Nevermore

Nevermore was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1991. The band has been inactive since 2011 due to personal issues among the members.^[1] Vocalist Warrel Dane died in December 2017, ending hopes for a reunion.

Nevermore
Nevermore in 2007. L-R: Jeff Loomis, Warrel Dane, Tim Johnston, and Chris Broderick.
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Progressive metal thrash metal power metal heavy metal
Years active	1991–2011
Labels	Century Media
Past members	Warrel Dane Jim Sheppard Jeff Loomis Van Williams Mark Arrington Pat O'Brien Tim Calvert Adam Gardner Steve Smyth Chris Broderick Attila Vörös

Nevermore emerged in the early 1990s when the band Sanctuary was pressured by its record label to alter its musical style, transitioning from heavy metal to grunge, which was achieving mainstream success at the time, largely due to bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam (both, incidentally, also from Seattle). Two members of Sanctuary—vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard—disagreed with this shift and subsequently formed their own project: Nevermore.

By the end of 1994, the band had solidified its lineup with the addition of drummer Van Williams and former Sanctuary touring guitarist Jeff Loomis. In 1995, Nevermore released its debut album through Century Media Records. This album garnered significant attention and critical acclaim, with its release followed by a European tour alongside Blind Guardian and a North American tour with Death.

Prior to the release of the EP In Memory, second guitarist Pat O'Brien joined the band and contributed to the recording of their subsequent album The Politics of Ecstasy, both released in 1996. O'Brien later left Nevermore to join Cannibal Corpse, and Curran Murphy from Shatter Messiah was brought in as a touring guitarist until Tim Calvert (formerly of Forbidden) officially joined the band.

After a three-year hiatus without releases, Nevermore returned in 1999 with the album Dreaming Neon Black. The album's lyrics, inspired in part by Warrel Dane's experiences following the disappearance of his longtime girlfriend, depict the gradual descent of a man into madness after the loss of the only woman he ever loved. The tracks on this album exhibit a range of styles, from slow and melodic to aggressive and progressive.

A lengthy tour followed, during which Nevermore shared the stage with bands such as Mercyful Fate, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, and Opeth. After the tour concluded, in 2000, guitarist Tim Calvert announced his departure from the band due to his marriage. Rather than seek a replacement, the band opted to continue as a quartet, enlisting session guitarists for live performances, including Curran Murphy (who later played with Annihilator) and Chris Broderick of Jag Panzer and Megadeth. Nevermore then proceeded to record Dead Heart in a Dead World, followed by tours with several bands, most notably with In Flames and Shadows Fall in late 2000 and Savatage in 2001.

The band's fifth album, Enemies of Reality, remained in production for over a year and was released in 2003. This album faced significant criticism regarding its production quality and was subsequently re-released in 2005 after being remixed by Andy Sneap. During their tour, the band was joined by second lead guitarist Steve Smyth, formerly of Vicious Rumors and Testament; Smyth was eventually added to the lineup on a permanent basis.

A sixth album, This Godless Endeavor, was released in July 2005. Following this, Nevermore toured on Dave Mustaine's Gigantour during the summer of 2005. In 2006, they also toured with Disturbed and served as direct support for In Flames on the second leg of its North American tour.

However, 2006 brought some misfortune for Nevermore. Bassist Jim Sheppard underwent a procedure for Crohn's disease, a condition he had been battling for over 15 years, while guitarist Steve Smyth was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and required a kidney transplant.^[2] Additionally, Warrel Dane had previously developed type 2 diabetes, which forced the band to cancel their show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on May 13, 2006, due to an unspecified illness affecting Dane.

On September 12, 2006, Nevermore was scheduled to record its first full-length DVD live at the Zeche club in Bochum, Germany. This event was to be captured by seven cameras, and the live recording was set to be produced by Andy Sneap. However, according to Nevermore's official website, Warrel Dane fell ill with an infection on the day of the show, necessitating a visit to a hospital in Dortmund, Germany. Doctors insisted that he remain in the hospital, leading to the cancellation of the show that evening. Apologetic to their fans, Nevermore arranged with the local venue to perform the show on October 11, 2006. The double DVD set would also include a Nevermore documentary, along with all of the band's promotional videos and recordings from their 11-year career. The DVD was released on October 20, 2008, and is entitled The Year of the Voyager.

On August 30, 2007, it was announced that Steve Smyth would no longer be a member of the band, citing personal and business reasons for his departure.^[3] He stated that he would also be touring with Danish metal band Hatesphere as they supported Behemoth and later Dimmu Borgir, in addition to working on the release of *The Esseness Project*, an all-instrumental progressive rock album. Meanwhile, Dane and Loomis entered the studio to record solo albums; Dane recorded Praises to the War Machine and Loomis recorded Zero Order Phase, both released in 2008. Later that year, the band released their first-ever live concert CD/DVD titled The Year of the Voyager, which is notable for being the only release to feature veteran touring guitarist Chris Broderick, who later departed to join Megadeth.

In an interview with Komodo Rock published in July, Jeff Loomis stated, "I actually have six or seven songs already for the new Nevermore record. I'm about half way there, and we're going to be going into the studio probably some time in the early fall."^[4] Nevermore was one of the first bands confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2009, where they performed alongside numerous bands, including Motörhead, DragonForce, and HammerFall. In August, Nevermore entered the studio with producer and Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers to record their long-awaited seventh album, The Obsidian Conspiracy. The recording was completed in October 2009 and was released on June 8, 2010, in America, and May 31, 2010, in the EU.^[5][6][7][8] On June 1, 2010, Nevermore announced a North American tour for the fall, with openers Warbringer, Hatesphere, and Blackguard.

On April 11, 2011, Nevermore canceled their scheduled North American tour with Symphony X.^[9] Later, on April 21, 2011, longtime and founding members Jeff Loomis and Van Williams announced their departure from Nevermore, citing personal and musical differences.^[10] Additionally, on May 3, 2011, it was announced that Nevermore had canceled their entire Australian tour.^[11] However, in July 2011, Warrel Dane announced that Nevermore had not broken up, and that his main focus was on Sanctuary.^[12] Dane also mentioned that it would be challenging to continue Nevermore without Jeff Loomis.^[13] Both Loomis^[14] and Dane discussed the possibility of a reunion, with Dane noting that the band split amicably.^[15] Dane later stated in an interview that while he desired to produce another Nevermore record, he would not do so without Loomis.^[16]

On December 13, 2017, Dane died from a heart attack in São Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 56, ending any possibilities for a Nevermore reunion.^[17] Former guitarist Tim Calvert died on April 30, 2018, from complications related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 52.^[18]

Nevermore's primary sound is challenging to categorize, encompassing a range of styles such as progressive metal, thrash metal,^[19] power metal,^[20] and classic heavy metal.^[20] They have also incorporated death metal elements, characterized by low-tuned and fast-paced riffing. The press has described Nevermore's sound using several other genres, including groove metal. In an interview with The Hard Report, singer Warrel Dane casually remarked, "...power metal, or whatever Metal this is." However, during an interview at Metalmania in 2006, Dane did not explicitly dispute the various genres attributed to the band over the years, stating, "I don't think we're power metal."^{[citation needed]}

Studio albums

• Nevermore (1995)
• The Politics of Ecstasy (1996)
• Dreaming Neon Black (1999)
• Dead Heart in a Dead World (2000)
• Enemies of Reality (2003)
• This Godless Endeavor (2005)
• The Obsidian Conspiracy (2010)

• Nevermore at AllMusic  
• Nevermore discography at Discogs