Nevermore

For other uses, see Nevermore (disambiguation).

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
Works
Years active	1992–2011 2024–present
Labels	Reigning Phoenix Century Media
Members	Jeff Loomis Van Williams Berzan Önen Jack Cattoi Semir Özerkan
Past members	Warrel Dane Jim Sheppard Mark Arrington Pat O'Brien Tim Calvert Adam Gardner Steve Smyth Chris Broderick Attila Vörös
Website	www.nevermoreofficial.com

Nevermore is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1992. The band was formed after three of its members—vocalist Warrel Dane, bassist Jim Sheppard and guitarist Jeff Loomis—ended their previous band Sanctuary, and had several drummers before hiring Van Williams in 1994.

Nevermore has experienced numerous lineup changes, and as of 2024, Loomis is the only remaining original member. The band became a five-piece in 1996, when they added Pat O'Brien as their second guitarist. After recording their second album The Politics of Ecstasy with O'Brien, the band replaced him with Tim Calvert, who played on the follow-up album Dreaming Neon Black (1999) and left a year after its release. With their next two albums Dead Heart in a Dead World (2000) and Enemies of Reality (2003), Nevermore reverted to a four-piece. Steve Smyth was added as the second guitarist in 2004 and performed on their sixth studio album This Godless Endeavor (2005). Following his departure in 2006, the band would continue as a quartet.

About a year after the release of their seventh studio album The Obsidian Conspiracy, Nevermore went on hiatus in 2011 due to personal issues between its members, which resulted in the departures of Loomis and Williams. Despite never officially disbanding, the band had been largely defunct by the time Dane died in 2017. In December 2024, Loomis and Williams announced that Nevermore would be reforming in 2025.

History

Sanctuary

Nevermore emerged from the dissolution of Seattle heavy metal band Sanctuary, in which vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard had performed since the mid-1980s. Following the release of Into the Mirror Black (1990), Sanctuary began work on a third album, but internal disagreements and pressure to adapt to the changing Seattle music scene contributed to the band's breakup before it could be completed. Dane and Sheppard subsequently began working on new material with guitarist Jeff Loomis, eventually forming Nevermore.

Early years and début album (1992–1993)

During the early days of Nevermore, Dane and Sheppard were working at an Italian restaurant in Seattle, and they shared a small house on Queen Anne's Avenue not too far from it. Jeff Loomis soon relocated from Appleton, Wisconsin, and joined them. While Sheppard worked long shifts at the restaurant, Dane and Loomis spent most of their time writing music.

The first drummer for Nevermore, Mark Arrington, was not recruited through an audition. He was playing in a Seattle band called Bone Towne, alongside singer Freddy Krumins, bassist Tim Johnston and guitarist Tracy Moody. Moody was living with Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard and Jeff Loomis at the Queen Anne house at the time. Bone Towne played a local club gig attended by Dane, Sheppard and Loomis. They liked Arrington and afterwards, back at the shared house, Dane and Sheppard asked Moody whether they could "use" Arrington to finish the records they were working on, which would result in the Utopia demo. Arrington agreed and shortly afterwards recorded with them at Robert Lang Studios. He says most of the music had already been written and arranged before he became involved. Arrington also said that their subsequent show at the Rock Candy was the first gig under the name Nevermore. Former Sanctuary members/fans were apparently present, making the début somewhat tense.

Arrington says he left to pursue another project in Tucson, Arizona. In retrospect he attributed it partly to being a cocky 22-year-old musician who wanted to pursue his own ambitions, whereas Dane demanded total commitment to Nevermore. After Arrington left, Nevermore held auditions for a permanent drummer and selected Van Williams, from New York. Williams had moved from the Hudson Valley to Seattle in 1993 and joined the band in 1994 after auditioning.

With Sanctuary over, Dane and Sheppard tried to preserve their relationship with Epic Records, but the same way they pressured Sanctuary to shift into a grunge style, so they attempted with Nevermore. After multiple refusals, Dane issued an ultimatum to Epic, and said that Nevermore would not change their musical style and either Epic accepted it or they would move to a different record company. They then parted ways with Epic and obtained a Century Media deal. Originally Nevermore wanted to re-record the songs form the demos, but the Century Media representative argued that the quality of the recordings was sufficiently strong and only required remixing for release. This resulted in their two demos becoming the first album split into two sets: the first set of involved Mark Arrington and the second set involved Van Williams.

Nevermore, In Memory and The Politics of Ecstasy (1994–1996)

By the end of 1994, the band assumed a stable lineup, 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 recording 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 Curran Murphy from Shatter Messiah was enlisted as a touring guitarist for the band until Tim Calvert (who played for the band Forbidden) was able to join the band.

Dreaming Neon Black and Dead Heart in a Dead World (1999–2001)

Three years without releases followed, but in 1999, Nevermore's third album Dreaming Neon Black was released. The album's lyrics, based partly on the events Warrell Dane underwent after the disappearance of his longtime girlfriend, narrate 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.

A long tour followed with Nevermore sharing stages 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, hiring session guitarists for live appearances, such as Curran Murphy (who went on to play in Annihilator) and Chris Broderick of Jag Panzer and Megadeth. Nevermore proceeded to record Dead Heart in a Dead World, which was followed by tours with several bands, most notably with In Flames and Shadows Fall in late 2000 and Savatage in 2001.

Enemies of Reality and This Godless Endeavor (2003–2007)

Nevermore at Summerbreeze Festival 2007

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. 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.

Solo work and The Year of the Voyager (2006–2008)

The band performed at Wacken Open Air in August of 2006. 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. 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. Dane and Loomis entered the studio, each to record a solo album. 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, the only release to feature veteran touring guitarist Chris Broderick, who departed to join Megadeth.

The Obsidian Conspiracy (2009–2010)

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." Nevermore were one of the first bands to be confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2009, where they performed alongside many bands including Motörhead, DragonForce, and HammerFall. Nevermore entered the studio in August with producer and Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers to record their long-awaited 7th album The Obsidian Conspiracy. The recording was completed in October 2009 and was released June 8, 2010, in America, and May 31, 2010, in the EU On June 1, 2010, Nevermore announced a North American tour in the fall with openers Warbringer, Hatesphere, and Blackguard.

Hiatus and deaths (2011–2018)

On April 11, 2011, Nevermore canceled their scheduled North American tour with Symphony X. Later on April 21, 2011, longtime and founding members Jeff Loomis and Van Williams announced their departure from Nevermore, citing personal and musical differences. In addition, on May 3, 2011, it was announced that Nevermore had canceled their entire Australian tour. However, in July 2011, Warrel Dane announced that Nevermore had not broken up, and his main focus was on Sanctuary. Dane also mentioned that it would be difficult to continue Nevermore without Jeff Loomis. Both Loomis and Dane talked about the possibility of a reunion, the latter citing that the band split amicably. Dane went on to say in a later interview, that while he wanted to do another Nevermore record, he would not do it without Loomis.

On December 13, 2017, Dane died of a heart attack in São Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 56. Former guitarist Tim Calvert died on April 30, 2018, of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 52.

Reunion (2024–present)

On December 27, 2024, a teaser was posted on guitarist Jeff Loomis' social media indicating the reunion of the band in 2025, with drummer Van Williams included on the teaser. While no official lineup has been announced, bassist Jim Sheppard's wife Priscila claimed he "has never been contacted about Van's plans with Jeff using the Nevermore name" and called it "completely disrespectful of them to use the name" without her husband. Four days later, Loomis and Williams confirmed that Nevermore was officially reuniting and planning to launch a "world search" for replacements of Dane and Sheppard, the latter of whom was revealed to be retired.

On August 2, 2025, Nevermore announced their first show in fifteen years, performing as part of the 35th edition of Wacken Open Air in the summer of 2026. Six days later, they were announced as one of the bands taking part in the 2026 edition of Bloodstock Open Air.

On February 12, 2026, the band announced they had signed with Reigning Phoenix Music and revealed the new lineup with vocalist Berzan Önen, guitarist Jack Cattoi, and bassist Semir Özerkan, alongside Loomis and Williams. Their first show with the new lineup took place on April 1 in Istanbul.

Musical style

Nevermore's main sound is difficult to categorize, but they are generally described as progressive metal, thrash metal, power metal, and classic heavy metal.

Band members

Current members

• Jeff Loomis – guitars, backing vocals (1992–2011, 2024–present)
• Van Williams – drums (1994–2011, 2024–present)
• Berzan Önen – lead vocals (2026–present)
• Jack Cattoi – guitars (2026–present)
• Semir Özerkan – bass, backing vocals (2026–present)

Former members

• Warrel Dane – lead vocals (1992–2011; died 2017)
• Jim Sheppard – bass (1992–2011)
• Mark Arrington – drums (1992–1994)
• Pat O'Brien – guitars (1996–1997)
• Tim Calvert – guitars (1997–2000; died 2018)
• Steve Smyth – guitars (2004–2006)

Live members

• Curran Murphy – guitars (2000–2001, 2003–2004)
• Adam Gardner – percussion (1995–1996)
• James MacDonough – bass (2006)
• Chris Broderick – guitars (2001–2003, 2006–2007)
• Tim Johnston – bass (2007)
• Attila Vörös – guitars (2010–2011)
• Dagna Silesia – bass (2011)

Timeline

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Nevermore discography.

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)

External links

• Nevermore at AllMusic
• Nevermore discography at Discogs