Two members of the band — vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard — did not agree with the change, and thus proceeded to create a project of their own: Nevermore.

By the end of 1994, the band assumed a stable lineup, which saw the additions of drummer Van Williams and former Sanctuary touring guitarist Jeff Loomis.

The album's lyrics, based partly on the events Warrell Dane underwent after the disappearance of his longtime girlfriend, narrate the story of a man's slow decline into madness, subsequent to the death of the only woman he ever loved.

A long tour followed with Nevermore sharing stages with bands such as Mercyful Fate, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, and Opeth.

Instead of finding a replacement, the band decided to continue as a quartet, hiring session guitarists for live appearances, such as Curran Murphy (who went on to play in Annihilator) and Chris Broderick of Jag Panzer and Megadeth.

However, according to Nevermore's official website, on the day of the show, Warrel Dane fell ill with an infection, eventually resulting in the necessity of seeing a doctor at a hospital in Dortmund, Germany.

[8] He stated that he would also be touring with Danish metal band Hatesphere as they supported Behemoth and later Dimmu Borgir, and would also be working on the release of The Esseness Project, an all-instrumental progressive rock album.

Nevermore entered the studio in August with producer and Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers to record their long-awaited 7th album The Obsidian Conspiracy.

[14] Later on April 21, 2011, longtime and founding members Jeff Loomis and Van Williams announced their departure from Nevermore, citing personal and musical differences.

[20] On December 13, 2017, Dane died of a heart attack in São Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 56, putting an end to any possibilities of a Nevermore reunion.

[1][2] While no official lineup has been announced, bassist Jim Sheppard's wife Priscila claimed he "has never been contacted about Van's plans with Jeff using the Nevermore name" and called it "completely disrespectful of them to use the name" without her husband.

[22] Four days later, Loomis and Williams confirmed that Nevermore was officially reuniting and planning to launch a "world search" for replacements of Dane and Sheppard, the latter of whom was revealed to be retired.

However, in an interview at Metalmania in 2006, Dane did not explicitly disagree with the many genres the band has been put in over the years, but he stated "I don't think we're power metal.