11/25/2025
On this episode I had the pleasure of chatting with John Paradiso and Vince Verkay of the legendary funeral death doom band Evoken (Official). Celebrating over 33 years as one of the seminal bands in the genre, we had the opportunity to talk about the most recent release, Mendacium released last month on Profound Lore Records.
The interview took place on Halloween, so we begin with some stories about scaring trick or treaters and the creative lengths Vince went to one year. We then move into the concept of the new record. I was fortunate to get access to the promo and purchased the limited-edition vinyl from the great Decibel magazine (which arrived right in time), so I had the opportunity to spin the album a lot before talking to the guys. My original plan was to deep dive into the lyrical themes on each track and the album, but Vince and John are very much in demand these days, so we only had about an hour totalk. While the episode is considerably shorter than the two-part interview with Vince that Markisan and I completedearlier several months back. In some ways, this interview can be considered a companion to that one. Specifically, we talk about the band’s return to longtime producer and metal guitar god Ron Bumblefoot Thal. Specifically, Ron was recently interviewed on the wildly popular Rick Beato’s YouTube channel. In a remarkable surprise, Ron mentions Mendacium and a humorous dialogue ensues over the meaning of “doom metal.” We then talk about the new video for the album’s second single “None,” it’s an incredible piece of cinematic art crafted by Obsidian Studios. Major props also to the killer performances by friends Joe the tattoo artist and Chloe Rose, who did terrific jobs playing the central characters in the album’s blasphemous tale of a dying Benedictine monk’s inner turmoil and crisis of faith. All in all, this fun chat, especially for me, because Mendacium has been on near constant rotation on my turntable for more than 2 months now, was a blast. I was really glad to give the guys their flowers for over three decades of releasing consistently amazing metal.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/endless-metal-podcast-were-constantly-listening-to/id1346315896?i=1000738202075
