It's been a long time since Nevermore last visited Australian
shores (back in 1999) but after numerous attempts and promises of a
repeat performance, the Seattle based progressive thrash metal act are
finally making their long overdue return.
With little more than a good night's sleep after another
completed round of touring, I caught up with guitarist Jeff Loomis at
home to find out how their last batch of live dates went down, just
where progress is at with the latest album, the results of their DVD
shoot, when fans can expect his solo album, and of course, what they
have in store for Australian fans the second time around.
"We just got home yesterday after doing a forty-two
day European tour! (Laughs) It was really awesome dude. We went on tour
with Chicago act Disturbed and it was interesting to say the least.
We were the support band of course and we went out with them for about
a month. Every show was pretty much sold out so it was really cool for
us. It was a chance for us to expose ourselves to a new and younger
audience. I think we accomplished that. I mean, when you're a support
band, it's really different. You have to look back to the times in the
past when you yourself saw big acts like Judas Priest or Kiss because
that's where you saw all the underground acts. They're the bands opening
up for other bands. It can be very difficult, even when we're in that
role. With that in mind, we went out there with the intention of really
trying to blow away Disturbed! (Laughs) But you know, a band like Disturbed
is very good at what they do in regards to production and the lights,
plus they also have very good songs, so it was a challenge for us. We're
more of an underground metal band. We hoped that the Disturbed crowd
would like us, but I'll tell you the truth, there were some nights where
the crowd was so quiet! (Laughs) I mean we're a lot faster than Disturbed
are, so it was a different crowd to ours. I guess we're more of a thrash
band really. But the whole point of us going out on tour like that was
to gain more fans and expose ourselves to a younger audience - and that's
exactly what we did. All in all, it was a really good time."
Although 2005's Gigantour (alongside Anthrax, Fear Factory,
Symphony X, Life Of Agony, Dry Kill Logic, The Dillinger Escape Plan,
Bobaflex, Megadeth and Dream Theater) was a completely different sort
of tour to the one they just completed with Disturbed, Nevermore's aim
of exposing themselves to a completely new audience still applied.
"What I really liked about Gigantour was the complete
diversity of all the bands on the bill. A lot of times when you go to
a show, it's more or less a bunch of the same shit. It could be a bunch
of speed metal bands that you can't understand the lyrics to, or that
metalcore shit. Gigantour was a really great tour. It was awesome because
you had different bands like Fear Factory, Dream Theater, Megadeth and
us. It was the complete package. Ozzfest is one of those festival shows
where all the bands tend to sound the same. I think Dave Mustaine (Megadeth
vocalist/guitarist, and Gigantour founder) did a really good job of
picking out the bands that were really diverse. I don't think any of
the fans were bored throughout the show. It was something different
for them every time a band went out on stage. If you didn't like one
band, there was a good chance that you'd eventually find one that you
do like. We have Mustaine to thank for that. And he's doing it again
this year with Gigantour II. I think it's a very positive thing, especially
picking out acts that aren't all that big and giving them the chance
to expose themselves to a bigger crowd. We had a lot of fun on that
tour and it was great."
As soon as the Disturbed dates were complete, the band
(who also comprises of vocalist Warrel Dane, guitarist Steve Smyth,
bassist Jim Sheppard and drummer Van Williams) then flew to South America
(Brazil) to headline the 'Live 'N' Louder' festival as well as performing
their own headlining show.
"Those shows were very cool and very busy to say
the least. The crowds in South America are really amazing. They really
know the songs and they sing along to shit like that! (Laughs) It's
quite incredible. Even when I was playing the opening riff to the song
'The Heart Collector' (from 2000's 'Dead Heart, In A Dead World'), they
were all singing along to the guitar solo! I was like, 'What the hell?'
It was really cool. It was really nice to feel proud like that. All
I can say is that we're a very lucky band."
Scheduled in amongst Nevermore's live dates in Europe,
the band also managed to film their performance at the Zeche Club in
Bochum (Germany), after having to abandon their first attempt a month
earlier, for their upcoming DVD.
"What was supposed to happen was we were going to
film a show before the Disturbed tour was to begin, but Dane was sick
the first time we were supposed to film the show. He couldn't put in
one hundred and ten percent for the show, so we had to cancel the shoot.
What we did was rescheduled the show and it virtually happened like
a week ago. We filmed it, and it turned out really good. I haven't seen
the footage yet because it happened all so quickly, but I do have a
CD of the audio side of things. All I can say is that it's very raw
at the moment. We just went up there on stage and played the music.
There are some mistakes here and there but nothing that we can't fix
in the studio a little later on. But having said that, we all want to
keep the recording a little raw sounding so that it honestly reflects
what we're like live. Andy Sneap is going to take all the master tracks
that we did and put it in 5.1 Surround Sound and shit like that. He'll
make it all brutal sounding like it's supposed to be so it's going to
be cool. This is one of the things that Nevermore has always wanted
to do and our fans deserve to see something like this."
Apart from the concert itself, Loomis ensures that the
DVD will include a host of extras to make up for the time fans have
been waiting for a Nevermore DVD.
"Basically the DVD is going to consist of two DVD's.
One of the discs is going to be the actual concert and the other is
going to consist of a documentary about Nevermore. We've had the camera
following us around for the last two years so there's plenty of footage
to choose from. I think this will really please the fans out there.
I mean you see a lot of bands out there that have been together for
about a year and they already have a DVD out! (Laughs) Nevermore has
been together almost fifteen years and we've never released anything
like that. So I think this should please the fans out there. We basically
chose a lot of the songs from our back catalogue for the concert itself,
which will also make the fans very happy. When you have six albums out
there, it's very hard to come up with a set list that will please everyone.
So we had to sit down and really think carefully on which songs were
our strongest and this is what we came up with. I think it's going to
be really good."
Although it's only been fifteen months since the release
of 'This Godless Endeavor', Loomis confirms that Nevermore have already
started to compile material for a new album.
"When you put out an album, you want to tour your
balls off. You want to sell the album, and that's what we've been doing.
We've literally been on the road now for fourteen months, so we've been
touring the hell out of 'This Godless Endeavor'. When we finally get
to Australia, we'll have been to three continents in a month! We're
continuously touring so it's been very hard for me to write on the road.
I don't like to write on the road because the inspiration just isn't
there. I like to write when I'm at home. I have a lot of ideas for the
next album and I have about three complete songs written for the next
album. Initially, we really wanted to try and put out an album a year
for our new contract with Century Media Records but it's simply not
going to happen. We're out on the road so much that it's never going
to be that way. So rather than sell ourselves short on the road, we'll
get around to making an album when we feel the time is right."
In the meantime, Loomis will finally get in the studio
to start work on his much talked about solo album.
"I plan on recording the album around January. It's
something that I've always wanted to do my whole life. Everybody is
always asking me when I plan to put out a solo album, and now there
are definite plans! (Laughs) My album is pretty much going to consist
of instrumental kind of stuff. There won't be any vocals on there. It's
going to be purely shred kind of stuff. I have already lined up Neil
Kernon as the producer. Nevermore used him for 'Dreaming Neon Black'
(which was released in 1999). I work very well with him in the studio.
We've been buddies for such a long time. He knows how I work, and I
know how he works, and it's good to know and work with people like that."
But when asked about musicians involved in the project,
Loomis remained tight lipped about details, at least for the time being.
"I wish I could give you names but unfortunately
I haven't signed a contract with the guy that's going to be playing
drums on the album. All I can tell you is that he's one of the best
drummers in the world. That's all I can say! (Laughs) I had a lot of
names in mind when I was thinking about drummers for the album but when
it comes to drum gods, I really only have one favourite. I'm a drummer
myself. I started off on drums when I was very young. I love to watch
drummers more than I do guitar players! (Laughs) So the choice was very
easy for me, and fortunately, the guy that I asked said yes immediately.
That's all I can say. He's f**king phenomenal. That's all I'm going
to say! (Laughs) He's a goddamn genius. I can't wait to release this
album."
Solo albums more often than not tend to be an extension
of the respective musician's role in a certain band, but as Loomis points
out, his own album will be anything but a carbon copy of Nevermore and
more a reflection of his own unique sound and song writing style.
"Dane and I have been writing music together in this
band for over ten years now and ironically enough, he just finished
making a solo album too (alongside ex-Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers).
They're just waiting on the master to come back and then it'll be ready
for release. Everybody has always been asking Dane and I when we were
going to be doing solo albums and the timing was just right for now.
We really needed to do these projects now, especially after being in
the same band for ten years! (Laughs) I think with the pair of us doing
solo albums, we're attempting to express ourselves in different ways.
I think that's very important. I think it's good for musicians to get
their feelings out in different styles of music. We need to do different
things. You don't want to be doing the same shit all the time! I think
these projects are going to release different feelings from within us
for the next Nevermore album, which is great, because you don't want
to repeat yourself. When we released 'Dead Heart, In A Dead World' in
2000, people were telling us that it was the best album we had ever
done up until that point. So with the follow up album (2003's 'Enemies
Of Reality'), people were expecting more of the same thing. We didn't
do that. We always try to be different with each album and I think we've
really climbed up the ladder as far as song writing goes. If you listen
to our first album (1995's 'Nevermore'), and then 'This Godless Endeavor',
you'll see the change is massive. That's what we try to do. We just
try and express ourselves in different ways every time we go in to do
an album, whether it be with Nevermore or in the solo sense."
As mentioned earlier, it's been nine long years since
Nevermore were last in Australia to perform to fans, and according to
Loomis, the band have grown quite a bit in that time.
"The last time we were down there, it was a very
small and short tour. There's only six or seven cities on the east coast
of Australia so we didn't have a lot of time there. But having said
that, when we were there last, it was very cool. We've matured so much
more since then and we're now a band. We're less inclined to party or
get drunk all the time these days. Last time we were down there, we
were partying all the time. We were fools basically. We were like how
AC/DC started out. We were just drinking all the time. I mean we cared
about our music and we wanted to do everything perfectly, but at the
same time, we just weren't focussed. Now we're a completely focussed
band and that's really going to show in our performance. On this return
trip, I think we're going to amaze some people with our musical professionalism.
We're really looking forward to it. We're ready to come down and shred
some heads. That's what we want to do best."
When asked how he would sum up the last fourteen months
on the road since the release of 'This Godless Endeavor', Loomis modestly
chose the word "successful" but with plenty of potential still
to be capitalised in the future.
"If you look back on all our previous albums, we've
definitely climbed up the ladder in a sense. Every album that we've
released outsold the last. That's a good thing. We're still a very underground
metal band. We don't sell a lot of albums and it's certainly nowhere
near a million but people that like us know who we are and they listen
to us because we're an honest American heavy metal band. That's what
we're all about. We don't f**k around. We do things the way we want
to do them. We write music the way we want to write it and that's the
way Nevermore has always been. To have been around this long is phenomenal
and I don't ever underestimate anything we've ever done in the past.
This is something that I cherish, along with every other member in this
band. So we're very fortunate to be able to come to Australia and to
play our music for the fans. That's very f**king cool! (Laughs)"
I would personally like to thank Jeff Loomis for his
generous time and Andrew Haug at Century Media Records for making the
interview possible.
For more information on Nevermore, check out - http://www.nevermore.tv
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
