IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

Evergrey are a band from Sweden who has found an own sound in the overpopulated progressive power metal genre. Now they have been signed to the German InsideOut label and released their third album "In Search Of Truth", the follow up to their magnificent "Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy" album from 2000. It's a concept album about a guy who, without knowing it, has been abducted by aliens since he was five years old. But he slowly begins to find out what has happened to him.

Tom S Englund are a skilled composer, technical guitarist and a strong vocalist who's voice suites Evergrey well. Patrick Carlsson is a hard- hitting and energetic drummer, and the only original member left together with Englund. They have found a new keyboard wizard in Sven Karlsson (from Embraced) and a new guitar virtuoso in Henrik Danhage. Finally they have recruited a new bass player named Michael Håkansson (also from Embraced). The album is masterly produced by King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque.

The music doesn't differ that much from the previous album, but the sound has been perfected. There are still those heavy powerful riffs, good melodies and strong vocals. You can't tell that this is a new band with all three new members. It's as tight as if they have played together for 10 years. The music is a mix between Dream Theater, In Flames, Queensryche and Symphony X.

"In Search Of Truth" has potentials to be a classic in this genre. It's recommended that you listen to the album extensively to fully appreciate it. Some tracks don't live up to the overall high standard, but all in all this is a real jewel.

It seems like there must be some downside to listening to something this good. Everything else has. If it Tastes good, it's fattening or bad for you or both. If it feels good, it's dangerous, addicting or can give you VD. My daddy always said, if it has an upside lookout for the downside but I can't see it. I've been listening to Evergrey for sixteen months and everything is hunky dory. I haven't gained any weight, my blood pressure is fine and I can go twenty four hours without listening to Evergrey.

And what about Evergrey. Isn't there some kind of law or something against being this good? They're unbelievable, they're too good for their own good. I'm worried that another band might put a contract out on them. LOOK OUT EVERGREY!!!! Yes there are bands that are as good Instrumentally and yes there are bands that are as good on songwriting and arranging. There's even bands that are as good lyrically and production capabilities but damn it they're all different bands.

Evergrey is the complete package. They play a dark melodic, sometimes symphonic progressive rock / metal. They've been on the carousel four times and have four brass rings. How many pretenders can say that. LOOK OUT EVERGREY!!!!.

For the glass is half empty crowd, I have never seen a negative review on Evergrey. In fact, with regard to In Search of Truth, I've never seen anything but five star reviews. Nada, Zip, Zero, Zilch! Hey naysayer, be my guest, check around. Good luck.

In Search of Truth

"I have decided to keep this tape recorder with me at all times. Just so that I maybe one day can explain all the strange things happening to me. The lack of sleep...the loss of time. But most of all, the sensation of never being lonely...always being watched..." With this narration, In Search Of Truth begins.

All joking aside, this is a monumental work. It's a concept album about; take your pick: (a) an alien abduction, (b) a man who is crazy and perseverates on aliens and thinks he's experienced an alien abduction (c) a man who is crazy because of an alien abduction and believes his home is co-habitated by aliens, (d) any combination of above that you chose.

While the premise for In Search of Truth may sound silly, Evergrey pull it off magnificently. Truly, the music and especially singer/guitarist, Tom Englund's, performance is inspired. I have never heard a singer play their part better. You feel his bewilderment, his agony and his desperation. Even though it is fiction, you empathize with our victim.

Now some of you may think that my review is not objective since I need my Evergrey fix every twenty-four hours but let me assure you, my views have not been skewed in any way, even if it's obvious that this album which should have won an EMMY for progressive album of the year. There is no justice!!!!! Down with the Academy for the Promotion of unemotional, simplistic songs or P.U.S.S for short.

It is a shame that this music gets to be heard only by the persistent few in America. Even so, In Search of Truth has had very respectable sales in America and I expect it to keep growing long after demand has diminished in Europe, where everybody is readily exposed to their own music, mostly because of the phenomenon known as downloading and by word of mouth.

I want to remind you, if you're old enough, that "Stairway to Heaven" was not released as a single and was not a hit at the time of it's release. Nevertheless, It has become a classic. I can visualize such a scenario for In Search of Truth

Although not prog, this is still great metal, with a monstrous guitar duo.

In Search of Truth is a concept album, as I'm pretty sure you already know. Each song is magnificent and a bit somber. The artwork really accentuates the music and creates an atmosphere that's very dark. Great album to listen to very late at night. Excellent musicianship from Tom Englund and Henrik Danhage. The two being one of the best present duo's today in metal. I don't consider Evergrey prog metal although there are elements (look for the instrumental focused part of "The Masterplan"). They are, however, a great band with a great vocalist. Tom's voice shreds with genuine emotion and soul. "Rulers of the Mind" is such a great song with good surprises and a killer theme. The last 3 tracks are great, but took a few listens to get. Be patient with this album, it's very rewarding and enjoyable. Great melodies, hooks and power. They're also an excellent live band. Never have I witnessed a relatively unknown opening act receive so much applause and support.

Highlights are: "The Masterplan," "Rulers of the Mind," "Mark of the Triangle," and "Dark Waters."

This album is my first introduction to the band way back 2 years ago. My first impression was good. I start to listen to all they'r albums and my conclusion is : this is the best they ever released so far. Absolutely every track is damn good and sound very powerful and fresh in the same time. Great drummer very active and sure of his instrument, but i also like the the guitars here, who sounds intresting and very speedy sometime, and sometime very sad and dark. After all, a great album, and in my opinion is 5 star for sure, i'm not saing just to fill the this box, is the truth this bands desearve, like the title of the album.

Some of the bands they thank in the liner notes that I like are PAIN OF SALVATION, KAMELOT and ZERO HOUR. This cd has such a compelling story line to it. The concept is about a man who thinks he is being abducted by aliens. It is rather dark as our subject's feelings are shown to us. You can imagine the fear, pain and frustration our subject would be enduring.

The record starts off with "The Masterplan" and a clip from the movie THE MATRIX that tells us how this man is carrying a tape recorder with him at all times because he hopes it might one day explain the loss of time, lack of sleep and the feeling of never being alone. All because he thinks he's always being watched. The music on this song and album are great.The drummer especially stands out for me as well as the dual lead guitars, and of course the vocalist is very strong. There are synths throughout this album and even a solo as they play a big role on this record. "Rulers Of The Mind" is one of the better tracks.The drums pound with vocals and background synths. It sounds really good. Guitars come back and some odd metered drumming. In light of the concept just read the titles of the songs and you can see how meaningful each song is.

The next song "Watching The Skies" features synths throughout including a solo 3 minutes in. Man this guy can sure drum ! A smoking guitar solo 5 minutes in. "State Of Paralysis" opens with piano and vocals. This song is ballad-like. He says over and over "They're coming, they're coming". Fear. "The Encounter" is nice and crunchy with more great drumming and a guitar solo 3 minutes in.The same line of thought from the previous song is continued. "They're coming !" "Mark Of The Triangle" has lots of tempo shifts and some fast keyboard playing with heavy guitar and drums.This one is all over the place. "Dark Waters" has some cool drumming and lots of riffs. A choir is heard as well as some great guitar. Amazing tune. "Different World's" has more synths and piano that speed up and slow down. A heavy soundscape later.The singer sounds like he's crying at one point, I don't know if i've ever heard this before. Very emotional. Read the lyrics. "Misled" is another highlight for me. They really let it rip with heavy riffs and drums with synths over the top. Nice.

I was very impressed and surprised at how good this album is. Highly recommended to Metal fans. 4.5 stars.

A monstrously solid and brooding showcase of dark metal, stuffed with technical excellence and exciting compositions-- "In Search of Truth" is THE Evergrey album!

Building on the foundations of their previous two releases, "In Search" pulls out all the stops and delivers. As song-writers and lyricists go, the band has improved greatly-- which is where this album really shines; all the standard metal tools were already there, now they've been given something interesting to do. Guitar phrases are mixed with savage lead playing and smart riffing, leaving room for the various melodies to shine. Of course, it's impossible not to acknowledge Englund's stellar vocals, which in my opinion are some of the best in the genre today-- his passionate delivery makes the album. It would have been nice, however, to see a little more variety in the rhythm section, which seems to keep its head down sticking to textures and comparatively simplistic technique; fortunately, the lack of pizzazz is made up for in the overall effect.

A must-buy for those interested in progressive-metal, which will probably make you look over you shoulder more than a few times while listening.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

Allthough I really liked their previous album Solitude + Dominance + Tragedy, this one might be just a little better. This is the album that prog metal fans would probably like most from Evergrey. There are some really intense riffing and the music is keyboard laden. It´s still mostly metal though and the prog leanings are mostly in the sounds and not so much in the way they play. There are a few more slow emotional songs on In Search of Truth than on their previous albums, and this is not my cup of tea. The other tracks are so strong that you soon forget the few weak ones though. A Song like The Masterplan is really godly and a song like Mark of the Triangle displays Evergrey´s sense for progressive metal.

I am having a hard time with Tom S. Englund´s voice as always, but I guess it´s a matter of taste. This is a very worthy purchase to anyone into Power/ Prog metal. Just don´t expect it to sound like Dream Theater. The sound quality is even better than on Solitude + Dominance + Tragedy and that´s kind of amazing.

So listen to this one if you´re interested in Evergrey because from now on it´s only downhill. This was the last really good album from Evergrey.

So, Evergrey is progressive metal? Interesting! I didn't know. Apparently, I still got to learn a thing or two about what prog is :)

Anyway, this band is/was just pure gold. At least if you like dark gothic power metal (quite a mouthful) that is fronted with one of the most affecting singers in the field, that doesn't shy away from big epic proportions, and that features lots of virtuosic riffing, soloing and excellent songwriting. Hmm, that is starting to sound a lot like prog already!

In Search of Truth is by far their masterpiece for quite a few reasons. The first thing you come to notice is the excellent production. While the two previous releases sounded a bit too 'reverby' and muddy, this one is powerful, clean, sharp and warm. Now, that wouldn't mean much without good songs. Luckily this very same album has not one weaker track over its entire course. Even at its most 'operatic' moments this album still stands as a rock. That is what songwriting skills and an exceptional singer can do for you. With Dark Waters and Watching the Skies (sounds familiar) this even features some of my favorite metal tracks.

If we declare there is something like a 'darkly gothic progressive power prog opera metal' genre (I think I'll need to come up with a more catch tag here), then this album is surely the essential album in it.

A good power metal album, but an unconvincing excuse of progressive metal

In Search of Truth is the first (and, so far, the only one) Evergrey album I ever listened. I never had any interest for the band before and, to be quite frank, I still don't because, despite being a good album, In Search of Truth is never able to really thrill me. I only have this album in particular because I found it with a nice enough price and remembered its nice grade in ProgArchives, which I consider now to be deceiving for this album in particular, because it is not a progressive metal album. Almost a year have passed since I brought In Search of Truth home and nothing really changed about that thing: I can't really find this album progressive at all. It is just a nice power metal album with occasional complex passages, but those do not make the album progressive.

Actually, right before starting this review, I listened to Metallica's Master of Puppets and, comparing it with Evergrey's album, it is really ludicrous the fact that Metallica was accepted into the Archives 4 years after this band was, when they are clearly more progressive than Evergrey. Maybe if Metallica had a keyboard player things would have been easier for them, but anyway . . .

About the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings I would like to state:

As I said before, Evergrey's music in this album can be better described as power metal with some complex parts / passages, which give some songs a prog feeling, but that is not enough to make the album progressive. They only flirt (and flirt rather lightly, I must say) with progressive metal. The songs that illustrate best this are The Masterplan, Watching the Skies and Mark of the Triangle. Maybe a more fitting classification in ProgArchives would be prog-related. Though not being progressive, the music in In Search Of Truth is far from being bad. Here, the band presents us an interesting mix of power metal with some thrash metal-like riffs and, as said above, some flirts with progressive metal. Their music is quite good, though not thrilling.

The songs are overall good. However, there is one thing that works against the album: the song order. That is because the song in this album that sounds best as a closer is Dark Waters. The remaining 11 minutes sound a bit forced and the ending track, Misled, do not have the same ending feeling as Dark Waters does, and that obviously works against the album overall quality. Also, the best songs of the album are mostly concentrated in its beginning. Yet another negative feature about song order is the fact that the best song is the opener and the worst one is, quite possibly, the closer.

The highlights go to: The Masterplan, Watching the Skies, Mark of the Triangle and Dark Waters.

Grade and Final Thoughts

Evergrey's In Search of Truth is not a bad album, but the thing is that I hardly ever touch it. I barely remember I have it, unless I pass through it wile browsing my CD collection. Besides, the album's music is not progressive metal, so best thing I can do is give a rating according both to my personal feelings and to the album's progressiveness. The fairest grade here would be 3.5 stars, but since I lack any kind of sympathy for this band, I will round it down to 3 stars.

Evergrey play progressive metal with the "metal" side of the equation drawing a little from power metal, which is a combination which in other hands could lend itself to cheesiness, but I was pleasantly surprised by In Search of Truth. It's a concept album that overtly presents a story about alien abduction, but focuses more on the emotional ordeal of the experience (as depicted in Whitley Strieber's Communion), and as a result has more widely applicable emotional themes than you might expect from the concept. In fact, overall Evergrey display a subtle touch, engaging less in bombast or technical flashiness than many prog and power metal competitors and concentrating instead on really solid compositions and moods.

This is the third album by the Swedish prog metallers, and is probably their best to date. Sounding very American on this concept album, the music fairly drives on. The guitars crunch through some extremely quick harmony leads, and if they turned them up a little more and dropped the keyboards this would be a hard rock band of some force.

However, the keyboards add some extra touches of class to proceedings, which allow the guitars to play not only against each other but also against another melody line. The initial reaction was that they are similar in many ways to our own Threshold, but they are probably more diverse, with more light and at some times much more dark. More prog metal than a band like Stratovarius they would undoubtedly appeal to fans of them as well. If you are interested in well crafted melodic rock with more than a hint of prog then give this a try.

originally appeared in Feedback #64, Oct 01

An interesting concept album about a man who thinks he's being kidnapped by aliens and all the misery, confusion and paranoia that go along with it. This is yet another great sounding band hailing from Sweden. This is the first album i've heard by this band and it sounds really good. Not just Dream Theater wannabes here.

They do seem like a band that is disguised as a 'normal' sounding prog metal band of the DT/Symphony X sort but they have a subtle way of keeping it original and interesting with cool riffing, subdued drumming and haunting female vocals. They know how to rev it up when necessary and tame it way down for contrast. I swear that I hear the keyboards spending a majority of their time doing variations insprired by the theme music for the 90s tv series the X-Files.

Great concept that is well done, great musical performances and although not earth-shattering originality on display here, this is definitely a keeper.

Everygrey's 'In Search of Truth' caught my attention after their latest release 'Hymns for the Broken' started getting good reviews on ProgArchives. I decided to get their best rated album which, aside from the great ratings of 'Hymns', was this album. It is based on the book 'Communion' by Whitley Strieber, recounting through lyrics and spoken sections the allegedly factual account of Strieber's repeated abduction by aliens.

Though I'm no expert in this field of metal, I would say the album is mostly symphonic metal with possibly some power metal similarities in a few parts and the odd bit of thrash, though actually all these components may make this out to be exactly symphonic metal. Or maybe it's this meticulous and crafty blend of metal elements that make it prog-metal. The guitar sound is wonderfully brain-mulching and heavy but there is also a very strong and up-front piano presence and lots of synthesizer. One thing I really love about the album is how well it uses piano in tandem with the heavy metal band sound. There's also a bit of electronic effects here and there, a choir sounding totally boss in 'Dark Waters', and a beautiful acoustic guitar / piano duo in 'Different Worlds'. Of course there is your double bass drum beats in places and lots of symphonic metal guitar shredding in spots, too. I find the music very satisfying and full of enough variety in both metal and otherwise. The songs can be at times really dark and heavy and other times sad and beautiful.

Special mention must go to Tom S. Englund who does a great job of affecting emotion in his singing. He is not only singing the lyrics to this story of self-doubting and the loneliness and destitution of this incredible experience but he also speaks some parts as the story teller is recording his thoughts into a tape recorded. He starts out pretty bold but near the end, in 'Different Worlds' he is whimpering like a child as he sobs, 'Oh, god, it's happening again. They're here' Please don't touch me. I don't wanna be here. I wanna go home.' His vocal performance is very convincing, and the 12-year-old boy in me wonders how he could keep a straight face saying those lines. But with the beautiful minor key piano it's easy to conjure up an image of a man scared and alone as the mysterious extraterrestrials come silently for him yet again.

Though I think this is an excellent concept album and I can really enjoy listening to it for all the riches of metal sounds and symphonic metal parts and the vocal performance as well, there is still this lingering aftertaste of the entire album being very much the same thing. There's another piano intro. There's another thrashy, heavy part. So I can't smack this baby with a full five-star rating. But a very solid four stars is easily deserved.