Evoken

EVOKEN was formed in April of 1992 by guitarist Nick Orlando under the name FUNEREUS. After rehearsing with various local musicians for a brief period, guitarist Phil Wilson & bassist/vocalist Rob Robichaud joined the band. Still needing a drummer, ex Body Of Christ drummer Vince Verkay was asked to join in June of 1992. With the lineup now complete, the band recorded their first two song rehearsal demo in July of 1992. This line up continued rehearsing into the early stages of 1993. It was at this point in time when the band decided to change their name to ASMODEUS.
Unfortunately, the next year and a half would come to be the band's most difficult period as both Rob & Phil decided to leave. Faced with ending the band due to a lack of interested musicians, Nick & Vince kept the band afloat by rehearsing new material. Finally, in August of 1994, the band came upon ex Grim Legion guitarist/vocalist John Paradiso & bassist Bill Manley through ads placed in a local paper. With a new start and a new lineup, the band decided once again to change their name..for good..to EVOKEN. It was with this lineup that the band recorded their 2nd demo "Shades Of Night Descending" in October of 1994. It received great response and would eventually be re-released by Adipocere Records of France in 1996.
In 1995, EVOKEN decided to expand and improve their sound by adding keyboards. After meeting up with recently relocated & ex Infester drummer Dario Derna, it was realized that he was also a keyboard player and immediately asked him to join. After writing new material, this lineup entered the studio and recorded their 3rd demo in mid 1996 hoping to gain label interest. Lineup problems plagued the band once again though as Bill was asked to leave directly following the recording. Bill was replaced by bassist Steve Moran, and due to a continued lack of label interest, the band went into the studio once again in 1997 to record another demo. This time, the band gained the interest of at the time brand new label Elegy Records of New Jersey. The band went into the studio in early 1998 to record their now cult debut LP "Embrace the Emptiness". Later that same year the band also recorded the track "Strange World" for an Iron Maiden tribute album on Dwell Records.
This lineup continued on together for years; playing shows and eventually recording another song (Snowblind) for Dwell Record's Black Sabbath tribute in 2000, their 2nd full-length album "Quietus" in 2001 & finally this lineups swansong...the 2002 demo. Dario would leave the band following this recording, deciding to move back to his hometown for personal reasons. The band continued on this way for over a year until late in 2003, when they asked Denny Hahn to join on keyboards...just in time for a small but very successful European tour. Shortly following the tour however, the band decided to part ways with bassist Steve. This happened to come less than one month before the band was scheduled to record their upcoming album. The band entered the studio in March of 2004 to record their 3rd full length album "Antithesis Of Light" under somewhat chaotic conditions. All bass tracks were handled by John.
Enter the next phase of EVOKEN...In early 2006, longtime friend and current Methadrone mastermind Craig Pillard joined on bass. Unfortunately, there would eventually be some bad news to go along with the good. Later that same year, the band decided to part ways with keyboardist Denny due to the vast distance between them and him. 2006 ended on a doomed note with the long awaited and often rumored re-release of the "Embrace the Emptiness" CD on Solitude Productions of Russia.
In 2007, EVOKEN found its newest home...I Hate Records of Sweden. The band is looking forward to working with a small but upcoming & well respected label such as I Hate. The brand new album "A Caress Of the Void" is now completed & will be released October 31st. This album will expand greatly upon the massive EVOKEN soundscape and blackened, utterly desolate ambience of previous albums...but will also see the band exploring some new areas of atmosphere & sound in their quest to create their own brand of soul-crushing doom. 2007 also saw the band welcome their newest member, keyboardist Don Zaros. This has given the band a full line up again and some much needed momentum. After a lengthy layoff, the band has begun rehearsing for all possible endeavors in 2008.
Beware...for EVOKEN is mightier than ever and fully prepared to unleash such darkened desolation upon the world as yet to be seen........
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DISCOGRAPHY:
"Shades Of Night Descending" MCD (Self Released/1994)
"Shades Of Night Descending" MCD/Re-Issue (Adipocere Records/1996)
"Embrace the Emptiness" CD (Elegy Records/1998)
"Quietus" CD (Avantgarde & Dwell Records/2001)
"Antithesis Of Light" CD (Avantgarde & Mercenary Music/2005)
"Embrace the Emptiness" CD/Re-Issue (Solitude Productions/2006)
"A Caress Of the Void" CD (I Hate Records/2007)