Seattle based, technical Speed Metal outfit NEVERMORE was created in 1992 by ex-SANCTUARY men vocalist Warrel Dane, guitarist Jeff Loomis, bassist Bill Sheppard and drummer Mark Arrington. Loomis held a prior tradition of recording in Appleton, Wisconsin, first as a teenager with Heavy Metal act FEAR-TECH, which recorded a solitary, four track demo in 1987. Loomis subsequently joined SYSTEM, for a 1988 demo, then EXPERIMENT FEAR prior to relocating to Washington.

SANCTUARY had come to prominence with the inclusion of a brace of demo cuts on the Northwest Metalfest compilation album. Immediately apparent was that vocalist Warrel Dane, a former member of SERPENTS KNIGHT, was in possession of one of the most powerful throats on the metal scene. Bassist Jim Sheppard had previously been a member of local Glam band SLEZE, an outfit fronted by a pre-ALICE IN CHAINS Layne 'Candy' Staley.

SANCTUARY's first mark would be made with a 1986 demo, this session scoring a label deal with the Epic label. The debut album, 1987's 'Refuge Denied' produced by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine, featured a rather weighty cover of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE's acid daze classic 'White Rabbit', this track also notably featuring Mustaine's guitar parts on the intro. Dane's prior act SERPENTS KNIGHT had first covered the same track on a 1983 demo.

SANCTUARY proceeded to tour Europe as support to MEGADETH before recording the equally impressive Howard Benson produced 'Into The Mirror Black', recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys in California and issued in February 1990. The group had built an international reputation but fell foul of Epic's withdrawal of support and folded.

Initial 1992 NEVERMORE demos, dubbed 'Utopia', kindled the interest of renowned producer Neil Kernon, who offered his services promptly for further recordings conducted in 1994. The resulting tapes landed NEVERMORE a deal with Germany's Century Media Records.

Kernon continued his relationship with the band producing extra tracks at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle to make up NEVERMORE's eponymous February 1995 debut. Drums on this effort were shared between Mark Arrington and new band member Van Williams. Rave reviews followed and NEVERMORE, now augmenting their line-up with second guitarist Pat O'Brien, set out touring America alongside DEATH. It was during this tour that Dane's famously long hair nearly proved to be his undoing. Falling drunkenly asleep next to the wheel of the band truck, a roadie drove off not realising the singer was there. Dane's mane caught in the axle of the vehicle as it dragged him 30 yards down the road. For the rest of the dates the vocalist had to walk with the aid of sticks. These dates, with Dane thankfully recovered, had the band supporting BLIND GUARDIAN in Germany winding up a world tour by appearing before 100'000 people at the prestigious Dynamo Festival in Holland.

An interim limited edition EP followed in July of the same year titled 'In Memory', recorded by Neal Kernon at Village Productions in Tornillo, Texas, that included radical reworks of BAUHAUS tracks 'Silent Hedges' segued with 'Double Dare'.

NEVERMORE's second full-length set, the compellingly cynical 'The Politics Of Ecstasy' titled after the Timothy Leary book, arrived in July 1996. Germany had by this stage totally succumbed to NEVERMORE's brand of technical Thrash although as yet their name meant little outside of mainland Europe.

In late 1997, following a European tour alongside fellow Americans ICED EARTH, O'Brien joined gore mongers CANNIBAL CORPSE. His position was taken by former FORBIDDEN axeman Tim Calvert. During 1998 NEVERMORE toured North America with FLOTSAM AND JETSAM prior to a further European round shows with OVERKILL.

Third album 'Dreaming Neon Black', released in January 1999, bolstered support. Poignantly, the record's concept was based on the disappearance of Warrel Dane's girlfriend, his partner having been involved in a religious cult. The album story threads through a tortuous journey ending in suicide, although in reality Dane's erstwhile friend's fate is still unknown. The outpouring of raw emotion from Dane on this record had fans hailing 'Dreaming Neon Black' as a classic. Quite incredibly, better was yet to come.

NEVERMORE trimmed to a quartet for 'Dead Heart In A Dead World' with the loss of Calvert. The album, produced by Andy Sneap, saw a return to Village Productions in Tornillo, Texas during July 2000 and included a sublimely twisted interpretation of SIMON & GARFUNKEL's 'The Sound Of Silence'. The group also claimed a place in Rock history, as the entire guitar content was executed on 7 string instruments, a world first. Upon issue in September 'Dead Heart In A Dead World' was to be the first NEVERMORE opus to make its mark on the charts, scoring a number 57 entry in Germany. With sales being sustained, a subsequent re-issue added three extra tracks, 'All The Cowards Hide', 'Chances Three' and the band's take on JUDAS PRIEST's 'Love Bites'. The latter was generally regarded as the standout inclusion on a Century Media all star tribute album to Birmingham's finest.

The band, now with secondary guitars supplied by AGGRESSION CORE man Curran Murphy, toured America the same year sharing a package bill with FATES WARNING and PLANET X. A September 2001 run of dates in America would find NEVERMORE as guests to SAVATAGE. The band put in a further burst of dates as headliners kicking off at the L'Amour venue in Brooklyn on the 23rd November. Guests for these dates would be OVERKILL and SCAR CULTURE.

During November guitarist Curran Murphy bailed out to join Canadians ANNIHILATOR. In early 2002 drummer Van Williams unveiled details of his PURE SWEET HELL side endeavour. A six track demo would see Williams joined by Christ Eichhorn on guitar, bass and keyboards. The pair would strengthen the NEVERMORE connection by enlisting guitarist Jeff Loomis to lay down a guest solo on the song 'Faded' whilst former NEVERMORE and current ANNIHILATOR guitarist Curran Murphy appears in the track 'Shadow'.

For European dates and an announcement that the band had been invited to appear at selected gigs on the US 'Vans Warped' tour, a first for a Metal act, NEVERMORE drafted ex-VICIOUS RUMORS, TESTAMENT and present day DRAGONLORD guitarist Steve Smyth to fill the vacancy left by Murphy. However, the prestigious 'Vans Warped' dates would subsequently be cancelled. Meantime the band would feature two live tracks, 'Engines Of Hate' and 'Beyond Within' recorded at the Hollywood Roxy in September of 2001, as part of the Century Media tenth anniversary DVD release. The band also cut a rendition of 'Ride The Lightning' for a Nuclear Blast METALLICA tribute collection.

NEVERMORE entered a Seattle studio in early 2003 with former QUEENSRYCHE guitarist Kelly Gray acting as producer for an album billed as 'Enemies Of Reality'. Unfortunately the end result was to be widely condemned for its "muddy" production. Live shows upfront of this release saw the inclusion of JAG PANZER's Chris Broderick as stand in second guitarist. In spite of the acknowledged audio problems, the album would prove NEVERMORE's biggest commercial success to date, entering the national German charts at no. 34 and also making chart impressions in Holland and Italy. Limited edition double CD sets of 'Enemies Of Reality' included promotional videos for 'What Tomorrow Knows', 'Next In Line' and 'Believe In Nothing' as well as live video footage taken from Century Media September 2001 tenth anniversary show of the songs 'Engines Of Hate' and 'Beyond Within'.

The band paired up with ARCH ENEMY for co-headline European gigs throughout September and October, these dates seeing the incorporation of Steve Smyth on second guitar, this latest recruit also staying onboard for subsequent US shows. These gigs, commencing 7th November in Buffalo, New York, had NEVERMORE allied with CHILDREN OF BODOM, DIMMU BORGIR and HYPOCRISY. Van Williams made further progress with his PURE SWEET HELL side project, scheduling an album entitled 'The Voyeurs Of Utter Destruction As Beauty'.

Steve Smyth would join NEVERMORE on a full time basis in April of 2004, splitting from TESTAMENT and confirming his recruitment with an appearance in the promotional video for the track 'I, Voyager'. UK tour dates proposed August had the band united with Swedish Metal outfit NOCTURNAL RITES. However, within days of this announcement these shows would be cancelled.

The group took the almost unprecedented step of re-producing 'Enemies Of Reality' in order to eliminate the sound deficiencies, drafting Andy Sneap to give the record new life in January of 2005. Fans who had already purchased the original version were offered the re-make at just $5. The following month Sneap tackled an all new NEVERMORE album 'This Godless Endeavor'. Recorded during these sessions, which saw MASTERPLAN's Axel Mackenrott donating keyboards, would be a cover version of OZZY OSBOURNE's 'Revelation (Mother Earth)'.

A 2005 compilation inclusion of note would be the track 'Tomorrow Turned Into Yesterday' featured on the 'Code Red' album, an exclusive collection given to US Marine Corps soldiers active duty in the Middle East.

NEVERMORE joined the 'Gigantour' festival trek, headlined by MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER, for US action in late July 2005 to coincide with the entrance of This Godless Endeavor. The band cemented a bill also comprising FEAR FACTORY, SYMPHONY X, DRY KILL LOGIC, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and West Virginians BOBAFLEX.

'This Godless Endeavor' surpassed all sales of previous catalogue, hitting number 26 in Germany and also impacting on national chart rankings in Italy, Switzerland, France and Greece. European headliners commencing 16th September in Tilburg, Holland saw support from Danish metallers MERCENARY and German Thrashers DEW-SCENTED. Another leg of US dates in October found the group as support to OPETH.

2006 opened on the live front with the 'Metalmania' festivals in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in early March. NEVERMORE then surprisingly took up the support for DISTURBED's European and UK dates, but these gigs were duly postponed. April found the band sharing stages in the USA with ARCH ENEMY. Gigs aligned with IN FLAMES, THROWDOWN and EVERGREY across the USA in May saw the band sporting a temporary line-up. With bassist Jim Sheppard undergoing a procedure for Crohn's Disease, the former MEGADETH and ICED EARTH credited James MacDonough stepped in to cover. The band suffered another medically related blow shortly after this announcement when Steve Smyth revealed he had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, the result of a congenital birth defect. JAG PANZER guitarist Chris Broderick filled in for the US dates. Yet another dose of bad luck hit the band forcing cancellation of their May 13th show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when Warrel Dane was taken ill. Smyth was due to resume his position for European shows commencing in June but a total kidney failure put paid to these plans. Initially NEVERMORE performed in Italy as a quartet prior to bringing in Chris Broderick again to complete the run.

Word arrived in June that Warrel Dane was preparing for his first solo album, a collaboration with Peter Wichers of SOILWORK. Jeff Loomis would guest on QUEENSRYCHE live singer PAMELA MOORE's July 2006 solo opus 'Stories From A Blue Room'.

Century Media in Europe scheduled re-releases of 1995's 'Nevermore', the 'In Memory' EP of 1996 and 'The Politics Of Ecstasy' from 1996, all with extra tracks and new artwork. 'Nevermore' added 1992 demo songs, 'In Memory' was enhanced by five demos whilst 'The Politics Of Ecstasy' included the JUDAS PRIEST cover version 'Love Bites' and video for 'Next In Line'.

The band's appearance at the Gelsenkirchen 'Rock Hard' festival in Germany during June was taped and subsequently the track 'Enemies Of Reality' was included on the 'Rock Hard' magazine compilation album 'Rock Hard: Das Festival 2006'. The group scheduled the filming of a live DVD at their September 12th concert at the Bochum Zeche in Germany. However, Warrel Dane was taken ill with pneumonia, so this event was postponed until October 11th.

In October the group united with a heavyweight billing comprising STRATOVARIUS, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, SAXON, SEPULTURA, AFTER FOREVER, PRIMAL FEAR and GOTTHARD for the 'Live n' Louder' festivals across Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

On December 12th 2006 Steve Smyth received a successful kidney transplant.

The band co-headlined the 'Anthem Metal' festival held on August 14th 2008 at Hangar 11 on the shores of Tel Aviv, Israel, alongside MESHUGGAH, OPETH, DARK TRANQUILLITY, THE HAUNTED, SATYRICON plus Israeli bands SALEM, BETZEFER, DISTORTED, THEY:SWARM and THE FADING.

The following month guitarist JEFF LOOMIS debuted as a solo artist with the album 'Zero Order Phase'. Musicians featured on the Neil Kernon produced album included drummers WATCHTOWER's Ron Jarzombek and former NEVERMORE colleague Mark Arrington. ATTENTION DEFICIT's Mark Manring supplied bass. Contributing guitar would be another NEVERMORE veteran, Pat O'Brien.

Century Media issued the twin DVD and CD NEVERMORE package 'The Year Of The Voyager' in Europe on 20th October 2008. The set covered the 'This Godless Endeavor' touring cycle, starting with live footage from the U.S. 'Gigantour' dates of 2005, the 'Metal Mania' festival 2006 in Poland, the 'Wacken Open Air' festival in 2006 in Germany and a main feature show filmed at the Zeche club in Bochum, Germany on 11th October 2006. Bonus material included two tracks, 'Engines Of Hate' and 'Beyond Within', from Century Media USA 10th Anniversary Party 2001, all the band's promotional videos and an interview with singer Warrel Dane which was recorded at the Roax Film Studios in Berlin in the spring of 2008. A limited edition audio version was also issued as a three disc vinyl set.

Fresh NEVERMORE album tracks would be laid down in August 2009 with producer Peter Wichers. Andy Sneap mixed the set once again.