by Mario Mesquita Borges
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.