Review Summary: Never, Neverland expands on the success of Alice In Hell, and delivers the bands most cohesive work to date.
The 1990 follow-up to the bands debut "Alice In Hell" was highly anticipated by fans and critics alike. The album sees a small line-up change. Vocalist Coburn Pharr takes on vocal duties following Randy Rampage's departure. David Scott Davis also takes up guitar duties alongside Jeff Waters following the departure of Anthony Brian Greenham's departure. The album manages to be a much more progressive affair than the bands debut, and is a fan favorite to this day.
The album kicks off with the "The Fun Palace" and it indeed is a fun song to listen to. Skillful guitar work and drums sound pretty familiar as with the last effort, but one thing that jumps out is the much more audible bass from Wayne Darley. It's not overbearing in anyway, but actually compliments the other instruments and manages to sound very nice. Then we have the new vocalist, Coburn Pharr, who's style is rather different than Randy Rampage. Pharr has a good singing voice that goes perfectly with the music, and he still manages to sound menacing on some tracks. The album also boasts slightly better production than the last, and that's what makes the bass and guitars sound a bit more balanced. The tracks range from very fast and thrashing, to more slower and melodic. The guitar solos have also improved quite a bit, with waters utilizing more melodic styles.
Now that i have highlighted most of the improvements and positive things about this album, lets delve into a couple of the negative aspects, shall we? There aren't many of them, but one thing that i DID notice, were the increasingly mediocre lyrics from Waters. Waters may be a music genius in his own right, but in the lyrical department he is a bit lacking. The subject matter is nice, dealing with the human mind, a very interesting topic, but the lyrics take way from the stories being portrayed. On tracks like Never, Neverland, one can hear quite clearly what i am talking about with lines such as: "Get back, back! Just leave us all alone, take that and that! I'll break your every bone!". Clearly Waters could have done a better job. But nevertheless, the music is so strong that these issues seem insignificant. There is also a track called "Kraf Dinner" in which Water's fondness of Macaroni is told at length, but this is more of a joke track than anything serious.
In the broad spectrum of things, this album is almost perfect, excluding the mediocre lyrics of course. Sadly, the success and creativity found on this album would not be seen again for years due to various line-up and label changes the band would have to endure throughout the 90's. But with that said, this album still holds up to this day, and can be enjoyed by those who appreciate good thrash, and melodic guitar work.
PROS
- Superb Guitars
- Excellent Vocals
- Good Production
- More melodic and progressive
CONS
- Cheesy lyrics
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
- The Fun Palace
- Stonewall
- Never, Neverland
- Phantasmagoria
Jeff Waters - Guitars
Coburn Pharr - Vocals
David Scott Davis - Guitars
Wayne Darley - Bass
Ray Hartmann - Drums
Producers - Glen Robinson, Monte Conner, Jeff Waters
Recorded: February-April 1990
Released: September 12, 1990
Roadrunner Records
