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

Symphony X - Paradise Lost

Power/Progressive
Inside Out

2007

1. Oculus ex Inferni
2. Set the World on Fire
3. Domination
4. The Serpent's Kiss
5. Paradise Lost
6. Eve of Seduction
7. The Walls of Babylon
8. Seven
9. The Sacrifice
10. Revelation

It's been a long wait since The Odyssey and that last album hinted at something of a new direction for the band... which has made it seem even longer. Certainly, I have been waiting for this one curiously to see where Paradise Lost would take the band.

Well to an extent this album takes the band over familiar ground from the Odyssey as there is a lot of bottom end chug driving it along. Sometimes the pace picks up and takes the album to even heavier places than The Odyssey, but more or less the style starts to become a little troubling in it's familiarity. What I tend to enjoy about Symphony X is originality, majesty, and atmosphere which is sometimes laid by the wayside in favor of more heavy chug which starts to get samey.

Not a lot of the choruses or music have that majestic smoothness that I've come to expect of the band and focus too much on just 'trying to sound heavy'. Neoclassical shredding is injected in places, sometimes seemingly randomly as though a reminder of the old, but the combination can be awkward or at least not as blended back and forth. Also, the rich atmospheres generated by a fair bit of keyboard, orchestration, etc are largely missing here. Rarely do I get the feeling of a flowing, rich song like I did from past works like Communion & The Oracle or Egypt and as a result the songs tend to not have quite the same impact on me. The only songs that really strike me as having a lot of feeling to them are the title track and Set The World On Fire. The song Paradise Lost is largely piano driven, smooth, and complete with an ultra-memorable Russell Allen chorus which crackles with power and Allen also unleashes a powerful chorus during the quite heavy Set The World On Fire which makes for a good blend of sounds.

As far as the originality aspect gos, I really don't get a feeling of much of it from Paradise Lost. Maybe it's just that Symphony X has been around awhile, but there really isn't a moment on this album where I go 'this sounds strikingly different from other Symphony X material'. In the end, it leads to not as strong of highlights as usual from the band and that is a disappointment. With such a long way and a concept album I was expecting considerably more from this department.

Overall, this is not a bad album at all and I don't mean to focus on the negative, but the thing that troubles me is that Paradise Lost seems more like a technical power album than a progressive one with some power elements. This is more X than Symphony if you will and I find this album a bit lacking as a result. It's almost as though part of the band is missing on this one and I feel it's absence. Paradise Lost is almost the other side of the same coin when compared to the latest Allen/Lande album which focused too much on softer atmospheres. Paradise Lost is good for what it is... heavy power metal... but I hope that the smooth atmospheres, epic feel, and soulful singing of Russell Allen do not disappear from the band. Fans should not be displeased with this release and it's fairly solid as indicated by the rating... it's just not one of their best efforts and I expected more.

Highlights: Paradise Lost, Set The World On Fire, Eve Of Seduction

Rating - 3.5/5