Evergrey - Glorious Collision

Melodic/Dark Metal
Steamhammer/SPV

2011

1. Leave It Behind Us
2. You
3. Wrong
4. Frozen
5. Restoring The Loss
6. To Fit The Mold
7. Out Of Reach
8. The Phantom Letters
9. The Disease
10. It Comes From Within
11. Free
12. I'm Drowning Alone
13. ... And The Distance

Evergrey are a band who I really like when they're on top of their game, but not a band which I have liked every album. I guess the word for this band in my book is 'potential'. Every album brings the possibility of something great. The last album, Torn, I enjoyed a great deal so I was hopeful for this one going in.

One thing about Evergrey is they're sort of difficult to classify in terms of genres. I've seen the term 'dark metal' tossed around which I think is a decent, if a little vague classification. Certainly, this band does have a sort of dark melancholy feel to them... especially so in more recent times. In times gone past I would've called this band progressive, but now they more focus on a strong melodic sense and hooks than much of anything progressive. Not a bad thing in my book.

In comparison to Torn this one is similar, but maybe a little more melodic and a little less heavy. I wouldn't call this one light, but the flowing melodies do seem more important to the songs than driving riffs. This doesn't really bother me as I find their moody atmosphere and the emotion of Tom Englund to be the main selling points of the band anyways. This band is just great at creating this sort of dark & depressing atmosphere while staying in a melodic metal vein and not a gothic metal one.

To sum this one up, if you like the direction Evergrey has headed in the years towards a melodic and somewhat somber band than this should be to your liking. Another solid release from Evergrey and I think fans will be pleased with it so long as you're not looking for anything particularly progressive. Personally, this is pretty much what I wanted from Evergrey.

Highlights: Wrong, Restoring The Loss, The Disease, ...And The Distance

Rating - 4.0/5

Evergrey - Torn

Power/Progressive
SPV

2008

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

To be perfectly honest from the start, Evergrey is a name I haven't cared about in like 5 years. Ever since Recreation Day this band has been on a total downslide for me as I haven't enjoyed much of anything on the past couple releases. Neither of them seemed to have the same dramatic touch that Tom Englund can bring to the band when he is on. At times on The Inner Circle and Monday Morning Apocalypse I simply felt his performances sounded phoned in or flat out bad with some noticeable straining of his voice. To me a large part of the memorability of this band can be found in the vocal melodies and choruses and without good ones the atmosphere of the band just suffered.

I'm happy to say though that on Torn however Evergrey has seemingly rebounded in fine fashion and this album sounds like the logical follow up to Recreation Day that I've been waiting for. Englund once again finds his niche and those choruses will stick in your head and not let go. The music itself also seems to step up as the riffs have a lot of heaviness to them. Combined with the dramatic vocals this makes for a nice melodic album with a bit of a dark feel to it and just enough muscle. The formula hasn't changed drastically, it just seems like better all around performances from the band without those sour notes that dragged the songs under for me. I knew the band was capable and honestly I'm not sure what was happening over the past couple, but I'm glad to hear the sound of the band back in shape.

Basically, as I think I've stated, this is Evergrey in top form so if you like the band then this is a worthwhile listen. Evergrey have it within them to be towards the top of the heap of power/progressive if they can keep writing songs like this and keep pulling good performances from Englund.

Highlights: Broken Wings, Fear, Numb, Torn

Rating - 4.0/5

Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse

Progressive/Power
Inside Out

2006

1. Monday Morning Apocalypse
2. Unspeakable
3. Lost
4. Obedience
5. The Curtain Fall
6. In Remembrance
7. At Loss For Words
8. Till Dagmar
9. Still In The Water
10. The Dark I Walk You Through
11. I Should
12. Closure

Evergrey really lost me with the last album, Inner Circle and I was hoping for a rebound out of this one going in. My hopes for this album were somewhat diminished though by the samples as they largely featured lackluster, restrained vocals and some vocal distortion coupled with chugging riffs. After listening to it in it's entirely though, those songs were not the best choices to represent this album.

The vocals on this album are a 180 improvement from Inner Circle back to Recreation Day as they're very dramatic and powerful. Really It's Englund that makes this album have the atmosphere I like out of the band and the slower moments with acoustic sounding guitar are the best parts of the album. The problem I have with this one is that the constant chug riffing is very repetitive and dull in the heavier moments. Englund keeps things interesting for me despite those, but I can't help but notice the heavier moments of this album are pretty uninspired. Still, as a total experience the slower moments and vocals drive this along and make the songs fairly memorable and an enjoyable listening experience. Some more lead work certainly wouldn't hurt though.

If you liked Recreation Day's dramatic/atmospheric approach then you'll probably like this one too I'd think. At the very least I'd think you'd like it better than the strained vocals and boring songwriting of Inner Circle. Recommended to people who likes modern chuggy riffs and clear soaring, maybe a little overly dramatic vocals.

Highlights: Lost, Unspeakable

Rating - 3.0/5