RECREATION DAY

Evergrey fancies blending several metal influences together to create their music. To achieve this successfully, one must understand that Evergrey are first and foremost a Progressive Metal band. With this influence at the foundation of their music, they mix a little Power Metal before adding Atmospheric elements into the mix. Also, Evergrey are very good at including plenty of beautiful vocal harmonies, orchestrations and choirs which all adds to the overall experience.

This Swedish Progressive Metal band released their first album in 1998 and although Tom Englund is the only remaining original founding member of the band, he has managed to surround himself with top notch musicians in order to release one great album after another.

What to expect from this album?

The vocals are clear, soulful and dark. The lyrics are of the sensitive type. The rhythm section, the acoustic and electric guitars all sound great. The piano passages are beautiful. The guitar solos are beautiful. The harmonies and the melodies are beautiful. The fact that it is a Prog Metal album qualifies it as an essential listen for people who like this kind of music, but the mainstream masses will be missing out on ballads that are straight up rock classics, very easy to listen to.

Not only do you find stripped down piano passages on several of the tracks, there are a couple of stripped naked songs. One of them includes some acoustic guitars with Englund's voice and on another one we find Englund singing along with a solo piano accompaniment. The album is full of intricate musical arrangements yet it is accessible, powerful, emotional and dark, all at the same time. From full blown orchestrations to stripped down to basics music...it's all here and it's all so very, very good.

Some of my FAV lyrics:

"Madness caught another victim And the victim's name is blame"

"He used, abused, & he raped the trust The innocence of a life is lost Unforgivable sin"

Concluding Remarks:

Go into this album with an open mind, with no expectations at all. And don't expect to "get it" on the very first spin. Although there are plenty of satisfying moments to speak of, the whole album will sound so much better to you after several days of listening to it. Sometimes atmospheric and slow paced and sometimes bombastic and energetic, but simply a joy to get into!