"His spirit will be around." A beloved, long-lost cult prog metal band have announced their first shows in 16 years - and you can hear their first rehearsals together

Nevermore 2026 — (Image credit: Ola Englund)

Resurrected US prog metal group Nevermore have announced their new line-up. Long-time members Jeff Loomis (guitars) and Van Williams (drums) had previously teased plans to bring the band back in December 2024, but confirmed last week they'd recruited Jack Cattoi on guitars, Oceans Of Slumber's Semir Özerkan on bass, and Turkish singer and vocal coach Berzan Önen to replace original vocalist Warrel Dane, who died after a heart attack in 2017.

The band had already announced appearances at Germany's Wacken festival and Bloodstock Open Air in the UK this summer, but have now revealed their first show in 16 years will take place in Istanbul, Turkey on April 1.

In a new 47-minute documentary, Swedish YouTuber and guitarist Ola Englund caught up with the band in Sweden to talk about the reunion and offer some early rehearsal footage of the new line-up.

“We left off in a weird position with the last Nevermore show in 2010," Jeff Loomis explains. "I guess we just felt we had more to say musically you know? It was something that we desired.”

Formed in 1992 by vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard, the band's line-up stabilised when Loomis and Williams joined in 1994 and the band released their self-titled debut album in 1995. They released seven studio albums in their initial run. The last, 2010's The Obsidian Conspiracy, was their first to chart on the US Billboard 200. The band went on hiatus in 2011 when Loomis and Williams quit shortly after the group had cancelled a planned tour with Symphony X. Dane's 2017 passing and the subsequent death of guitarist Tim Calvert in 2018 seemed to put paid to the idea of a Nevermore reunion, until now.

Speaking about honouring their fallen frontman, Williams explained the decision to reunite was in part driven by the idea of getting Nevermore's music out to new audiences.

"It's a good way to show [Warrel] also that we're carrying on," he explains. "It's gonna make me really happy to hear people singing the songs again - to look out in the crowd and sing any song. It's gonna be awesome and I'm sure his spirit will be around, doing something wacky."

In addition to the upcoming shows, Nevermore have also announced they have signed with Reigning Phoenix Music for a new album which they tentatively plan to complete later this year after their initial run of shows.

"We're looking forward to getting out there and crush[ing] that," Williams says. "Then start the record stuff. Also we're going to be in the States in September for Prog Power. [We're] just filling up as much as we can whenever we can for now just to get the ball rolling, see what happens."

Although Loomis and Williams have pulled together a new line-up, not everybody in the Nevermore camp is happy. Founding bassist Jim Sheppard posted in December 2024 that he had not been informed of any plans for the group to reunite and deemed it "disrespectful" in a post on social media.

The pair would later address this in an open letter on Facebook.

“Some people think it’s disrespectful not to involve Jim or inform him of our plans," they wrote. "But those who feel that way don’t know the history of the band or the behind-the-scenes dynamics that led to this decision. While it may not have been the most ideal approach, the reality is that there hasn’t been communication with Jim in years. We felt that sometimes, for the sake of a fresh start, it’s necessary to move on from relationships that may no longer be conducive to growth or new beginnings."

"We made this decision with the intention of honoring the legacy of the band while moving forward in a way that felt right for us at the time," the letter continues. "That said, we wish him good health and he is free to pursue whatever path he chooses. Without going into too much detail, I’ll just say respect goes both ways, and certain things became irreconcilable over time for us. At this point in my life, I don’t feel the need to explain myself further on this, so take from that what you will.”

You can watch the full documentary on YouTube below, and hear Nevermore's first rehearsals together in 16 years.

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Staff writer for Metal Hammer, Rich has never met a feature he didn't fancy, which is just as well when it comes to covering everything rock, punk and metal for both print and online, be it legendary events like Rock In Rio or Clash Of The Titans or seeking out exciting new bands like Nine Treasures, Jinjer and Sleep Token.

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