The starter pistol shot of “Distance” sets a high bar(stool). Powerful metalcore riffing spills into melodic singing with echoes of Magnum‘s Bob Catley. This song is a smasher and the melodic guitar solo has the feel of Michael Schenker-side Scorpions. The song boasts a great chorus of “it’s not over” – what is to be determined! The record has only just begun.
From then on in, the album covers all bases, from the jagged edges of “Disconnect” to the epic and melodic title track. There are shards of glass in the velvet texture of this recording and part of that is having two female vocalists, Floor Jansen (from Nightwish) and Carina Englund.
The best track on the collection is the “The Paradox Of The Flame“, which opens with piano and strings, with a Celtic moody vibe. There is fantastic harmony singing and a tasty solo to wrestle with.
“Disconnect” takes twists and turns and ends up sounding not unlike the sort of song that Gary Moore was delivering on Wild Frontier.
Throughout the album, there is a genuine passion and a feeling of bewilderment at the state of the world. It is romantic, spiritual, aggressive and melodic.
I have not heard much Evergrey, but the album delivers lots of what I like in buckets.
Now, where did I put my walking boots?
Buy: Evergrey – The Storm Within
Evergrey is a progressive metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was founded in 1995 by Dan Bronell and Tom S. Englund and released its debut album, The Dark Discovery, in 1998.
