Evergrey - In Search Of Truth

Evergrey is a progressive metal band from Sweden. In Search of Truth is their third album and it is my first experience with this band. I don't know what their previous two albums were like, but Evergrey's sound and style on this album is what I would call dark progressive metal. Or even disturbed progressive metal might fit. After all, the music is clearly haunted by anguish and other dark emotions.

In Search of Truth is a rock opera about alien abduction. The character portrayed by lead vocalist (and guitarist) Tom S. Englund is a tortured soul who sees alien conspiracies everywhere. The character believes he was abducted by aliens. But the story never makes it clear if he was indeed abducted or whether he is a nutcase who has been experiencing hallucinations. And that is the beauty of the story. The listening audience is given a choice: Is the tortured character in the story a victim of alien machinations? Or is he suffering from mental disease? Either way, he's a tragic character. And this is one heckuva CD.

1. "The Masterplan"
This tune opens with the main character recording his thoughts onto a tape recorder. He wants the world to know what has happened to him if he is never heard from again. This song is an intense, heavy song. Englund sings about conspiracies and aliens and how we are all at the mercy of these visitors from another world. We don't know if this is the ranting of a madman or the would be saviour of the world.

2. "Rulers of the Mind"
This song portrays the struggle our character is going through as he tries to convince people of the threat the aliens pose. But people only laugh at him. This makes his agony even more acute. This song is a good one. Englund is backed up on vocals by a choir at times. "Rulers of the Mind" is a mid-paced, soul-searching, heart-wrenching tune that channels the main character's fractured psyche brilliantly.

3. "Watching the Skies"
This is the most aggressive song yet. But it also contains the most beautiful vocal melodies on the entire disc. As I listen to this song, I get the sense that the character in the story is very paranoid and watches the skies for the return of the aliens who abducted him. This is a very powerful, emotionally stirring song. As I said, this song is heavy and the chorus is fast and powerful. Englund soars on vocals hear. His strong vocals convey the depth of his emotions. Englund cries out for a friend to listen to his tragic tale. Is he crying out to us, the audience? It sounds like it.

4. "State of Paralysis"
This is a quiet, piano-driven song. Englund's voice is soft and desperate here. He pleads for help from anyone that can protect him from his abductors.

5. "The Encounter"
This song immediately explodes into heavy progressive metal fury as the character he plays is sure the aliens will return and take him away once more. The character is begging for someone to help him, to save him from the aliens. Whether it is aliens or figments of his imagination isn't known. But he is convinced his life is over. There are a few moments on this song that remind me of both Dream Theater's heavier moments and Savatage's more sorrowful songs.

6. "Mark of the Triangle"
This song starts off with a creepy-perhaps ominous-tone. And then we are treated to a powerful guitar riff-catchy as hell. As the vocals come in, the songs quiets down. But the chorus kicks in and that same heavy riff returns. Back and forth it goes. From what I can tell, the main character of the story has been marked by some strange tattoo or scar. He feels like his life is out of his control. The aliens return and he pleads with them to please go away. This is one of the best songs on the disc-heavy and emotional.

7. "Dark Waters"
This song is a powerful epic. It includes a choir and reminds me a bit of Queensryche's "Suite Sister Mary" from the ultimate rock opera, Operation: Mindcrime. The song is heavy at times, quiet at other times. But it is always emotional. The character feels like he is useless. He feels like he has been stripped of all value by his abductors.

8. "Different Worlds"
A quiet beginning opens this song. The piano sets the mood perfectly. Now the character is doubting who he is, what he has experienced and whether it is real or not. But he accepts his fate even though he feels like his body is a prison. He doesn't know what is real anymore. His pain is palatable. Englund has a voice that somehow conveys all this without seeming sappy or over the top. He sounds real. It sounds corny, I know, but his long, dark journey almost moved me to tears while listening to this song.

9. "Misled"
On the final song, it looks a though the character is being sent to a mental institution for his mental problems (at least, that's how I interpret it). He can't believe this has happened to him when all he did was tell the truth. This song is both compelling and impassioned. And ends the disc on a sad, but effective note.

Singer and guitarist Tom S. Englund has a powerful voice. His voice is in a Jay van Feggelen vein. Van Feggelen, as you may already know, voiced the Barbarian on Ayreon's third CD, Into the Electric Castle. Englund sings in a range that is just a bit higher than van Feggelen's and Englund's voice is slightly more gravelly. Englund also reminds me of Eternity X's vocalist, Keith Sudano. Though their voices are very different, they both have the ability to convey many different emotions to the audience. In fact, I've never heard a vocalist who does a better job of this than Englund with the possible exception of Sudano. The rest of the band does an outstanding job. Keyboard player Sven Karlsson's style reminds me of Vanden Plas's keyboardist Gunter Werno. Bass guitarist Michael Hakansson and Patrick Carlsson provide a strong rhythm section while Henrik Danhage, along with Englund, supplies aggressive and dynamic guitar playing. This band is tight and the different musicians compliment each other perfectly.

Evergrey has made an outstanding album here. It easily holds it's own against the best rock operas ever made, including Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime, Savatage's Streets and Eternity X's the Edge (though the Edge is more of a concept album than a rock opera). This is one of the few rock operas where I truly felt for a character and his struggles. The song writing is excellent, the band is polished and the style-dark progressive metal-is engaging. Thanks, Evergrey, you've made one of the best albums I've ever heard.

RATING
9.7

The Best: This album makes what could have been a corny story work.
The Worst: Uh ...can't think of anything.
The Weird: Well, the story is a weird one.
The Rest: I'll have to hunt down Evergrey's first two albums soon.

Review by Joseph White

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