Biography All Music GuideWikipedia
All Music Guide:
Bringing out new stamina to the death and doom metal styles by creating obscure and devastating compositions, Evoken started playing in the beginning of the '90s in Lyndhurst, NJ. Their roots go back to 1992 when guitarist Nick Orlando and bassist Rob Robichaud formed a crew called Funereus. Following several lineup changes, Evoken finally settled its crew in 1996 with the substitution of Robichaud by Steve Moran and with the additions of vocalist John Paradiso, drummer Vince Verkay, and keyboard ruler Dario Derna. In 1995 the team decided to record its first demo disc, Shades of Night Descending, it was eventually re-released by a French label a year later. Appearing on A Call to Irons, an Iron Maiden tribute disc delivered by Dwell Records in 1997, Evoken managed to sign their first record deal a year later. Their first full-length album, Embrace the Emptiness, hit record stores in that same year through Elegy Records. The metal crew then moved towards the European market, and signed a contract with Avantgarde Records, an Italian label that sponsored the unit's following albums. Quietus, released in the U.S. through Dwell Records, was the band's first release for the European catalogue, in 2001. Before their next album was released, the band parted ways with Derna and Moran (in 2002 and 2004, respectively), bringing on replacement keyboardist Denny Hahn while Paradiso covered bass duties on 2005's, Antithesis of Light. Hahn's stint in the band would be short lived, with keyboardist leaving before the release of 2007's A Caress of the Void. Evoken eventually returned to full strength and then some, recruiting full-time keyboardist Don Zaros, bassist Dave Wagner, and a third guitar player, Nick Molinari. The now six piece band released their fifth album, Atra Mors, on Profound Lore in 2012.
Wikipedia:
Evoken is an American funeral doom metal band from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, that is influenced by the Australian band Disembowelment and the Finnish band Thergothon. The band name Evoken was taken from the Thergothon song found on the Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth demo. The band was founded by guitarist Nick Orlando under the name Funereus in April 1992. It was with the original line-up of Rob (Bass/Vocals); Nick (Guitar); Phil (Guitar) & Vince (Drums) that they recorded what would be the only Funereus release, which was a rehearsal demo released in 1992. After briefly changing their name to Asmodeus the following year, the band eventually decided upon the name Evoken in 1994 after several line up changes. They headlined the Dutch Doomsday Festival in 2003 during a brief European tour of Holland, Belgium & the UK.[1].
Evoken is one of the earliest U.S. doom/death metal bands that are still active today along with Novembers Doom and Rigor Sardonicous.
Evoken left Avantgarde Music of Italy after releasing two albums with the label and signed to I Hate Records of Sweden in January 2007.
Evoken returned to tour Europe in 2009, and again in 2011 for Holland's Roadburn Festival. The following year they signed to Canada's Profound Lore Records and performed on the inaugural Decibel Magazine tour in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. 2012 saw the release of their fifth full length album Atra Mors, which was Profound Lore's 100th release.