SOLITUDE - DOMINANCE - TRAGEDY

Tom Englund and company followed up their exceptional debut album, The Dark Discovery with their equally exceptional sophomore effort Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy and with this recording the the groundwork was set for the absolutely stunning In Search of Truth.

Replicating the sound and style on The Dark Discovery, Evergrey relies upon their dark, gloomy, powerful, melodic, feeling of urgency and adds an even more demanding sense of urgency to the music. Inclusion of keyboards, strings, female backing choirs, cellos, harp, modify their heavy metal sound and give their music a full lush sound that continues to pummel the listener with crunching, power chords and the high octane singing of Tom Englund.

The album opens with "Solitude Within" a blazing guitar crunching number and while the guitar are chugging, first a piano joins in and then Englund with his emotive style and always the darkness is present. Evergrey does a variable tempo on the next song "Nosferatu" which starts out slowly quickly building up tempo while violins and lady singers back Englund. "The Shocking Truth" starts out with the following monologue with continuing monologues throughout:

["we have evidence of a superior culture out there] [they come from ...god knows where] [maybe from outer space] [maybe from some other dimension of existence..."]

The music is a medium slow pace atmospheric dark piece where Englund is in obvious agony over his real or perceived plight and it's this darkness touched by beauty that gives this song so much emotion. "All the battles that I've fought and lost When I'm asleep they come All the screams that I've screamed unheard A week wounded soul"

The fourth number is musically similar to the first track, "A Scattered Me" is a song with religious overtones "God you were my Judas Your deception killed my belief God you were my Judas Your deception..."

"She Speaks to the Dead" is maybe the most powerful of the songs with a variable tempo, whining guitars and is again about religion or the occult; "Father She speaks to the dead And I'll crave her confession Cause she speaks to the dead"

"When Darkness Falls" starts out very slow, dark and ominous working up to a fast almost speed metal pace and varying back with choir in the background. "Words Mean Nothing" is a ballad and "Damnation" and "The Corey Curse" picks up the speed again with similar dark haunting medium paced melodies.

CONCLUSION

Having reviewed all five of their current albums I have no doubt that Evergrey is going to be a force in the progressive metal music field for many years and though their sound is currently unique, it won't be long before other bands pick up on their success and try to emulate these Swedish prodigies. If you are new to the dark world of Evergrey, you may want to check out their older releases as well as they are equally good.

Fact is there is not a half star difference between their first album through their fifth.