Evergrey - In Search Of Truth

In a genre populated by far too many clones, Sweden’s kings of morose metal Evergrey have set themselves apart by finding a sound that is distinctly their own. This partly due to the rich but gritty vocal timbre of Thomas Englund [who also plays guitar]. The band released their debut album “The Dark Discovery” in 1998, which was followed up with last year’s “Solitude Dominance Tragedy”. Now this, their latest album entitled, “In Search Of Truth” showcases highly crafted textural weaves between crunchy guitars and an array of keyboard sounds, the latter delivered by recently arrived keyboardist Sven Karlsson.

Produced by King Diamond guitarist Andy Larocque [who also guests on slide guitar on the album], the results are prime Evergrey, even if creatively, the band has blossomed, aided and abetted by three new members. Aside from Englund at the helm, drummer Patrick Carlsson is the only other original member present this time around, bringing his uniquely energetic drumming style to the music that seems to improve with each album. New to the fold and crucial to the power of the band’s guitar attack is Henrik Danhage. Henrik and Tom have together come up with some inspired twin leads that give rise to some of the album’s most memorable moments. As well, Danhage brings a fluid legato approach to the band, which, along with the myriad of tones used by keyboardist Karlsson, give Evergrey an intelligent progressive rock vibe. New bass player Michael Hakansson has also contributed to the band’s sound, pounding out reverberating low frequencies truly demarcated from the other vibrant textures within the band’s ancient, gothic-sounding psychological make-up, rest assured this is one powerful and heavy album.

'The Masterplan' kicks off with its dark, brooding and slamming sound. The guitars are tight and punchy (think Symphony X) whilst the vocals are what you would expect from Thomas Englund - super powerful with a delightful mix of guttural power and soaring thunder. The track is powered along by the great double bass drum patterns from Patrick Carlsson, odd sound effects add to the dark nature of the track and overall its an impressive opener.

'Rulers Of The Mind' continues the theme set with 'The Masterplan'. The track is pretty reminiscent of Megadeth with the gothic eerieness of Paradise Lost and the keyboard orchestra/choir hits on Ozzy Osbourne's early Blizzard Of Ozz albums. Thomas Englunds' voice again drives the track on and his voice is truly one to enjoy, the different feels and mood he gives the lyrics make for stimulating listening.

'Watching The Skies' starts with a haunting keyboard figure under which the guitars lay down almost dark death metal type grooves. Again the band combine to create one vice tight powerhouse of sound, this is one band that I am sure would stun in the live environment, the dark sound would be ideally suited to a dark theater with a haunting light show. Englund utilizes some 'loud hailer' effects to his vocals in places to highlight the dark industrial nature before a superb instrumental interlude sees Dream Theater type keys mix with the faster works of Helloween and King Diamond. A highlight.

'State Of Paralysis' is a superb title and its ably matched up by a very strong ballad. Do not mistake the word ballad for a Journey track, this is more a soundtrack to a dark nightmare - haunting yet strangely addictive - you have to listen. The delicate nature of the track really allows for Englunds' voice to lead the way and his performance makes the most of the opportunity. The track however is the shortest on offer and segues into...

'The Encounter' which sees the pace double with power riffing yet retaining the piano sound of 'State Of Paralysis' and here the sound gets to same level as the heavier moments on Dream Theaters' 'Awake'. The lyrics tell the tale of visitors to a world ruined by mans disasters and Englund delivers more vocal histrionics to the dark musical backing. A flowing melodic solo gives the listener a nice interlude before the delicate chorus repeats and fades the track out.

'Mark Of The Triangle' opens with synth orchestra keys and a haunting guitar line before the tempo picks up with a quite delightful bit of riffage, this would again be a pleasure in the live arena and I have no doubt copious amounts of dandruff would fly from the throngs of headbangers. The verse is quite restraint giving a nice hint of light and shade before the chorus flies in with its extended vocal play from Englund who's vocals are on the edge of distortion before backing off once again. Special mention goes to the synchronised guitar work of Englund and Danhage whose guitar interplay is nothing short of perfection.

'Dark Waters' starts off with what would be the perfect soundtrack to a film like 'Batman Returns' or 'End Of Days' - a dark, apocalyptic personality that would fit the dark imagery of those films to a tee. Aside from Englunds dark vocals we are also treated to a orchestrated choir which combines male and female voices to dark success....this certainly is music that conjures up images in the memory. 2.32 sees a total spooky section come in with a lonesome war foreboding drum, low keyboard sound and Englund whispering "I am not crazy, its just my mind", he then repeats these eight words and the result is sure to give you a nightmare! Superb track with some truly original ideas.

'Different Worlds' begins with lone piano before Englund vocals enter 28 seconds later. The result is a quite peaceful sound after the abyss like darkness of 'Dark Waters', this sound keeps up for 3.5 mins before Englund gives us some more haunting speech - only this time more muted and mixed with heavy breathing - the rest of the band then enter in a restraint fashion and the impact is quite immense, whilst the tempo has stayed the same the increase in orchestration has added a deeper dynamic to the track and again it fully satisfies.

'Misled' is a mid tempo heavy track that is another slice of epic, haunting dark metal and is a fine way to close the disc. Englund's vocals on the verse have been doubletracked and this gives the simple melody line a nice edge. The tempo picks up for the chorus and the guitar riff here is good enough to be on its own, but when mixed with the keyboards and vocals the result is nothing short of stunning. The track also a little musical interlude that reminds me of Artension's heavier moments and the instrumentation builds for to the guitar solo which is rather reminiscent of John Petrucci of Dream Theater. The track then heads to a lone piano/Englund vocal part before the chorus comes back in with its brooding menace and repeats a couple more time until the tracks meets a natural end.

I must admit my first impression of 'In Search Of Truth' was a dark boring record. Its part of my review policy that an album gets a good few spins before any reviews are written so as to reflect the true nature of the album in question. 'In Search Of Truth' is an album that makes that sometime downhearting policy a nice surprise as after the third listen the album started to make some sense. A few more spins later and I think I finally got the point about this album. First off, this album is not the best record for sunny days, but for dull and damp or torrential rain and gale force wind days it excels. A dark atmosphere will also bring out the most of the music and you will be rewarded with a listening experience that not only is a delight on the ears but also the imagination, so many of the tracks on offer conjure up all kinds of dark images and its this that helps you connect more with the album. However, the album is not just about the atmosphere created by the songs as the performances by all involved are stunning and the album should appeal to any metal fan....a near perfect album for the coming winter months.

RATING
9.0

HOT SPOTS: Watching The Skies, Mark Of The Triangle, Dark Waters.

BOTTOM LINE: A dark foreboding beast that will amply reward the time given to it.

Review by Andy Craven

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