NEVERMORE have returned. After years of dormancy following the death of founding vocalist Warrel Dane in December 2017, the iconic progressive metal band has reunited with a revamped lineup and concrete plans for new music.
Guitarist Jeff Loomis and drummer Van Williams represent the classic NEVERMORE core. Joining them are vocalist Berzan Önen, bassist Semir Özerkan, and guitarist Jack Cattoi — all recruited with a deliberate eye on finding a frontman with his own identity rather than a Warrel Dane replacement. "We weren't looking for a Warrel Dane clone," Loomis explained. "We were looking for somebody that could still sing the songs, but also had his own personal style."
The reunited NEVERMORE performed its first live show on April 1, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey, to an enthusiastic crowd. The band has since signed with Reigning Phoenix Music and is set to enter the studio from May through July 2026 to record what will be their first proper album of new material since "The Obsidian Conspiracy" in 2010.
Loomis confirmed the record is targeted for release in the first quarter of 2027. He assured fans that the NEVERMORE DNA would remain intact despite the new lineup. "The core of the NEVERMORE sound is not ever really going to go away," he said. "It's just gonna add to the dynamic and make it cooler."
For longtime fans, the return of NEVERMORE — one of the most criminally underrated acts in progressive metal history — is cause for genuine celebration. The band's catalog, from "Dead Heart in a Dead World" to "This Godless Endeavor," represents some of the finest heavy music of the 2000s, and the prospect of new material is electrifying.