Van Williams says Berzan Önen‘s audition tape arrived early and settled the matter before hundreds more were submitted.
Nevermore worked through roughly 700 audition submissions before naming a singer. Van Williams says the one they chose landed in the first week.
The drummer told India’s “Sinusoidal Music” how Berzan Önen came to replace Warrel Dane.
“I think Warrel would be proud of the guy we chose to replace Warrel. It’s not an easy thing to do, for sure. Everyone knows that. And it’s a beautiful thing to find someone that when we’d seen his auditions that we were, like, ‘Oh, He’s not faking this. He’s not learning the songs tomorrow. He knows the songs.’ It touched his heart, and when we’d seen the videos, it touched our hearts. And we were, like, ‘He’s the guy,’ before 500 or 600 more auditions came in. His came in, like, the first week or something, and I’m, like, ‘Holy s**t, Jeff, this is the dude.’ And Jeff‘s, like, ‘Okay, man, I’m not gonna listen too much to anything,’ and waiting. And I’m, like, ‘He’s here, man. He’s here already, dude. He’s the one to beat.’ And once again, not only vocally, but it’s just the little mannerisms that he did in the auditions where he was, like, just making a fist or a smile. These little things touched me more than anything. And I could see that he is like me, in a way. And it was a no-brainer. So whoever’s with us is with us, once again. And whoever isn’t, isn’t, and that’s okay. That’s okay,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The band opened submissions on the last day of 2024. Önen was announced alongside guitarist Jack Cattoi and bassist Semir Özerkan, who also plays in Oceans Of Slumber.
Williams addressed the people who said the band should not have continued: “It’s gonna be great, man. I think, and I’m not blowing smoke up my own a** here, or anyone else’s, I’m just saying, the people that follow us and have believed in the band for this long — there were some doubters that were, like, ‘Oh, you can never do this. You can never continue the band without these guys.’ Whatever. I understand. I understand, ’cause people fall in love with the members and really it touches everyone’s heart. No one wants anyone to pass away and have to recreate, or bands breaking up.”
He continued: “Things happen in life. For us to have a second chance to do it all over again in a different kind of way and bring back the music and make the ending of the band — or not the ending, but the new chapter from where we left off to continue, I think is great. And musically, hopefully those who stay with us will stay with us, and will understand that Jeff knows what’s great for the band. I feel I kind of know what’s great for the band, and together we found guys that we feel are gonna elevate and make this band continue in a stronger path. And the new path that we need to find. We need to find a new path. We need to do different things. We need to try stuff, just because everybody grows. No one stays in one spot. And we have this great new opportunity to do that. Berzan is an amazing singer and a writer, and it’s gonna be something different. We’re gonna add a little bit of anything that we feel like we wanna add, and we’re not gonna listen to anybody else, ’cause a lot of the people that thought we couldn’t do this are now saying, ‘Oh man, I just seen you guys live. F**king A, that was great.’ So that’s what we wanna do. And if you believe in us, thank you, and come along with us. If you don’t, thank you, and don’t come along with us. It don’t matter to me. I know where I’m happy, and I just wanna be happy, and I want these guys to be happy. And as long as we’re all happy, we’re gonna conquer the thing. So that’s what it’s all about.”
The lineup played its first show on April 1 at IF Performance Hall Beşiktaş in Istanbul, Önen‘s home country, which Williams noted: “Well, I thought it was amazing. It was great to be in my man Berzan‘s country. And they seemed to welcome us very much so, and I thought it was great — a great response. I mean, I couldn’t believe the welcomeness that we did experience there. So, [I’m] just happy to be back, very grateful to be here, and to have this man next to me.”
Nevermore signed with Reigning Phoenix Music in February, and filmmaker Ola Englund documented their January rehearsals in Sweden. Guitarist Jeff Loomis said last week that he has around six song ideas in progress and that the band have set aside October to March to record, with Önen relocating to the United States in November.
Warrel Dane died on December 13, 2017 in São Paulo, Brazil, aged 56, while recording Shadow Work, the follow-up to his 2008 solo album Praises To The War Machine. He suffered a heart attack overnight. Guitarist Johnny Moraes, who played in his solo band, said of his condition at the time: “His health was already very weak because of his diabetes and his problems with alcoholism.” The instrumental tracks were close to finished and Dane had begun recording vocals; the album was completed and released after his death.
The band formed in Seattle in 1992 out of Sanctuary and ended in 2011, after 2010’s The Obsidian Conspiracy. Founding bassist Jim Sheppard, who started the band with Dane, is not part of this lineup and has said publicly that he was never approached about the return.
