The three musicians who completed the reformed NEVERMORE — vocalist Berzan Önen, guitarist Jack Cattoi and bassist Semir Özerkan, alongside returning founders Jeff Loomis and Van Williams — have spoken to Germany's Thicker Than Blood podcast about walking into one of the most protected legacies in American metal.
Önen was asked how he approaches parts written and sung by Warrel Dane, who died in 2017. "Warrel is a huge, huge influence on me, on not just my singing style, but my writing — the lyrical part of me as well has been shaped by his work a lot. So it comes naturally to me," he said. "But, of course, as I'm not trying to imitate him, I put my own twist and my own voice and my own taking of the songs in there as well."
On the reception, he was blunt about what he expected. "It was overwhelming. Because for all of us, these are huge, huge shoes to fill, 'cause NEVERMORE, it's not like any other band," he said. "And as a fan, I probably wouldn't have welcomed the new guys. Yeah, I have to be honest. NEVERMORE fans are different than other fans as well. They're much loyal... So to receive this many positive feedback, it was overwhelming."
Cattoi described the same thing from the other side: "I was getting messages from some of my biggest inspirations on the guitar about this, and it's incredible to be in this."
Özerkan, who grew up with Önen in Turkey, was the most direct about what the band meant to him. "Me and Berzan, when we grew up in Turkey, a lot of bands were European bands. And then American bands were so far away for us. So NEVERMORE, I will say NEVERMORE and SLAYER was probably top two, three bands," he said. "When NEVERMORE broke up, man, I was heartbroken. And then when Warrel passed away, I drank all week. I just want everybody to know we're fans just like everyone."
Loomis, speaking to Brazil's Headbangers News, said the lineup took a long search. "We had to audition quite a few people to make sure that we found the right people that could actually do it," he said. "We weren't looking for a Warrel Dane clone either. We were looking for somebody that could still sing the songs, but also had his own personal style."
He also does not want the reunion to run as a two-man operation. "We don't wanna have NEVERMORE just be the Van-and-Jeff show," he said. "We wanna have Berzan contribute lyrics. We want Jack and Semir to contribute riffs. Will that change the core sound? I don't really think so. I think it's just gonna add to the dynamic."
A new NEVERMORE album is in progress.