Evergrey Torn CD

 Evergrey hits the mark
Evergrey has been one of my favorite bands. With their new album "Torn", they return to dark progressive metal with an emphasis on thought-provoking lyrics, emotional vocals, and memorable guitar riffs. It is easily their best since "Recreation Day". They remain an underrated band fronted by one of the best metal singers. Noone infuses so much passion into his singing than Tom S. Englund. Heavy, interesting, and definitely worth checking out for any progressive metal fans.
Submitted by arballer1 (Concord, NC, USA)
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 Wao
This scandinavian band is one of the best in this music style, very darkness goood production just for true metal´s fans.
Submitted by ascanderkiss (Caracas, venezuela) 
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 Sweden's finest are back.
For many years, I have been an ardent fan of Evergrey's intoxicating brand of power progressive metal and have collected everything these mighty Swedes have ever released. For the most part, they have been consistent with their music by placing an emphasis on their signature sound that is so unique it cannot be mistaken for any another artist. However, 2007's `Monday morning Apocalypse', did not sit well with me and it was an album that I could not find anything enlightening about it. In my opinion, `Monday morning Apocalypse' had too many changes to the usual style, for example, the song writing took a different stance, the inclusion of Sanken Sandquist and Stefan Glauman (Rammstein, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard) to produce and mix the album, with the end result lacked any cohesive direction that fans were accustomed to. This was by far their most experimental album to date at the time and still is, but in order for some bands to flourish, they need to experiment by taking chances to grow personally as musicians. I do feel however, this album was rushed and working with two new producers was not the right decision as the band lost direction by veering too far away from their blueprint sound. Regardless of my thoughts, it is time to wipe the slate clean and look at 2008's `Torn' and what this new release brings to the metal table. I am pleased to report that Evergrey has stepped up to the plate once again by returning to their sound, having moved away from the formula of `Monday morning Apocalypse'. `Torn' sits firmly between `Recreation Day' and some of the earlier albums like Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy and is extremely heavy and darker in personality than other releases. The gravelly vocals of Tom Englund are still in abundance with the ominous staccato guitar work of Englund and Hendrik Danhage, the keyboard flurries of Rikard Zander, the exceptional drumming of Jonas Ekdahl rounding it off with the impressive bass work from new bassist, Jari Kainulainen (ex Stratovarius)just make 'Torn' gel perfectly together. The track `Broken wings' starts the proceedings off, which pretty much outlines the mood for the rest of the album - solid progressive metal with plenty of hooks and humungous chorus. Standout tracks are - `Fail', the title track `Torn', `These Scars' and the bonus track, `Caught in a Lie' all add their piece to make this album sound so awesome. After absorbing the soundscapes of this album for a few days now, I found the lead guitar work is extremely imaginative and a great deal of thought has been put into the song writing and playing process. An example of this and best track on the album by far is, `Still walk Alone' with some skilful musicianship from all concerned. Tom Englund's wife, Carina, adds her vocal talent on two tracks `Broken Wings' and `These Scars', singing a few verses which adds a great dimension to the music. Tom Englund has handled the production side himself and he has done a sterling job, as the sound is rich with plenty of bottom end grunt. Furthermore, esteemed producer Fredrik Nordstrom has assisted with the engineering side of things. Overall, an impressive return by Evergrey for 2008, and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this release, especially using headphones is the best way to appreciate all the subtle guitar pieces on the album. For old-time fans like myself will undoubtedly have no problem getting into this album as the band has evolved favourably, yet still remaining true to themselves. For individuals that have not yet had the opportunity to relished in the music of Evergrey, then this album will certainly be a great starting point. For those of you that have no other Evergrey albums in your collection, then a trip into their back catalogue is an absolute must.
Submitted by andjac (Australia)
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