ELUSIVE was initiated in Stavanger in late 1996 with a jam session between THEATRE OF TRAGEDY's Tommy Olsson and Jan Kenneth Barkved, the latter a scene veteran of SIRENIA, FORLORN, TRISTANIA and MORENDOES. The sessions became serious with the induction of TRISTANIA singer Morten Veland.

On October 24th 1998 ELUSIVE performed at the 'Gotham Nights' festival in Oslo. For this show Frank Claussen from THEATRE OF TRAGEDY filled in on guitar since Morten Veland was on tour with TRISTANIA.

In June 2001 a deal was signed with Pandaimonium Records for the debut album 'Destination Zero'. Veland would opt out to be replaced by the THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, SIRENIA and NEW BREED credited guitarist Kristian Gundersen. Selected live work saw ELUSIVE appearing at festivals 'M'Era Luna' in 2002, 'Geel' in 2003 and 'The Invitation' during 2004.

ELUSIVE returned in June 2005 with 'The Great Silence' album. A third album 'Locked Doors, Drinks And Funerals', recorded between November 2006 and January 2007 in the band’s Black Riders Studios, with the final mastering done by Inge Engelsvold at Dreamlab Studios, saw release in May 2007. The album was preceded by an EP, 'Dream On Sister'.