| Nevermore |
|
| Background information |
| Origin |
Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Genres |
Heavy metal (see below) |
| Years active |
1991–present |
| Labels |
Century Media |
| Associated acts |
Sanctuary, Forbidden, Annihilator, Vicious Rumors, Testament, Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse, Jag Panzer, Iced Earth |
| Website |
www.nevermore.tv |
| Members |
Warrel Dane
Jeff Loomis
Jim Sheppard
Van Williams |
| Former members |
Mark Arrington
Pat O'Brien
Adam Gardner
Steve Smyth
Tim Calvert
Chris Broderick
James MacDonough |
Nevermore is an American metal band from Seattle, Washington assembled in 1991 after the break-up of the power metal band Sanctuary. The band incorporates elements from styles such as thrash, power, progressive and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.
Biography
Nevermore started in the beginning of the 1990s, when the band Sanctuary was pressured by its recording label to change its musical style, switching from heavy metal to grunge, which was obtaining mainstream success at the time due to bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam (both, incidentally, also from Seattle). Two members of the band—vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard—didn't agree with the change, and thus proceeded to create a project of their own: Nevermore.
By the end of 1994, the band assumed a stable line-up, which saw the additions of drummer Van Williams and former Sanctuary touring guitarist Jeff Loomis. In 1995 Nevermore released its debut album through Century Media Records. This album received much attention and specialized review, as its release was followed by a European tour with Blind Guardian and a North American tour with Death.
Second guitarist Pat O'Brien joined the band prior to the release of the EP In Memory and also took part in the recording of the subsequent album The Politics of Ecstasy, both from 1996. O'Brien left Nevermore to play in Cannibal Corpse, and guitarist Tim Calvert (who played for the band Forbidden), who had previously contributed to Nevermore through songwriting, replaced O'Brien as Nevermore's guitarist.
Three years without releases followed, but in 1999, the album Dreaming Neon Black was released. Highly acclaimed, the album narrates the story of a man's slow decline into madness, subsequent to the death of the only woman he ever loved. The tracks of this album are varied in style, ranging from slow and melodic to aggressive and progressive. Warrel Dane put much effort in interpretation, emitting varied emotions from his vocals. The album's lyrics are a partially true retelling of the events Dane underwent after the vanishing of his longtime girlfriend.
A long tour with several concerts followed, and Nevermore played together with bands such as Mercyful Fate, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, and Opeth. After the end of the tour, in 2000, guitarist Tim Calvert announced his departure from the band, subsequent to his marriage. Instead of finding a replacement, the band decided to continue as a quartet, only adding session guitarists for live appearances, such as Curran Murphy (who went on to play in Annihilator) and Jag Panzer's Chris Broderick.
Nevermore proceeded to record Dead Heart in a Dead World, which was followed by tours with several bands, most notably with 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 much criticism for its production and was re-released in 2005, after being remixed by Andy Sneap. On tour, the band was joined by second lead guitarist Steve Smyth, formerly of Vicious Rumors and Testament; Smyth was eventually added to the line-up on a permanent basis.
A sixth album, This Godless Endeavor, was released in July 2005. Nevermore then toured on Dave Mustaine's Gigantour during the summer of 2005. In 2006, they toured with Disturbed and also as direct support to In Flames on the second leg of its North American tour.
2006 held a bit of bad luck for Nevermore, as bassist Jim Sheppard underwent a procedure for Crohn's disease, which he has suffered from for over 15 years, and guitarist Steve Smyth was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, and had to get a kidney transplant.[1] Warrel Dane had previously developed type 2 diabetes, and the band was forced to cancel their show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on May 13, 2006, due to an unspecified illness afflicting Dane.
On September 12, 2006, Nevermore was supposed to record its first full length DVD live at the Zeche club in Bochum, Germany. This event was to be captured by 7 cameras and the live recording was to be produced by Andy Sneap. However, according to Nevermore's official website, on the day of the show, Warrel Dane fell ill with an infection, eventually resulting in the necessity of seeing a doctor at a hospital in Dortmund, Germany. Doctors insisted that he be kept at the hospital and the show was canceled that evening. Apologetic to their fans, Nevermore agreed with the local venue to perform the show on October 11, 2006. The double DVD set would also include a Nevermore documentary, all of the band's promo videos and past 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 the departure.[2] He stated that he would also be touring with Danish metal band Hatesphere as they supported Behemoth and later Dimmu Borgir, and would also be working on the release of The Esseness Project, an all-instrumental progressive rock album.
In an interview with Komodo Rock published in July, Jeff Loomis said that "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." [3]
Nevermore were one of the first bands to be confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2009, where they performed alongside many bands including Motorhead, Dragonforce and Hammerfall.
Nevermore entered the studio in August with producer and Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers and completed in October 2009, recording their long-awaited 7th album, The Obsidian Conspiracy, and is tentatively due early 2010 release.[4][5][6]
Genre
Nevermore incorporates elements from a variety of metal sub-genres, which makes it difficult to categorize Nevermore's music. Their sound includes elements of thrash metal, progressive metal, power metal, amongst others.[7][8] They also have used death metal traits such as low tuned and fast paced riffing, and the 2005 record This Godless Endeavor occasionally featured vocals influenced by death metal.[citation needed] The press have used several other genres to describe Nevermore's sound including groove metal,[9] technical speed metal,[10] technical thrash metal,[10] progressive power/thrash metal, death/thrash metal, and melodic thrash metal.[citation needed] In an interview at Metalmania in 2006 singer Warrel Dane doesn't explicitly disagree with the many genres the band has been put in over the years, but he does however say "I don't think we're power metal."[11]
Band members
Former members
Live members
- Chris Broderick - guitar, backing vocals (2001-2003, 2006, 2007)
- James MacDonough – bass guitar (2006)
- Tim Johnston - bass guitar (2007)
- Curran Murphy - guitar (2000-2001, 2003–2004)
- Adam Gardner - percussion (1991–1995)
Discography
Studio releases
Other releases
References
External links
