EVERSHIP

A promising, aesthetic combo have come here finally with their debut creation. Deep heavy complex musical theater is launched continuously from the beginning till the end of dark rumbling ground titled "Approach". Yes their musical approach sounds in the similar vein of Dream Theater or other Neo-Prog precursors but wondrous gigantic for their debut. And their enthusiasm for creation can be heard via the longest, dramatic track "Flying Machine", that gives us rhythm complication, beautiful melody lines, and something of musical and "mental" stability.

Their sound diversity can be caught in the very beginning of the first "Silver Light" too. We the audience would get veiled in such a mystic ethnic surrealism and powerful voices based upon well-matured delightful chorus. The melody lines might have the same atmosphere we have listened somewhere but let me say it should be fine they were not so sticky for musical / rhythmic complexity. On the other hand, "A Slow Descent Into Reality", as other suites are, can divided to a couple of pieces, and some internal music bridges are not unnatural nor artificial at all ... that's the reason their soundscape can be easily digested into our brain.

Their chorus, instrumental works, and musical point of view are not only vivid but also cold as ice. Contrary to typical Neo-symphonic melodic basis, their sound seasoning variation is obviously superb. Afraid they could release more excellent creation than the debut shot in future ... nah no concern needed. They will do such a fantastic work like this. Let me give them a great applause.

Shane Atkinson is the man behind this album that is the work of 8 years. He composes, writes and plays many instruments, but he has received some help from others musicians. The beginning of the cd is very strong with some intense vocal harmonies and some music that is on the melodic side of Progressive Rock with sometimes a heavy edge reminiscent of old Americain Prog with some spark of the British's sound of the Neo Prog bands. All this music is embellished with some lush orchestrations and choirs. The multi-part compositions go from the atmospheric to the dramatic with dazzling vintage organ and mellotron. The influences from the past are there and cover a lot of ground.The vocals and the music in the song "Evermore" are in the pure Queen style. The epic "Flying Machine is not without reference to the band Mystery with a mix of classic rock and Progressive Rock. The song goes back and forth between acoustic parts and electric ones. There is a nice flow throughout the different parts of this cd. The songs contain many hooks, and also some moving progressive rock moments that keep you engage. It's just the right balance between the simplicity of rock music and a more complex Progressive Rock. I had the same uplifting feeling listening to this cd of the one I had when Sean Filkins (ex-Big Big Train) released his solo cd.The man has a lot more material for others albums. I just hope that we don't have to wait another 8 years to hear it. So let's take the journey to the world of Evership, you will love the ride!

This has been an incredible year for me in keeping up with releases of 2016. Someone wrote that he felt prog was currently in a slump, but not from my point of view. Not only have I brought home a couple of dozen albums this year that ranged from really good to superb, I even found an album that I would have given six stars to. By November it was time to decide which of the several albums I had my eyes on would become my final order for the year. I narrowed it down to three difficult choices and in the end chose Evership. And what an album! I feel as if I have found a second six star album. And the coincidental thing is that I heard about this album through a review written by the musician behind my first six star pick. Previously he had praised Tiger Moth Tales "Cocoon" and I had to agree with him. So I decided to trust his opinion again and I am sure glad I did.

Forget the track by track review or even mentioning favourites in detail. This is a prog album that clicks perfectly with me. It has dramatic, dynamic, complex music as well as wonderful vocal melodies. It has crashing, thundering, parts with rolling toms, swooshing synthesizers, and pounding guitars. It also has delicate acoustic and piano beauty. I feel the album is an emotional ride between excellent and blissfully mind-blown. If any part is not either of these then you know by the music that we are building up to it. There's heavy and light, modern and seventies/early eighties.

In short, I'll give you this: it's like Dream Theater's beautiful moments meet Queen's passion and drama meets Boston's more dynamic music with some Supertramp.

Or an analogy: this is like eating gourmet confectionery in the dark on the first listen. You don't know what you are going to taste next but each bite has delightful surprises.

But it's not just the music. Vocalist Beau West is the kind of singer that prog needs. He sings like, well, a lot like Freddy Mercury and James LaBrie combined. His voice is powerful, soaring, soul-shaking and then soothing and soft. A vocalist of any less talent wouldn't be able to bring out the drama in the music as well. Mr. West is the kind of singer that the seventies gave us and somewhat a rare bird these days.

And now for me, the second great surprise of Evership. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Shane Atkinson used to be in a band called Curious Fools, and wouldn't you know it, I have the debut album of 1994 buried in a box of CDs. I bought it in a Christian book store way back then and when I later was getting rid of a lot of my old Christian CDs, I felt I couldn't part with Curious Fools. Labeled alternative rock, some of the songs were just so freaking good. So I still have it, and you can count on me digging it up and getting it into my iTunes library real soon.

Which brings me to the final words of my review. The one disappointing thing with Evership is that I don't have a decent enough audio system for listening to this album. I have the CD copied into iTunes with Apple Lossless and I play the music on my iPod with a half-decent set of earbuds only. This album, however, needs to be heard on a really good audio system. It is sure to blow a lot of people away!

The front cover art may be reminiscent of Kansas, but it's Tennessee that prog duo Evership hail from - by way of the 19th Century, if their promotional photos are anything to go by. Between their theatrical image, the tripped-out cover art, and that mean band logo, this is certainly a band who want to declare to the world that they're prog and proud of it, and that extends to the music on this debut album of theirs.

Whilst in terms of atmosphere it's on the lighter and more uplifting side of prog, in terms of technical execution multi- instrumentalist Shane Atkinson and the sprinkling of guest contributors certainly establish their credentials here, whilst Beau West's vocals allow for some nice vocal harmonies to be used and show that he's mastered the prog frontman's key skill of sounding profound and emotive whilst singing about weird nonsense.

On paper, then, it's a good mixture, but I did find my attention wandering here and there, and there were plenty of moments on the album where it felt like musically they didn't have much of an artistic goal beyond ticking as many of the prog checklist boxes as possible. It's a nice little album which will tickle the fancy of most prog fans, but I can't help but think that this is just the beginning for Evership. They've proved here that they can use the prog rock toolbox - now it's time to see what they can build with it.

Late onto the Evership bandwagon, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as I sometimes need a little push to commit to something new. But better late than never, so it was not a difficult decision to finally take, what with all the hoopla going around for this debut release, which took eons to finalize, according to main man, multi- instrumentalist and composer Shane Atkinson from that international progressive rock hot bed of Nashville, Tennessee. Glass Hammer is also from Tennessee, so there must be something in the water'The state is of course a famed music center, albeit not world renown for prog, more like country music. Well it won't be the first time I get shocked by the provenance of our favorite genre, as it's truly a worldwide obsession. I mean Kansas has sort set the path way back when and even in Louisiana, we have Proud Peasant that is quite overtly symphonic, to say the least. Evership certainly dares beyond daring, a courageous plunge into bombastic symphonics that combines the obvious Queen influences or even hints of Meatloaf, highlighting rocket-propelled crunchy guitars and over the top lead vocals that tilt closer to opera and heavy metal, all ensconced within a tight score with fluctuating arrangements and impossible to predict what is next down the pipes. I cannot think of many bands that have tried this route besides Queen and perhaps City Boy, a dash of Boston maybe but this kind of opera-prog rock is quite an earful to behold. All pieces are in the 9-13 minute range, giving the suave arrangements enough room to be properly constructed and hence utterly convincing musically. Lead singer Beau West has those powerful lungs that sustains notes and scours the higher planes with seemingly minimal effort, as clearly expressed on the whopping opener 'Silver Light' , serving as a perfect introduction for the proggier mayhem down the road. Choppy rhythmic power metal riffs shove this puppy along, howling choir work keeping the drums precise and a savage world class vocal that will make any prog fan squirm with envy. Holy cow! Hints of Kashmir in the stringed orchestrations, spitting guitars and tectonic shuffles, yeah, what a mix! . Nice lead axe solo that corkscrews madly and a solo violin whirl that is totally unforeseen.

A prog opus of the finest caliber, 'A Slow Descent into Reality' looks into the troubled human condition and explodes in a suite of 6 parts that grabs the listener by the throat and does not let go. Starting off nice and composed, the mood slowly burgeons like an imminent storm waiting to drench the unprotected. Synthesizers conspiring mightily to overpower the melody, the levels of intensity grow, the choir shoving the arrangement along. As such, hallway through, everything seems to hurtling at breakneck speed, tossing shifting and gritty guitars, colossal waves of insane keyboards (especially the orchestral ones like the mellotron and the rippling organ flash ), a booming bass undertow and some pretty volcanic drumming. This is quite the bruising ride, definitely aggressive and over the top, totally nowhere near ear candy of any kind, quite the opposite, a brittle, sizzling and effervescent fountain of dense sound design and grandiloquent instrumental prowess. This is an insane mother!

'Evermore' shoots for a night at the Opera stylistic, buoyed by that singing guitar lead, the vaudevillesque piano accompaniment and crazed vocals that seem closer to lounge cabaret than the hair metal concert arena. The choir work is multi-layered, the massed guitars punching deep holes into the rhythmic onslaught, which is closer to Led Zep than anything else. But the voice, I mean Mercury Rising from the ashes'.OMG! You would think the Darkness or the Ark have resurrected as a prog band. And there's the rub, as the Brits like to say, Evership is decidedly within the prog environment, more keyboard-driven that any other bands mentioned above.

This becomes very obvious on the enthralling 'Ultima Thule', a serene ballad that really showcases the brilliance of a world class voice and an elusive piano, caressed by bright orchestrations and a rustic acoustic guitar to further the fantasy. As the piece progresses, the resolute power gets boosted by harder rhythm guitar riffs and wilder singing that winks more at Ronnie James Dio or Roger Hodgson than the proverbial Freddy. The final section gets very progressive with loads of clever symphonic touches and unrelenting choir work and a gentle guitar goodbye.

Then we move over to the sensitive 'Flying Machine', a more complex piece that takes time lifting off the ground, engines roaring (the choir voices are splendid) , preferring to travel to more atmospheric realms with loads of sound/voice effects and snippets of strange strained orchestrations. Perhaps by presenting their more obscure side, this sonic essay does wonders as it slays any kind of overt formulaic tendencies. When the song kicks in, Beau's soft voice soothing preciously as the drums pick up the pace and the guitars start their sinuous assault, never falling play to simpleton clich's. This is by far the most restrained piece here, a highly cinematographic glide into the higher echelons of prog creativity.

A delightful and highly entertaining debut that bodes well for the future. Hopefully, Sean has a vault full of more impulsive tunes ,ready to be put onto tape and fed to hungry prog fans. An invigorating addition to my collection and something that could easily seduce the embryonic progressive rock fan into delving further into our genre. Truly impressive, no wonder it has come so highly rated.

4.5 eternal boats

Review Nº 478

The American Nashville based progressive rock band Evership is the brainchild of the songwriter, multi- instrumentalist and producer Shane Atkinson. Many of Evership's songs were written long before the project began. Some were between five and ten years old. So, the band had already enough material for four or more albums. After choosing the material for the debut album of Evership in 2009, life circumstances halted production until 2013, when Shane closed the music production company to focus on the release and production of the album. At that time Shane met Beau West, the lead vocalist. On the album Shane plays drums, keyboards, and a variety of other unusual instruments. Most of the electric, acoustic and classical guitars were played by the classically trained guitarist Rob Higginbotham. Shane's brother, James, played almost all the acoustic and lead guitars. Finally, the bassist Jaymi Millard completed the tracks.

So, "Evership" is the eponymous debut studio album of Evership and was released in 2016. The line up on the album is Beau West (lead vocals) and Shane Atkinson (vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, Theremin, chapman stick, dulcimer, experimental guitar, sound design and orchestrations). The album had also the participation of many other musicians, Mike Priebe (backing vocals), James Atkinson (acoustic and lead guitars), Rob Higginbotham (classical, acoustic and electric rhytm guitars), Dan Smalley (classical guitar), Brandon Vestal (electric guitar), Jaymi Millard (bass), Nicelle Priebe (violin) and choir director Charles Heimermann and the singers of the Nashville Symphony Choir.

"Evership" consists out of five long tracks, each around ten minutes long and a concluding section of two minutes. It's a 70's inspired American prog album. Still, throughout this album, it never sounds like Evership are trying to emulate the great bands from the past. Instead they sound exactly like they are one of those great bands from the past. Kansas being the most obvious touching point, but Styx also enters the equation, as do early Queen, and to give an indication of just how strong the vocal and guitar melodies and many of the harmonies are, so do Boston. The performances are engaging, constantly drawing you into its enigmatic tracks. The music is brilliantly conceived and perfectly executed, unpredictable and engaging with its symphonic melodies with soaring vocals and complex energetic instrumental displays. The arrangements, the spiralling keyboards, driving guitars and buoyant bass lines are solely the instruments to convey the fragile beauty of the harmonies wrapped into the lyrics sang by West, who nails the vocal parts with a fantastic delivery. The juxtaposition of many synths leads and the choruses on it accentuates its magnificent sound.

Thus, about the six tracks, "Silver Light" sets the things up well with its sweeping keyboards and a fine solo guitar line before the vocals from West are introduced. With its excellent dynamics and the good use of the keyboards throughout, this is a great opening track. "A Slow Descent Into Reality" is divided into six parts, "Everyman", "A Slow Descent", "Wisdom Of The Ages", "Honest With Me", "The Battle Within" and "Anyman". This is a strong piece with echoes and stylings of Kansas in the era of the classic "Point Of Know Return", especially in the keyboard and guitar passages. West does a great job here. With its multi-layered harmonies, this is a very impressive piece. "Evermore" is divided into two parts, "Eros" and "Agape". It's a very well crafted love song, opening with more fine guitar lines before the delicate vocal emerges, accompanied by a piano melody. It has a gentle and heartfelt vocal. This is a very emotive song with some great harmonies, another strong piece on the album. "Ultima Thule" follows with a fine acoustic guitar and piano segment adding to West's voice. This piece develops into a beautiful ballad like song with great vocal melodies. I also love the keyboard parts and the choir in the end. "Flying Machine" is divided into three parts, "Dreamcarriers", "Dream Sequence" and "Lift". It's another epic with a fine vocal and some very interesting sounds in the background, adding emphasis and tone to a great track. Lovely piano and keyboards throughout and a gentle acoustic guitar add more Kansas touches, the song moving into a heavier section with a strong guitar rhythm and more keyboards supporting the vocals. "Approach" is a short closing to the album with a low rumbling noise, a curious ending for this great album.

Conclusion: "Evership" is a magnificent album full of great melodies and beautiful vocal lines. The sound has some AOR influences but with the violin I had to think strongly of Kansas really, which isn't a strange thing. Also the names of Queen, Boston and Styx crossed my mind, which isn't a strange thing too. But, it's much more than that. The music sounds fresh and uplifting to my ears. The style is bombastic in places yet moody and quiet in others. The singer Beau West impressed me with his vocal qualities. West has a great voice for this style of music and turns in some wonderful performances. The use of the choir on some of the pieces is very nice too. This is an album with no weak points. If you enjoy well crafted intelligent prog rock with a touch of romantic classical music, this album could be the right up to you.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)