Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Evergrey
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2008
Evergrey are probably one of the most original-sounding bands to come out of Sweden, a country where average power metal bands are a dime a dozen and where there’s a pile of melodic death metal coming out of the so-called Gothenburg school, which sadly ran out of steam a long time ago. Looking at the Swedish scene as a whole, though, Evergrey stand out mainly thanks to their unique blend of progressive metal, set apart above all by the darkness, morbidity and melancholy that run through their mostly concept-driven albums. Over six studio albums, the band has touched on themes ranging from vampires, religious cults, isolation and loss to pedophilia and more. Two years ago they put out Monday Morning Apocalypse, which fans and critics alike branded the worst album of their career, and the guys mostly blamed it on the new way of working with a hired producer. Well, with the new album Torn the band promised a return to old form, and this time they handled the production themselves.
Evergrey have partly fixed the bad taste left after listening to Monday Morning Apocalypse, but sadly Torn also carries over the weakest part of the previous album. In places the tracks again have a pretty “popish” feel, less complex structures and simpler riffs, while elsewhere they mix that with more technical touches and fully fleshed-out passages that take us back to what’s probably the brightest moment of the Evergrey discography, the album Recreation Day. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are still damn catchy, but Evergrey have sadly opted for a lighter sound that will go down easier with slightly less demanding listeners, while music gourmets will (I certainly do) miss the explosive parts of past albums on Torn. There’s also a lot less of the outstanding dueling solos from Tom Englund and Henrik Danhage, and individual solos are harder to burn into your memory than, say, the infectious sweeping in tracks like The Great Deceiver, Masterplan or Blinded. Even more disappointing are the simple modern “chugga chugga” riffs, which get wrecked mostly by the lower-tuned guitars and end up with way too modern a “metalcore” flavor. New recruit Jari Kaiunulainen (Stratovarius, Kotipelto) proves himself: even though the bass sits pretty low in the mix and is pushed into the background, Jari shows with his excellent lines, which nicely complement the bombastic rhythm section, that he’s a seasoned musician. The keyboards carry the catchy melodies and weave superbly with the guitar passages. And although Torn is a simpler record than the last one, that’s not entirely a bad thing. The songs are still extremely listenable, and that’s thanks mainly to the phenomenal vocal lines. Tom Englund really does have one of the better voices in metal, since he can easily convey just about any emotion through it, be it wistfulness, melancholy, anger, sadness, depression, … Englund is basically a true “soul” metal vocalist, who might remind you a bit of a beefed-up version of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden). His interpretation of the lyrics is absolutely dazzling and so deeply felt that maybe only Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore, solo) can match it.
Torn is far from a bad album, then, since it has all the elements we’re used to from Evergrey, just in a more modern version of the band. Still, I can’t help thinking that if Evergrey had waited another year or two before releasing the new album, we could be looking at a new Recreation Day or In Search of Truth.
Lineup
Tom S. Englund – vocals, guitar
Henrik Danhage – guitars
Jari Kainulainen – bass
Rickard Zander – keyboards
Jonas Ekdahl – drums
Production
Tom S. Englund and Jonas Ekdahl
Tracklist
1.Broken Wings
2.Soaked
3.Fear
4.When Kingdoms Fall
5.In Confidence
6.Fail
7.Numb
8.Torn
9.Nothing Is Erased
10.Still Walk Alone
11.These Scars
