Neverus call their style Majestic Death Metal. There, that’s quite a statement. The cantankerous specimens over at the RMR review desk weren’t so sure what to make out of that metallic assault at first, though. Fleshgod Apocalypse’s King 2.0 or just an unholy concoction of unsavory mainstream ingredients? Time to paint that toque black, turn it inside out, and rip the recipe to shreds. Happy cooking!
Well, don’t we love those totally unknown underground bands that just hit our review pipe out of the left field? Actually, we do. They might never grow into the perfect clickbait that any webzine owner with SEO1 ambitions craves. But you’ll find true gems out there in the metal wilderness that often lustily rival established bands2 with cheeky abandon.
And Neverus here is one of them. The band started its existence back in 2022, manned with previously unknown musicians. At least over here, they aren’t. Most band members emerged from the leftovers of the now seriously defunct Shadowrise. I guess, they decided to hoof it alone without a female front and seriously kick things up a few notches. And so they did indeed.
The moment Burdens of the Earth roared out of our music machine, it had our full attention. Its brand of often high-octane speedy metal ain’t able to hide its power prog roots too well, though. And that’s not to their disadvantage either. There’s true spice ‘n’ spirit in their tune whilst they thrashily knock elements from Power and all sorts of Death Metal into some sort of coherent mass.
Need proof? Just head over to Lazarus featuring some strange yet alluring mix of power prog with a ton of scratchy Death Metal that grates around for a tad too long. Later, bouts of Carach Angren-esque storytelling (One for Blood, for instance) embedded in some thrash-induced sort of Death Metal will greet ya. Or take Mournful March which attempts to win beastly metalheads over with some thrashy yet melodic Death Metal. A track that suddenly sports some astonishing groove. One of the best tracks on Burdens of the Earth.
Jack Streat‘s pretty sturdy vocals on Burdens of the Earth made the RMR review folks over at the in-house watering hole raise their weary heads more than once. Clears that often should could garner brownie points from Hansi Kürsch over at Blind Guardian (Banish and Burn, for instance). Or then, perhaps not – these Germans take no prisoners. Lusty group chanting at unexpected moments, growls that would easily fit the underground, it’s all united in delirious confusion. Only, the imitation of Niilo Sevänen (Insomnium) at certain points of the record should probably be sent back for repairs. This dog won’t hunt too well.
Oh, and let’s not forget the often outstanding guitar work. A sturdy rhythm section holding it all together with the outstanding drum work, the often haunting riffs, and solos to dream for, you got it all. And the latter are all over the place – and rightly so.
This whole volatile witches’ brew of rare metals, wild vocals, just enough symphonic parts to please, and whiffs of trve prog often barely manages to avoid hitting that dreaded cheese pot. And that’s a good thing because fondue and metal indeed don’t blend well – at all. But I guess the folks over at Neverus know that only too well. And all that wild clanging about the soundscape is brought about by a band that, apparently, had all the fun in the world to hatch an often impossibly complex record.
In other words, loading a record to the brim with rapid-fire style changes, a ton of samples, numerous breaks to some ambient and classic interludes, and an insane amount of hooks still resulted in a pretty neat production. And that is proof of the pudding of the musical prowess of this decidedly young crew.
So, how did the majestic part fare on Burdens of the Earth? We still don’t have all the answers. But we did find a refined yet deliciously brutalized mix of comfortably heavy power prog and an abundance of grouchy Death Metal richly mixed like so much spicy food we Westerners are not quite used to. A record about as pig-headed as any of the long-dead Nevermore pieces out there ever were. And I daresay, this is one unexpected stellar debut album that hit us out of nowhere. One that this crew will undoubtedly return to more than once before the year peters out yet again.
Ed’s note: And – drumroll – the record’s made it onto our 2023 Top Ten list. Congrats!
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: NFLS Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 21 April 2023
- Search Engine Optimization. A movement inhabited by the geekiest kind of Google apologists. The nerdiest site-smithing adepts on a quest for that holy grail the Gawds ov the GoogleVerse are so fucking elusive about. The perpetual search for that perfect ranking on any search engine. -Ed.-↩
- And spot on they are. We need moar reckless challenges out there. That would energize the ailing lamestream in the wild.-↩