Trad Metallers Paladin released a three-track tribute to Nevermore today entitled Anamnesis which is streaming now via Spotify. The release coincides with the two-year anniversary of Warrel Dane’s death from a heart attack. Their recent debut album, Ascension, doesn’t hide the Atlanta-based band’s deep love of all things 1980’s thrash and 1990’s melodic death metal – with Nevermore at the forefront. Nevermore broke up in 2011, and hopes for a reunion ended when vocalist Warrel Dane died in 2017 while Dane was living in Brazil working on a solo album.
https://smarturl.it/PaladinAnamnesis
Of the choice of songs on the EP, Paladin guitarist/vocalist, Taylor Washington comments:
“River Dragon was an obvious choice since it’s probably their most recognizable song. I wanted to do something from This Godless Endeavor since it’s still my favorite Nevermore album, and Final Product was kind of the default choice since it doesn’t have any super ridiculous hard parts in it. We also wanted to do an older song, one that wasn’t played on a 7 string. The name is a mouthful, but I’ve always been partial to 42147 because it’s filled with great riffs and the subject matter is interesting.”
A chance meeting with Nevermore drummer, Van Williams, gave PALADIN the impetus to pursue the idea of recording the songs, which will be released on 13 December – the anniversary of Dane’s death. The band’s connection to Nevermore goes back several years as Taylor explains:
“I remember picking up This Godless Endeavor from a liquidation sale at a music store back in high school. From the first listen it immediately resonated with me and I knew it would become one of my favorite albums and Nevermore one of my favorite bands. When Prosthetic proposed the idea of doing a Nevermore tribute EP to commemorate Warrel Dane’s death, I honestly hesitated. Jeff Loomis is an absolute monster on guitar and Warrel had one of the most distinct and dynamic voices to grace the metal world. The task of having to do justice to those two and Nevermore as a whole was a daunting one, but I couldn’t say no. I decided to sing the songs the way I would rather than try to sound like Warrel since that would feel disingenuous to me.”
The cover art for the Anamnesis EP has been created by Travis Smith, a longtime artistic collaborator of both Nevermore and Warrel Dane. The track list for the release is as follows:
1. The River Dragon has Come
2. Final Product
3. 42147