Optimist Or Pessimist starts it off with a pulverizing wall of sound full of double kickdrums and blinding guitar licks. Warrell Dane claims his spot as one of the metal scenes best and most diverse vocalists on this tune alone. From venomous to vulnerable - the guy does it, flawlessly. The bridge with chorused-up clean melodies and the sizzling guitar tone fattening up the solo is magical. The catchy chorus provides the hook and youre sold. Matricide has got to be one of the finest songs in the bands catalogue, and when were talking about Nevermore, that means one hell of an anthem. The mellow verses with Danes magnificent harmony vocals meld in perfectly with the rocking chorus that once again boasts lyrics that unleash the meat hooks to the cerebral cortex (or whatever the hell the place is that stores memories of killing vocal melodies - Im a bloody English major, not anatomist). After the middle, crushing grooves make a pit-atmosphere so life-like that one can almost taste the sweat.

The title track gives the impression of a beautiful ballad with the intro - deservedly so. But all is not as it seems when the sudden crashing of a mosh-inducing mid-pace beat smashes heads and fists together. The cover medley of two songs by the goth rock pioneers Bauhaus, Silent Hedges/Double Dare, prove the bands proefficiency with outside material as well. Metallic gloom never sounded this good. The Sorrowed Man is then the actual ballad of the record and what a ballad at that. The slightly chorus-driven guitars with the awesome melodies are mesmerizing as Loomis squeezes out some of the most emotional lead guitar playing Ive ever heard. Dane is again hypnotic in his wizard-like ability to alter his voice. Classic guitars add a fabulous touch to the soundscape. One the best relaxation tunes ever. Beauty personified in five and a half minutes.

All in all, the material here isnt as speedy as the majority of Nevermores current material has been, but more doomy and especially gloomy. The results still please me highly. The production is stellar in every aspect. Metaphors fail me, there is nothing to bitch about in anything. There is even plenty of bass, something that I always appreciate as a bonus. The "no-crap"-factor applies to the songwriting as well, actually. If you dig metal, shell out the dough to get this EP. If you dig Nevemore and are broke, kill or at least seriously injure to get this EP. A more than worthy addition to your record collection.