EVEREVE

The term Gothic Rock/ Dark Metal is a dispensable one. In the course of the band history, EverEve have already covered several different phases of this genre. The key to master such a tightrope walk, creating more of an EvereEve trademark sound instead of confusion, is the bands diversity.

The history started in 1993 when a few friends from Southern Germany, whose first true love has always been music, got together and officially formed a “gothic” band. Their guitar player (now known as Havoc) came up with the name taken straight from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of The Rings”: EverEve.

EverEve’s dream of getting out of the musical dungeons came true when they were lucky enough to get noticed by Nuclear Blast Records. The result was their 1997 debut CD “Seasons”. “Seasons” was a dark and heavy album, but surprisingly “smooth”. It had already melted down a wide variety of independent areas of music. Responsible for this, to a big extend, were clever musical arrangements, touching melodies with heavy, gothic overtones, emotional lyrics and vocals that change from warm and romantic to harsh and cold in a blink of an eye – just as the seasons of the year do... On an extensive tour with Amorphis the guys proved that they were able to re-produce all of this charm live and this talent bought them many fans from the beginning.

In the end of 1997 the band’s rehearsal space completely burned down - including all of their equipment. The exact cause of the fire remains somewhat of a mystery to this day. However, this obstacle did not stop EverEve from working on their second “offspring”. Together with the Barmbecker Symphony Orchestra and guest - vocal appearances by York Eysel of Love Like Blood they created “Stormbirds” (1998) – an album that takes the listeners on a ride exploring deep depression, inner fears and a very interesting, experimental stage of the group. It showed that the project called EverEve was definately not just a “One Hit Wonder”, but rather a very creative and mature band with bright future. In support of “Stormbirds”, EverEve hit the road with Crematory for a long European tour which proved to be not only successful, but also a good life-lesson for all involved. Right after that tour the band was pulled into the whirlwind of changes.

The passing time always brings new ideas, possibilities and makes people grow - sometimes apart. Even though the process of songwriting for the third album has already begun, EverEve decided to officially part ways with their original lead singer, Tom Sedotschenko, in January 1999. Difficulties such as not being able to work together anymore, because of different interests on both sides, left them no choice… This was a rather risky step to take because fans very often recognize bands with their vocalists, but in EverEve’s case this step proved worthwhile. Rumors had it that Dan Swanö ( Nightingale, Unicorn, Edge of Sanity etc.) would join the band, which the two parties actually discussed at some point, but never went any further. Finally the band decided on Benjamin Richter (Vermilion Fields and – currently – Thanateros) with whom they could work on the new stuff in the studio and realize their third CD. Just prior to the release of that third CD the band learned that their former singer, Tom, died by the means of suicide. This news was a painful “punch in the stomach” and dampened everybody’s spirits for a while, but “the show must go on”. Despite of this awkward situation, “Regret” was released in September of 1999. The direction with “Regret” was very clear: more straight ahead, stripped down and really memorable songs. On the Nuclear Blast Festival Tour with Hypocrisy and The Kovenant that year, EverEve and Benjamin tour for the first time together. Later, in the first half of the year 2000, they decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean for a nice mini-tour in the United States (mainly in Ohio).

The years 2000 – 2001 brought a whole new wave of changes for the band and within the band. First, the original drummer, Marc Werner, left the group giving the seat behind the drum set to Martin C. Vocalist, Ben Richter, decided to concentrate on his own musical project and the microphone fell into the hands of the (up until now) keyboard player – MZ. The Eves were playing festivals like the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, shows with the Farmer Boys and plenty of headliner shows and signed a new contract with Massacre Records. The effect of that contract was the release of their fourth production, “E-Mania” in 2001. This album quickly found its way into the hearts of the long time EverEve fans as well as the completely new E – maniacs. It also sort of marked a new beginning for the band members after being on an intense roller coaster ride of ups and downs for the last one and a half years, underlined by all of them starting to use nicknames (MZ, MC, havoc, etc) fitting perfectly to reflect upon the out of control events that the band was pulled into. The whole concept of nicknames embodied some kind of a puzzle as well and deliberately left certain questions concerning them out in the open. As for the sound of “E=Mania”, the basic musical core of EverEve’s work remained the same, but some things have changed: (i) MZ’s voice and singing style are very different than Tom’s and Ben’s, (ii) the songs were shorter and more defined as separate entities and (iii) the dark, gothic overtones remained in place, but more “electronics” have been introduced and the new “Cyber-Goth-Metal” label has been (sort of) created.

Touring massively this year with Subway to Sally, In Extremo, festivals like Summer Breeze, the Wave Gotik Treffen, Euro Rock in Belgium, the Darkstorm Festival, the Schlettwein Open Air, the Swiss Metal Dayz etc., the Czech Republic, Austria, Slowenia and numerous single shows , strengthens EverEve’s position as one of Germany’s most successful CYGOROME bands. The increasing success required more time, commitment and responsibilities out of the band members, which not everyone was able to handle. Therefore, in September of that year one more line-up change took place: IQ replaced S.M.artBasstard on the bass guitar.

Still playing shows in 2002 the band kept working on and off on their new material and soon the guys started recording their fifth long-player called “.enetics – 11 Orgies For Massenjoyment On The Dark Side Of The Planet” and the finished album saw the light of day in 2003. This release also featured a bonus CD with unique remixes of certain songs and a large multi media part as a gesture of appreciation for the fans staying extremely loyal throughout the years. Also, for the first time in years EverEve decided to record one song in a different language (Spanish) again. “Abraza La Luz” raised many eyebrows in Germany as well as abroad and became a dancefloor standard in various clubs. On top of that, the band appeared on national television and MTV in several countries with the video clip of “Her Last Summer”. As for live performances, this time around they mostly focused on single headliner shows and lots of festivals (again) such as The Mera Luna Festival with Placebo, which is so far the largest event EverEve were a part of, playing in front of nearly 10 000 people. After sharing the stage in Switzerland with Type O’ Negative, the band hit Russia for the very first time. The concert in Moscow turned out to be a major success and opened up a whole new world of opportunities for the group as they gained increasing popularity due to such a large and sincere following in the East.

Unfortunately, at the end of the promotional tour, the band learned once again that things can not be perfect. This time “the stab” came from SK Kiefer (guitar), who decided to leave the band. SK has never been replaced by any other musician and EverEve become a four-piece group (although SK still joins his old band mates on the stage occasionally).

As a quartet they recorded and released in 2005 their latest full-lenght production: “Tried & Failed”. “Tried & Failed” is yet another step forward in the band’s development. More complex arrangements, richer sound and incredible lyrics inspiration for which came from life: its very pleasurable moments and most depressing ones concerned with emotions, sex, viewpoints, thinking and observations. It is a beautiful combination of 14 songs that some people are not afraid to call “masterpieces”: more refined than all of its predecessors, dramatic, full of gothic melancholy and dark melodies and yet somehow the album “lets the spirit embrace the light”. Even the artwork is different this time, reflecting the overall “gothic-erotic” atmosphere of the music. This is the album that will surely guarantee EverEve a significant place in the goth/industrial music history as they rightfully deserve it.

Nowadays, the band is busy working on their new material under the working title “E-Mission”, which they plan to release in the first half of 2009. Based on the studio reports, EverEve’s fans will get a real treat well worth the long wait. Why? Because this is the band that, in their nearly 15 years of existence, had met and fought against more obstacles than many people in their lifetime and never gave up. They refuse to be restricted, limited, held back and get ‘labeled and classified’ under any one, single style or image. They’re not afraid of change, progress and development (personal and musical)… The story of EverEve is the story of E-volution – and one with a happy ending.