A DECADE AND A HALF

Evergrey are a Swedish prog metal band who has been kicking asses since the latter 90s, since then, they have maintained in the scene in spite of the different line-ups, worth mentioning that for their last studio album released in 2011, they had a new line-up with three new members, along with older ones such as Rikard Zander and of course, Tom. S. Englund. In the same 2011, but later in November, the band released through Steamhammer/SPV a compilation album that celebrates "A Decade and a Half" of Evergrey's music.

Here they offer a commemorative 2-CD album in which 24 of their most representative songs are featured, songs that let us have a retrospective journey through their eight studio albums released so far, and with three tracks taken from their "A Night to Remember" live album. One of those three songs is "Blackened Dawn" which was originally released in their first album entitled "The Dark Discovery", so that is actually a classic of the band, and I love the live version they included here.

Though the band is catalogued as a progressive metal one, I would say their spectrum is wider because we can also listen to some power metal themes, and even some more hard rock oriented ones. In this compilation we will listen to songs from their different line-ups; die-hard fans will really enjoy this and will surely have nostalgic moments, remembering their favorite songs from their favorite albums and favorite line-ups. The first CD starts with "The Masterplan" a cool catchy track from their "In Search of Truth" album. Some other songs featured here are "More than Ever", "A Touch of Blessing", "Broken Wings" (taken from older albums), and "Frozen" from "Glorious Collision". The CD finishes with an unreleased live unplugged version of "Wrong", nice.

And in the second CD we will have eleven tracks that will keep our metal mind satisfied with tracks such as "The Great Deceiver", "Wrong" (studio version), "Solitude Within", "Recreation Day", the live versions of "Wake up Blind" and "When the Walls go Down". This CD finishes also with an unreleased live unplugged version, this time of "Frozen", which makes a softer but very nice ending. What I like of this compilation is precisely that mixture of studio songs with some live highlights, and with those two new live versions that close both CDs.

This is a good commemorative album that I am sure will satisfy most Evergrey fans, and that can also work for people who want an introduction to the band, and though a studio album is always the best introduction, this compilation may be cool for beginners.

Enjoy it!

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