Nevermore's frontman Warrel Dane released his first solo album fairly recently, for which he brought along impressive group of musicians ranging from Soilwork-men Peter Wichers and Dirk Verbeuren to former Himsa guitarist Matt Wicklund. Peter Wichers also handled the production duties, and the outcome is a solid sounding metal release exploring the boundaries of Dane's distinctive delivery.

Musically Praises to the War Machine is more diverse than what we're used to hearing. Though certain elements are familiar from Nevermore records, a lot of new territory is explored as the sonic range varies from intriguing guitar melodies to more straight-forward riffing bordering with some gothic overtones at times - latter of which are most evident on Sisters of Mercy cover "Lucretia My Reflection".

Before listening to this record I was afraid it would be one of the way too many generic metal releases without much to offer, but fortunately I was proven wrong. Dane shows that he dares to explore different facets of his baritone range, and the music supports his dynamic delivery quite aptly throughout. Despite the material on this album being of steady quality, the mellow tracks showcase more depth and emotion and hence stand out favourably from the rest. Overall, Praises to the War Machine deserves some... *gasp* ...praises, I'd say, and it's definitely recommended to any self-conscious metalheads out there.

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- MAGE (September 9th, 2008)



"Brother" video:

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LINE-UP:
Dane, Warrel: Vocals Wicklund, Matt: Guitars Wichers, Peter: Guitar & Bass Verbeuren, Dirk: Drums with Loomis, Jeff: Guest on "Messenger" Murphy, James: Guest on "The Day the Rats Went to War"
Producer:	Wichers, Peter
Mixing by:	Unavailable
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. When We Pray 02. Messenger 03. Obey 04. Lucretia My Reflection 05. Let You Down 06. August 07. Your Chosen Misery 08. The Day the Rats Went to War 09. Brother 10. Patterns 11. This Old Man 12. Equilibrium Length: 45:58