I don't know if you've heard the title track to Queensryche's 1990 release, but the exact same thing is there. This is just the easiest example for me to describe; there are little derivative things like this everywhere. And the reason is simple. Power metal has nothing new left to offer. So Nevermore's 2000 release might do it for you, but just remember that it's been done before.
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