Nevermore
is an American metal band from Seattle, Washington assembled in 1991 from the ashes of the power metal band Sanctuary. The band incorporates elements from styles such as thrash, death, progressive and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.
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NEVERMORE TICKETS
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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, both internationally-renowned bands.
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 will enter the studio in August with producer and
Soilwork guitarist
Peter Wichers to begin recording their long-awaited 7th album,
The Obsidian Conspiracy
, and is tentatively due early 2010
release.
[4] [5]
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,
traditional heavy metal, amongst others.
[6] [7] 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 clearly influenced by
death metal. The press have used several other genres to describe Nevermore's sound including
groove metal,
[8] technical
speed metal,
[9] technical thrash metal,
progressive power/thrash metal, death/thrash metal, and melodic thrash metal. 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."
[10]
Band members
- Warrel Dane - lead vocals, keyboards (1991–present)
- Jeff Loomis - lead guitar, backing vocals (1991–present)
- Jim Sheppard - bass guitar (1991–present)
- Van Williams - drums, percussion (1995–present)
Former members
- Mark Arrington - drums, percussion (1991–1995)
- Pat O'Brien - guitar (1995–1997)
- Tim Calvert - guitar (1997–2000)
- Steve Smyth - guitar, backing vocals (2004–2007)
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
- 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)
Other releases
- Utopia
(demo, 1992)
- Demo 1994
(demo, 1994)
- In Memory
(EP, 1996)
- Believe In Nothing
(single, 2000)
- The Year of the Voyager
(DVD, 2008)
- The Manifesto of Nevermore
(Compilation, 2009)
References
- The Official Nevermore website :: This Godless Endeavor
- BLABBERMOUTH.NET - Guitarist STEVE SMYTH Parts Ways With NEVERMORE
- Komodo Rock Talks To Jeff Loomis
- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=120274
- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=121346
- allmusic.com
- www.popmatters.com
- Encyclopaedia Metallum
- www.musicmight.com
- YouTube - Broadcast Yourself