Torn is yet another sub par offering from Evergrey. However, this should surprise no one. Monday Morning Apocalypse had all the earmarks of a band looking to begin a transition from their trademark sound to something new. Bands only look to make such a transition when they've grown bored with what they had been doing. However, after the failure of MMA, Evergrey had no other option than to return to the formula they seemed eager to abandon. Consequently, Torn is paint-by-numbers Evergrey, that even during its strongest moments leaves the listener with a "been there, done that" feeling. There's nothing flat out awful here. However, there's also almost nothing compelling. And although Tom occasionally pours his heart out vocally and there's an inspired solo or two, the inescapable fact is that the songs fail to capture the listener's ear.
While I fully expect those who can't get enough of Evergrey's palm-muted riffing and Tom's soulful voice to rejoice and proclaim this a comeback album, I see no such victory. If you believe, as I do, that Evergrey's finest releases are In Search of Truth and Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy, than Torn represents four releases and seven years since Evergrey gave us something truly great. Since it will likely be another two years before Evergrey releases the follow-up to Torn, there will be nine years between that release and ISoT. And unfortunately, bands rarely go a decade between great releases.
Zod