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The Gauntlet: Dane, Warrel |
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One of metal’s most defining and revolutionary vocalists, Warrel Dane, has triumphantly returned with his highly anticipated inaugural solo effort, Praises To The War Machine, which sees him further honing his craft to perfection. Dane, who first shattered the boundaries of conventionality with the legendary Sanctuary and Nevermore, proves that he is one of metal’s most diverse frontmen with this solo effort as he unleashes a barrage of introspective and personal lyrics that are heartfelt and extremely powerful. All of this emotion backed with his soaring angelic and dynamic vocals provides all of the necessary elements for a savagely captivating, melodic assault that quickly hooks you in. This exhilarating new offering begins a new chapter for Dane and will soon further solidify his spot as one of the genre’s most influential artists.
Before beginning this new venture Dane went out and surrounded himself with some of the best musicians that he could find. This search ultimately resulted in landing the renowned Peter Wichers (ex-Soilwork) on guitars and bass, Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork) on drums and Matt Wicklund (ex-Himsa) on guitars. The effort was also recorded and mixed by Wichers (co-producer Soilwork).
Dane further comments as to how this solo effort came about: “Right around the time Nevermore was recording This Godless Endeavour I started talking to Peter Wichers about maybe doing something together. I think we both wanted to do something different and that’s ultimately what got the ball rolling. I had always wanted to work with a songwriter that had a more song based approach rather than focusing on technical skills and Peter was exactly that. We collaborated on almost everything and I wrote all the lyrics and melodies. Peter had great ideas at times for harmonies, that's what a good producer does, and I think he's really come into his own as a producer with this record.
“I've worked on these songs over the course of the last two years and the purpose of doing this project was to step out of the confines of Nevermore and focus on coming up with memorable songs instead of constructing songs that showcased everyone’s skills. The material is more straightforward than Nevermore, but I don't know what to call it. I think my influences have really played a part of the sound. I love old school goth and I love thrash metal, and every other kind of metal, there's a little bit of all of that in the record. I want people to interpret the title any way they want, but I've always been one to be purposefully vague. We live in a time of confusion and change; the people in control dictate our future.
“Peter had suggested Dirk as a session player and I had to agree with his decision because he's such an amazing drummer. I've known Matt for a long time and I just really liked the vibe of the stuff he was writing. It was so easy for to just fall into that and write some really dark songs with him. When I told Matt that I wanted to cover the Sister's of Mercy song he stepped up and really made it into a metal song. It turned out to be one of the best tracks on the record. He also transformed another Simon and Garfunkel song into a metal anthem as well.”
Praises To The War Machine is an absolute must for all Nevermore fans and will soon be hailed as Dane’s most ambitious offering yet. Prepare yourself for the sheer beauty and elegance that awaits.
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