Progressive Metal fans will be excited to learn that the mighty melodic Metal power of Evergrey will be returning to our shores for a quick few dates as they set their sights on the Prog Power event in Atlanta, GA. Check out the poster below along with the posted press copy and then I will discuss a little deeper with you. There are a lot of awesome tours being announced as you can see.
Press Copy:
Swedish metal act Evergrey will be embarking on a North American headlining tour this summer in support of their latest release, ‘Hymns for the Broken.’ Vocalist Tom Englund said, “North American fans, I hope you are ready for this! It has been a while since we’ve been here and Evergrey is stronger than ever. I hope to see everyone on the road. You won’t want to miss it.” Supporting Evergrey are Australian prog-rock act Voyager, as well as Borealis and Oceans of Slumber. Presented by Revolver and Infinity Concerts, a list of tour dates can be found below.
Continue reading Evergrey Unveils Summer 2015 Dates →
Artist: Evergrey
Title: “Monday Morning Apocalypse”
Label: InsideOut Music
Release Date: 4/6/2006
Genre: Hard Rock/Progressive Rock
Rating: 3/5
I have to be fair to the readers in starting this review by saying that I was new to the music of Evergrey. They were a band that I think I caught once or twice while being focused on other stuff and only when Iced Earth toured with them did I find myself paying attention. From there on, I became an open-minded supporter of this Melodic Hard Rock band that seemed dislike being referred to as Power Metal or Progressive. After absorbing the killer live effort of “A Night To Remember” which for the new listener is a great piece to help fill in your band blank spots I was unsure why they felt this way about those titles. Perhaps coming from their native Sweden and finding so many of those types of bands being churned out was the reasoning. Either way on their latest record “Monday Morning Apocalypse”, we find the band reaching ever further from some of their established sound and exploring new ground. While this is not a commercial album by any sense, it does have an intrinsic commercial vibe in some areas. The first being the length of the tracks on the record, as they are notably shorter than Evergrey has been apt to produce. The other key difference is the processing found on Tom Englund’s voice. He has an almost mechanized filtering on most of the songs here and while this might have been a good idea for a song or two, it did not belong on the entire record. When the albums title track begins the listening for you, there is a chance that you not realize that you are in fact listening to Evergrey. It is a killer opener and it won me over after a few listens since it keeps that heavy vibe I generally enjoy. However, only two tracks more, “Lost” comes on, and this is a track that I fear will send the bands hardcore fans to the door. It’s more like contemporary Rock than anything we are used to hearing from the band and it has a weird sing song chorus as well (“Inside out, Outside in”). This was not one of my favorite tracks but I admit that it has radio potential. Maybe the band is seeking a different audience with some of this material and this new direction is a path that they have opted to follow.
Continue reading “Monday Morning Apocalypse” by Evergrey →
Artist: Evergrey
Title: “A Night To Remember”
Label: InsideOut Music
Release Date: 3/15/2005
Genre: Power Metal
Rating: 8.5/10
Evergrey has always been one of those bands that were harder to classify in a musical sense than their peers have been. One wonders if they fall under Progressive Metal or is what they bring to the table more of the Power Metal style. Perhaps it is a finely tuned mixture of both areas since as a group they have traveled beyond the mere description that Heavy Metal in the traditional sense holds. This double CD set is just what the fans of the band have been waiting for. The show which was recorded in Gothenburg Sweden on 10/9/2004 is loaded with every song you would expect to find and then some. The band also employs the use of a choir and some string instruments to deliver this to you in the finest possible fashion. It is safe to say that this release is even better than a greatest hits package which is purely based on the fact that songs from every album are present on the CD. It also seems to be the tracks one would want on a hits piece. The sound is killer and the production is worthy of praise. None of the instruments overpower one another and the vocals are crystal clear throughout the concert. Lead singer Tom Englund is one of the most impressive front men in Metal music today. With Henrik Danhage (guitar), Michael Hakansson (bass), Richard Zander (keyboards) and Jonas Ekdahl (drums) the band certainly shows that they are a quartet to be respected.
Continue reading “A Night To Remember” by Everygrey →
Artist: Evergrey
Title: “A Night To Remember”
Label: InsideOut Music
Release Date: 5/24/2005
Genre: Progressive Metal
Rating: 9/10
If you don’t already own a copy of the double live CD with the same name by the band Evergrey you should rectify this right away. You are truly missing out on perhaps the best live album to be released in 2005. The stellar production and song selection make this a necessary purchase for fans of Power and Progressive Metal. The live CD itself has been gathering critical acclaim on almost every review that comes out about it. This is justly deserved for not only does it deliver to you a fantastic scope of the bands catalog; but it is also very easy for anyone to enjoy coming into the band for the first time. InsideOut Music has given the CD a brother in the DVD Concert video that is also titled “A Night To Remember”. In reviewing this piece the title would have been better listed as “A DVD To Remember”.
Continue reading “A Night To Remember” by Evergrey →
Artist: Iced Earth
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Children Of Bodom, Evergrey
Label: SPV Records
Date: 4-29-2004
Photos: Kamil Skorupka
I can honestly say that after having “The Glorious Burden” CD in my stereo for some time now that this was a show I was totally looking forward to. B.B. Kings Club had been sold out for this particular event for over two months. The reaction was almost immediate when the show that was to feature Iced Earth, Children Of Bodom and Evergrey was announced and tickets made available. Surely this was a night full of killer music. Iced Earth would be returning with Tim “Ripper” Owens formerly of Judas Priest at the microphone and for those who have heard the CD, you just knew this was going to be good. As luck would have it, prior to the performance I was going to be able to meet Tim Owens backstage to run a few questions by him. I jumped at the chance since this is not so easily done. When I caught up with Tim backstage before the soundcheck I found him to be quite friendly and very enthused about the soon to be performed show. I was told also that Jon Schaffer was very ill and had not been doing good all day. He was plagued with a stomach virus of some kind. The interview is featured at the bottom of this review.
Continue reading Iced Earth @ B.B. King Blues Club (4/29/2004) →
Where Heavy Music & Pop Culture Collide
