Former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis will join forces with the Portland, Oregon studio musician Keith Merrow to record a new album.

Commented Merrow: "[Jeff and I] been talking about it for a while, and it just seems right. So we'll start writing some new music for that soon. I'm extremely motivated by the thought of this, and I know that the chemistry between the music... all ideas we have will make for a truly amazing album."

Loomis previously contributed a guest guitar solo to Keith's second full-length instrumental album, "Awaken The Stone King", which came out in January 2011.

According to his official bio, Merrow's extreme style of guitar playing is a unique blend of traditional metal with a dash of obscurity. In May 2009, he released a self-produced EP titled "Lonestar Transcend". The six-song instrumental effort was a compilation of songs that were first heard on Merrow's YouTube page, where he posted play-through videos of the songs. Just six months later, in November 2009 came "The Arrival", which marked Merrow's first album that he wrote from start to finish.

Loomis and drummer Van Williams announced their departure from NEVERMORE in April 2011 due to personal differences with singer Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard. Their replacements have not yet been announced.