Warrel Dane died in December 2017.
Jeff Loomis, former guitarist for Nevermore and Sanctuary, currently in Arch Enemy and Conquering Dystopia, spoke in an interview with All That Shreds about his former bandmate, Warrel Dane, who passed away in December.
“He passed away while I was at home during the Christmas holidays from touring with Arch Enemy. It was a terrible experience for me, the loss of a close friend. I’m still sad about it and probably will be for a long time. Especially when you know someone for so long, travel the world and write music together, you become very close, like brothers, and that’s what we were.”
“To make a long story short, Warrel was a troubled guy. He had problems with alcohol, and at one point I did too. I never said he was the sole reason we broke up the band [Nevermore]. I was drinking terribly as well. I’ve been sober for five years. I got my life together, and now I have a very clear, focused, and healthy mind; I’m doing very well. When Warrel continued to drink, it simply prevented me from talking to him much. I just wanted to keep my distance from that kind [of behavior] because I was trying to live a cleaner lifestyle. The times I did talk to him or texted him, it was always very friendly, and we’d say how much we missed each other. There were some conversations about doing a reunion [with Nevermore] and writing some more songs. So, it was something I was excited about, and unfortunately, you know, it will never happen.”
He added: “I have fantastic memories and great songs that we wrote together, and that will always be a great memory. I will miss him very much. He was a great friend of mine, and I only have good things to say about him. He was an incredible lyricist and vocalist. A very different person, difficult to figure out. Intense with his lyrics and brilliant.”
Warrel Dane passed away in December 2017 in São Paulo due to a heart attack. He was in Brazil recording his solo album, Shadow Work , with Brazilian musicians.
