Here's my first impression of the album Torn by Evergrey
Packaging and imagery: The Album comes in a soft shell casing and then folds out. The cover art is eye-catching and is easy to look at. The booklet is your standard pages. Like all of Evergrey's other albums the pages contain the lyrics and a photo (yes a photo) of something that resembles each song. All of the colors are either a neutral grey or some other dark color with a shade of grey in it.
Before i start. A checklist- Heavy guitars (yes), Plenty of cymbals for Jonas to bash away at? (yes), Haunting keys but atmospheric? (yes), Solos (very much yes) and of course... Letting Tom slip into his depression to write an extremely dark album (yes.)
Tracks: The album starts you off with,
Broken Wings: It starts off with an odd piano like sound and then, out of nowhere the guitars kick in and begin an eerie but cool sounding chugging riff. A lot of palm muting is done on this track along with octave slides (you'll know them if you hear them.) Drums aren't that technical but very tasteful with jonas going through his 20th set of crashes for the album. Bass and keys take the backseat and add depth and flavor to the song. Total-8/10
Soaked: Get the Prozac! Tom is going into another one of his depressions to write another song. While this one is not bad, the songwriting suffers due to how the tempo of the song is. Chugging guitars (you'll find a lot of on this one) Keys aren't even present on this song and is probably the worst song on the album. Total-5/10
Fear: A subtle amount of thrash is in this one, not bay area by any stretch but you can tell it's there. Vocally, tom is in top form one this one and layering is kept at a minimum. Keys are back but not in an overbearing state. Drums are pretty good on this track. Total-8/10
When Kingdoms Fall: Very slow after the intro. This track is one of the darker tracks lyrically and musically. This is one of my personal favorites due to very evil guitars. At around 4:35 a 3-4 part harmony is used as a refrain for the track making anyone depressed. Overall great work total-9/10
In Confidence- The guitars are a little bit more technical here and overall, are in the back of the mix. Keyboards are up higher and drive the track better. Bass is very present on this track and Tom ponders an older lovers lie. (seems like that or a friends betrayal.) Henrik does a great solo here and finally gets his chance in the spotlight finally. Total- 8/10
Fail:A more songwriting based song but very well done. Jonas is going crash happy again. Guitars aren't that heavy here but still have their moments. Jari's Bass thunders like there's no tomorrow. About 3/4 of the way into the song the key changes and evergrey delivers a great instrumental piece, but the song changes back after a lead break. Followed by two more from tom and henrik to close the song. Total-7/10 (i got the promo so the song is a little stale to me)
Numb: Behold! The dropped tuned 7-string! overall the lyrics are a little cliche but somehow the song keeps you interested. Total-8/10
Torn:Clean guitars appear for a brief amount of time here. This the ballad of the album but is still keeps the momentum for the album. Lyrics are dark and very guilt based. A blistering solo is done here to keeps the listener interested. Total- 7.5/10
Nothing Is Erased: After a droning ballad, this song brings the tempo back up and the album is heavy again. Maybe the most complex guitar/ bass work on the album. Keys make a very Etheral appearance to add texture. Drums are scaled back, (jonas got the bill for broken crash cymbals and decided to start bashing his chinas here.) Songwriting is a bit odd and a concept is never truly revealed i guess he means that nothing ever is erased. Total-8/10
Still Walk Alone: This song reminds me a little bit of the new kind of In Flames, without anders' incessant screams. This one is a bit boring, one to skip over. Total- 6/10
These Scars: The closing track leaves you with the whole band doing well at what they do. Tom incorporates a more scale based riff(s) while Henrik Rages it out with his new 7 string. Jari and Jonas Lock in with tom and henrik to balance heavy with haunting. Songwriting is again depressive and dark. Just when you think she doesn't make an appearance, (drum roll). Carina, Tom's wife delivers an amazing passage that levitates the track to it's full Potential. Total-9/10
Summary- Evergrey's best album to date. Heavier, darker and the guitar solos are better than ever. Songwriting is good. Overall a great album.
Packaging and imagery: The Album comes in a soft shell casing and then folds out. The cover art is eye-catching and is easy to look at. The booklet is your standard pages. Like all of Evergrey's other albums the pages contain the lyrics and a photo (yes a photo) of something that resembles each song. All of the colors are either a neutral grey or some other dark color with a shade of grey in it.
Before i start. A checklist- Heavy guitars (yes), Plenty of cymbals for Jonas to bash away at? (yes), Haunting keys but atmospheric? (yes), Solos (very much yes) and of course... Letting Tom slip into his depression to write an extremely dark album (yes.)
Tracks: The album starts you off with,
Broken Wings: It starts off with an odd piano like sound and then, out of nowhere the guitars kick in and begin an eerie but cool sounding chugging riff. A lot of palm muting is done on this track along with octave slides (you'll know them if you hear them.) Drums aren't that technical but very tasteful with jonas going through his 20th set of crashes for the album. Bass and keys take the backseat and add depth and flavor to the song. Total-8/10
Soaked: Get the Prozac! Tom is going into another one of his depressions to write another song. While this one is not bad, the songwriting suffers due to how the tempo of the song is. Chugging guitars (you'll find a lot of on this one) Keys aren't even present on this song and is probably the worst song on the album. Total-5/10
Fear: A subtle amount of thrash is in this one, not bay area by any stretch but you can tell it's there. Vocally, tom is in top form one this one and layering is kept at a minimum. Keys are back but not in an overbearing state. Drums are pretty good on this track. Total-8/10
When Kingdoms Fall: Very slow after the intro. This track is one of the darker tracks lyrically and musically. This is one of my personal favorites due to very evil guitars. At around 4:35 a 3-4 part harmony is used as a refrain for the track making anyone depressed. Overall great work total-9/10
In Confidence- The guitars are a little bit more technical here and overall, are in the back of the mix. Keyboards are up higher and drive the track better. Bass is very present on this track and Tom ponders an older lovers lie. (seems like that or a friends betrayal.) Henrik does a great solo here and finally gets his chance in the spotlight finally. Total- 8/10
Fail:A more songwriting based song but very well done. Jonas is going crash happy again. Guitars aren't that heavy here but still have their moments. Jari's Bass thunders like there's no tomorrow. About 3/4 of the way into the song the key changes and evergrey delivers a great instrumental piece, but the song changes back after a lead break. Followed by two more from tom and henrik to close the song. Total-7/10 (i got the promo so the song is a little stale to me)
Numb: Behold! The dropped tuned 7-string! overall the lyrics are a little cliche but somehow the song keeps you interested. Total-8/10
Torn:Clean guitars appear for a brief amount of time here. This the ballad of the album but is still keeps the momentum for the album. Lyrics are dark and very guilt based. A blistering solo is done here to keeps the listener interested. Total- 7.5/10
Nothing Is Erased: After a droning ballad, this song brings the tempo back up and the album is heavy again. Maybe the most complex guitar/ bass work on the album. Keys make a very Etheral appearance to add texture. Drums are scaled back, (jonas got the bill for broken crash cymbals and decided to start bashing his chinas here.) Songwriting is a bit odd and a concept is never truly revealed i guess he means that nothing ever is erased. Total-8/10
Still Walk Alone: This song reminds me a little bit of the new kind of In Flames, without anders' incessant screams. This one is a bit boring, one to skip over. Total- 6/10
These Scars: The closing track leaves you with the whole band doing well at what they do. Tom incorporates a more scale based riff(s) while Henrik Rages it out with his new 7 string. Jari and Jonas Lock in with tom and henrik to balance heavy with haunting. Songwriting is again depressive and dark. Just when you think she doesn't make an appearance, (drum roll). Carina, Tom's wife delivers an amazing passage that levitates the track to it's full Potential. Total-9/10
Summary- Evergrey's best album to date. Heavier, darker and the guitar solos are better than ever. Songwriting is good. Overall a great album.
