I've loved the band since their earliest days (Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy), but after "Hymns for the Broken" – which I consider a 10/10 masterpiece – their offerings haven't really stood out to me. That's not to say they aren't good, because they are (i.e., good stuff but I've heard this before). Well, that run is over with Evergrey's "A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)." I've only had a couple of listens on YouTube, but they were enough to sell me and my order is in.
The variety of tempos, heavy use of light and shade, great soloing and Tom's vocal sensitivities and control on this release are the perfect recipe for my ears. "Escape of the Phoenix" is a fine album, but when I listen to it immediately before or after "AHP", AHP stands apart from EOTP. AHP sonically covers a lot more territory to my ears, with boatloads of variety that keep me on the edge of my seat throughout. For me, the individual songs on AHP stand apart from each other more than they do on EOTP.
Variety within a song and throughout an album is what gets and keeps my interest, and AHP has delivered big-time for me – and I've only listened to it twice – which means the next five or six listens are going to impress me even more. To find an album that does that, for me, only happens about once every 3-5 years now. In contrast, the 10-year period following ProgPower's first festival – what I consider the "golden years" of the prog/power genre – was flush with fantastic releases every single year. The balance between "prog" and "power" was perfect for me back then. Now, most releases seem to be more purely prog or power – you have to chose one or the other. AHP is an exception.
I'm willing to bet the house that "A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)" ends up being Glenn's #1 for 2022. Of course, that's not a bold prediction, but I'd be shocked if someone else is at the top of his list come late November.
The variety of tempos, heavy use of light and shade, great soloing and Tom's vocal sensitivities and control on this release are the perfect recipe for my ears. "Escape of the Phoenix" is a fine album, but when I listen to it immediately before or after "AHP", AHP stands apart from EOTP. AHP sonically covers a lot more territory to my ears, with boatloads of variety that keep me on the edge of my seat throughout. For me, the individual songs on AHP stand apart from each other more than they do on EOTP.
Variety within a song and throughout an album is what gets and keeps my interest, and AHP has delivered big-time for me – and I've only listened to it twice – which means the next five or six listens are going to impress me even more. To find an album that does that, for me, only happens about once every 3-5 years now. In contrast, the 10-year period following ProgPower's first festival – what I consider the "golden years" of the prog/power genre – was flush with fantastic releases every single year. The balance between "prog" and "power" was perfect for me back then. Now, most releases seem to be more purely prog or power – you have to chose one or the other. AHP is an exception.
I'm willing to bet the house that "A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)" ends up being Glenn's #1 for 2022. Of course, that's not a bold prediction, but I'd be shocked if someone else is at the top of his list come late November.
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