Avernus – The Reemergence of What Cannot Die | UnRated Magazine: Veteran-Run Music & Entertainment

Checking in with Rick Yifrach and Erik Kikke of Chicago’s Doom-Metal Masters Avernus

By Melanie Falina

Those of us who have been around the block, perhaps even a few times, have very fond memories of the bands we supported in our youth. We were young – but legally adult, single – mostly, and usually broke. For most of us adulthood was hitting hard, but what we had were the bars and clubs (and sometimes dank garages, skeezy practice spaces, and the occasional forest preserve) where we could rock out with friends and feel free once again. They were magical years, but what we didn’t know then was that in a short time real life was going to hit even harder.

Some of our friends from that era are still in our lives, although most in different capacities, and a few of our favorite bands from then are still around too, however, sadly, still trying to do at 40 or 50 what didn’t quite work at 20. But then sometimes a phoenix does truly rise from the ashes. Sometimes a band that we loved long ago who went silent, somehow resurrects, but in the best way possible. Not as a halfhearted reboot of their younger selves but having evolved as not only musicians but souls.

For music lovers who followed the Chicago doom metal band Avernus, the band’s leave of absence for nearly three decades what a hard pill to swallow. Having left behind a string of much-loved demos and one full-length release in the 90’s, life got in the way as it’s wont to do. But now regrouped, revitalized, and signed to M-Theory Audio, Avernus is back to fill that void left so long ago.

We caught up with Avernus drummer and co-founder, Rick Yifrach, to talk about their new album, Grievances, and making magic again, on stage and in the studio, after 27 years.

Pointing out that 27 years is a long time just sounds a bit cliché, but man, 27 years is a long time! Despite those years filled with the rest of life – professions, families, and so on, Avernus was able to do what Bryan Adams in “Summer of 69” couldn’t – come together again and pick up where they had left off. During that sabbatical just how often did the ghost of Avernus-past whisper out from the darkness?

“It is something that never left us,” explained Yifrach, “Rather we struggled to find a way reinvent ourselves after releasing our [debut full-length] album Of the Fallen in 1997.”

“Bands in our death/doom genre, few as they were in the early 90’s, all seemed to experiment with a newer sound that was forthcoming, and we felt that it was just a natural evolution and went with it as well. It was not the right way for us in hindsight. I joke sometimes that it took 27 years between albums because everything ‘doom’ is just slow, but the truth is that it took a set of circumstances including Covid for us to get serious about doing something serious again. We’re happy we did. So, we are back, and we are grateful. Take that, Bryan Adams!”

So how exactly did everything start to happen again?

“It was a set of circumstances culminating in a window of opportunity that allowed us to pursue the task of writing and recording an entire album. We never gave up on wanting to do something, a full album, but as things go in life, sometimes it just doesn’t work out until it does.”

“A perfect alignment of desire, timing and circumstance I would say were the main catalysts,” added Yifrach.

Yet seemingly different people now with a slew of life experiences to boot, just how difficult was it to sync back up with one another and create?

“The desire and need to create is something that never leaves you. We are at our best working as a team [and] having all our original members made things easier. For most of us, I think that it was a matter of getting back into playing our instruments again, shaking off the oxidation that develops when out of practice. Once we did that it all fell into place naturally, we rediscovered the sound we needed and wanted for this. I could write a dissertation on all the calamities and follies that happened along the way, but there’s just too much and I wouldn’t know where to begin. It was a long and arduous path, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. And unlike our previous album, the light wasn’t that of an oncoming train!”

Regarding that ‘sound’ Avernus wanted for these songs, what elements did they need to bring on board to achieve that?

“The writing for the album came together in a rather unorthodox manner for us, but it ended up working out. We had bits and pieces of songs that we wrote over some years, but it wasn’t until Covid hit that Jimmy took the initiative to stitch together an album made up of all the songs and bits and pieces we had in our back pockets. We were able to record an album in four studios in about a year’s time that sounded like a completed piece of work.”

Musicians always talk about a point where they truly feel they’re creating magic, so to speak, when exactly did that happen for Yifrach?

“That’s a good question. We were doing pre-production for the song ‘Nemesis,’ and I decided to send a copy of it to my cousin because I knew he would be dead honest with me – he always is, and I was curious what the reaction would be. About half an hour later he called me with an overwhelming positive response, and he listened to it three times! We [also]shared two or three songs with friends and fellow musicians with open and strong opinions on everything. Of course, I think we all feel good when receiving positive feedback, but we were also looking for a second set of ears on guitar tones and how the drums were placed in the mix, things like that. The reaction was great. It’s a good feeling. You know when you truly have something good or not by gauging the reaction of others. There is a certain genuine response you get that is difficult to explain when someone outside the band has that positive reaction to it. That’s the magic for me.”

Once combing forces with a label again was that even more confirmation that everything was all happening as it should, despite the hiatus?

“Having a label supporting you, willing to put the money, the time, and all the other things involved into your record is a good feeling. It legitimizes you to an extent. You might think you have a good album, but it’s when someone is willing to put their support behind you that you feel the relief of knowing, hey, maybe we really do have something here. There is definitely confirmation in that, especially when it’s someone like Marco Barbieri, a legend in the world of metal.”

And probably the culmination of new release celebrations came during Avernus’ 2025 performance at Milwaukee Metal Fest playing alongside bands like Down, Black Label Society, Death Angel, Gwar, Arch Enemy, and many, many more fellow heavy hitters.
Avernus guitarist Erik Kikke chimed in on their long-founded history with this music festival:

“Milwaukee Metal Fest has always been a very significant and important festival for us for a few different reasons. It was where Rick Yfrach and Rick Mccoy first met in 1992, and it was also the very first Milwaukee Metal Fest that I had ever attended. And we were lucky enough to be able to play it in 1995, 1996, 1997, and in 2000.”

“It was exciting to see MMF was back,” Kikki continues, “We were truly fortunate to be invited back in 2025…Feeling full circle!”

Whether you’ve followed Avernus down this long and winding road or have just hopped on board, now that Avernus is back you’re in for one hell of a ride. Be sure to check out Avernus’ website and sign up for their mailing list, and to follow them on all the social media platforms to be in the know of what they’ve got in store for us next!