Evergrey

The Dark Discovery (1998)
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Evergrey´s 1998 debut album isn´t a masterpiece but it allready contains elements and ideas that will be perfectionized in their next couple of albums. The mix of heavy metal with prog metal and some gothic metal makes them also quite original. I can't think of any other band with a similar sound. Maybe Nevermore? Although that only goes for the music.
Tom S Englunds emotional vocals are perfect for this type of dark metal. The production is abit muddy, something that will improve alot with the next album. I´d recommend to listen with headphones!


Blackened Dawn
Heavy riffs and some cool drum fills, sparse keyboards and Tom allready asking if the sun will be rising... what a way to open an album!
Then the song gets on midtempo with an ominous sounding choir on the background, nice drums and in comes the chorus. Not a catchy one but very effective. After a quicker second verse we get a short but addictive guitar riff.
After the chorus we get a slower instrumental part with the emphasis on spooky dark long keyboard notes accompanied by the addictive guitar riff.
A short bridge is followed by the chorus and then a sudden ending which flows nicely into to the second song.

December 26th
Heavy riffs, creepy keyboard sounds and Tom singing as if he was possessed by demons (perhaps the ones coming out of the chest on the album cover?) Not your typical boxing day song.
Different spoken vocal layers make this even more eerie.
Fantastic bridge with great chuggy guitar riff followed by chorus and then the second verse.
Heavier drumming in this one and instead of going into bridge and chorus again we get a melodic guitar solo.
Then the chorus, drums and a shredding guitar solo this time. Very nice! Midtempo instrumental part, and great bass fill around 3:03 followed by synths and tasty guitar riff. This is my favourite part of the song! Instrumental part continues and finally we´re back to the chorus on repeat and again a sudden ending which flows into the title track.
 
First of all, thanks @MindRuler for starting this retrospective! Evergrey is one of my favorite bands and despite loving most of their material there are certainly songs, and even entire albums, that I don't revisit as much as I used to, so it's going to be fun to go back. I think I'll try and give numerical scores as well, to clarify my reviews for each song (and album), but my views aren't as rigid as my Maiden opinions, so expect some wonkiness and vagueness in the scoring.

Blackened Dawn
Evergrey has changed a lot throughout their career, but there are plenty of staples and tropes of their trademark sound already heard in this very first song. Dark atmospheres, heavy incorporation of keyboard layers, somewhat unorthodox verse structures (you'll never read Evergrey lyrics and mistake them for poetry based on iambic meter or stuff like that), personal lyrics based on emotional struggles. And of course Tom's powerful vocals. If I recall correctly they used to have a different vocalist who left the band soon before the recording of the first album, so Tom's then girlfriend (later wife and now ex-wife) Carina (we'll see that name quite often!) gave him some lessons and brought him up to speed. Really impressive results.
There's a certain rawness to the album that I really appreciate. The instrumental section right before the bridge is neat in how it takes the opening riff and transforms it into something different. The live version of this particular section is awesome, hearing thousands of voices screaming "hey!" with every snare hit. The transition to the bridge works well, but the one from the bridge to the chorus is a bit clumsy.
All in all, not at all how the band sounds nowadays, but a great introduction to their early years. I'll go with an 8/10.

December 26th
Always enjoyed the half-spoken vocals in the verse, especially the second time around with the vocal harmonies. No something I'd want regularly, but here it works really well. I really like the variety in vocal approaches on this song in general. In addition to the spoken stuff we have Tom's normal range, as well as some of his higher range in the pre-chorus. He packs an aggression that will not be present in the modern albums anymore. Guess the hunger of a young band is very different to the experience of an established act.
The lead guitar isn't doing anything flashy in the first lead section but there are some lovely melodies. The proper solo features some sweep picking, the guitarists aren't shy in showing off when necessary. Love the riff right after the solo and the little bass fills are really fun.
The first chorus of the song being cut short is a bit jarring, but it makes the other choruses being longer more effective, so that's awesome.
This song shines in the guitar work and the amount of riffs really pushes its score. It'll get a 7/10.

Dark Discovery
Title track time! I love how the first minute of the song is structured. We get some keys, an arpeggiated bass riff and Tom's lower-mid register. The drums and guitars enter, his vocals change register and we get some piano backing while the song picks up speed. The chorus has some creative riffing as well as changing drum rhythms at different repetitions, changing the context of the riff.
Verse and chorus repeat, before getting a riff that breaks up the brooding atmosphere of the song (or rather the album, at this point) and then we get to another Evergrey staple: Samples, in particular vocal samples. They really like having spoken word passages here and there; sometimes they work, others not so much. This is one of the better examples imo. The riff right after, with the heavy choir synth backing, is a great change of pace and despite being in 4/4 sounds a bit like it's in odd-time. Not the craziest thing, but still a nice touch. We return to the chorus before ending the song (rather abruptly might I add, something they do a lot on this album). Like the opener 8/10.

As Light Is Our Darkness
The next "staple" of Evergrey albums, if you want to call it that: A shorter interlude, often linked to the next song. We get some acoustic guitars and Tom's vocals on top. Another Evergrey staple: Lyrics with wrong English! ("Even though my tears tells me not to") :D The funny thing is that this happens regularly on the recent albums as well and it's almost endearing lol
Other than that the song itself is not the most demanding composition, but the chorus has lovely vocal melodies which we'll see on the next song in a different context.
The second verse plays around some more with vocal harmonies and some acoustic guitar licks here and there. Despite being so short the second half of the song is a bit repetitive with the same idea being repeated over and over again. It's not a bad song, but they'll go on an write songs in a similar style that are far superior, so I'll go with a rather low 6/10 (don't wanna start inflating the scores too early and handing out 9s and 10s everywhere).

Beyond Salvation
The second part to the previous song, which explains why it starts so suddenly. After some riffs drenched in keyboards we get a reprise of the previous song's chorus, this time backed by the typical metal instruments.
I like that every now and then the guitars drop out or leave gaps in the riffs to let the bass breathe and get the spot light from time to time. It's a pet peeve of mine when you can't hear the bass in a metal song, which happens with many overproduced modern metal bands.
The little twin lead section after the second chorus is awesome, but that entire section is a bit let down by the album's production. This and the part that follows could've turned out even better with some adjustments.
The acoustic guitars return, while the distorted rhythm guitars play around with some phrygian riffs. The outro of the song keeps repeating the same riff while slowly fading out (another pet peeve of mine). Unfortunately the riff isn't the most interesting. Then we get some rain and storm sounds to transition to the next song. Honestly, the final minute could've been removed and the previous song added to this one and I think I'd be happier overall, but it's still fun to listen to every once in a while. We're back at a 7/10.

My reviews for the rest of the album will follow tomorrow, busy day today.
 
Great review @Vaenyr ! I forgot to put my score to each song but after reviewing the whole album I´ll rank them in a Top 10. Don´t think any will remain there after reviewing Solitude Dominance Tragedy though.
 
MindRuler said:
Great review @Vaenyr ! I forgot to put my score to each song but after reviewing the whole album I´ll rank them in a Top 10. Don´t think any will remain there after reviewing Solitude Dominance Tragedy though.
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That's actually pretty smart. I think I'll keep tabs of my top 10 and update the ranking with each album we review. Curious to see how it'll end up looking once we're done!
 
Coming into this, I have about 50% knowledge or experience with Evergrey. I have listened to the first 4-5 albums some time in the past decade, I'm pretty sure I listened to their most recent album last year, and I've heard Tom Englund sing on Ayreon projects and the most recent Redemption album. So, though my experience is minimal, I do have some knowledge of the group.

The Dark Discovery is a massively mixed bag. It shows a lot of promise and certainly a lot of talent, but a pretty hefty lack of refinement (as is usual with debuts). Most of this can be blamed on the poor production.

Production - 4/10
The whole thing is recorded with the standards of a very nice potato. It's muddy, it's flat, it's mixed very poorly. There is a tinny quality to the cymbals that I find quite grating, the guitars are mixed differently throughout the record, and the keyboard parts are far too forward in the mix.

Vocals - 7/10
Tom Englund has a good voice, I don't think that's up for debate. He has passion, he has a little bit of soul (kind of like a C-grade Russell Allen or B-grade John Bush), but mostly on this record all I hear, on literally every song, is early 90s Phil Anselmo singing Cemetery Gates. And that's not just a timbre thing, it's the melodies themselves. Tom's melodies throughout this album are incredibly repetitive. He does this half-step dip at the end of nearly every emotional phrase or hook that becomes samey by the third song. Tom Englund has always struck me as someone whose vocal ambitions just ever so slightly eclipse his actual ability. He tries really hard, but I think he's a small notch below what he's aiming for. But I guess if being a bit samey and caring too much are his worst qualities, he's doing alright.

Instrumentals - 9/10
I can't fault much in the playing, to be honest. It's really good. The guitars are tight, the leads are solid, the drums are great, the bass...well, I think I heard it once or twice. Keyboards are the worst thing here, but as with most of my complaints, that's mainly a production issue. The keys throughout are very simplistic, which is fine, but they are mixed too loudly. They should be a layer and they are mixed like a lead.

Overall Songwriting - 6/10
There's a ton of promise here. My biggest issue, as mentioned in the vocal section, is the repetitive nature of the songwriting. I swear there are 3-4 songs with the exact same chorus. I know they get better in this department, so I don't want to harp on it, but I do predict that quite a bit of their discography is going to feel samey to me.

MVP of the Album - Every single bridge. The instrumental bridges on this record are a delight and almost always the highlight of every song. Great riffs, cool changes to the flow or tone, just very nice work all around.

I can't rank each individual song yet, I don't think, but for now let's call it a 6.5/10.
 
I'll try to add a few song-specific thoughts here when I can...

Blackened Dawn
Cool intro, but the whole first verse is a mess. Great chorus, cool second verse and additional guitar riff underneath it. The bridge is fantastic, but the simplistic keyboard kind of kills the power of it. Still, without the chorus this song would be completely forgettable.

December 26th
Another song with a nice intro riff and a very messy verse. Tom's just kind of all over the place with his vocals. I swear this is literally the same chorus as Blackened Dawn, just maybe in a different key. It's still catchy, but already repetitive. Cool guitar harmony and great guitar solo, but they're mixed too low! Nice chunky bridge, of course, and I especially like the second half of it that adds syncopated riffing. Easily raises the quality of the song by a ton. I can't hear anything but him yelling "big black guy" at the end of the song.

Dark Discovery
I agree with @Vaenyr - the whole structure of the sprawling first verse is fantastic. It builds really nicely. I just wish it were less wordy! The chorus is a big step down from the previous two songs (and each line ends in that half-step vocal drop I mentioned earlier). I do enjoy the transition into the chorus, even if it is patchy. The bridge is great (shocker!) and starts a bit Maideny. I don't mind the spoken word sample, but it's definitely mixed too loud. Transition back to the chorus is rough.

As Light Is Our Darkness
This is where the vocal repetition starts to become glaringly noticeable. Nice harmonies, though. Tom's really giving it his all here. I like the vocal grit.

Beyond Salvation
I think the transition from the interlude to this song is...really bad. It just doesn't flow at all. This starts as the weakest track so far, but the start/stop lead guitar section is awesome and I like the way the drums pick up for the chorus (even if said chorus is a nothingburger).
Vaenyr said:
The little twin lead section after the second chorus is awesome, but that entire section is a bit let down by the album's production. This and the part that follows could've turned out even better with some adjustments. The acoustic guitars return, while the distorted rhythm guitars play around with some phrygian riffs. The outro of the song keeps repeating the same riff while slowly fading out (another pet peeve of mine). Unfortunately the riff isn't the most interesting. Then we get some rain and storm sounds to transition to the next song. Honestly, the final minute could've been removed and the previous song added to this one and I think I'd be happier overall.
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I agree with all this. The bridge is awesome, but patchy. A good production could've saved it. The long fadeout with sound effects ruins the whole thing for me.

Closed Eyes
...is this a concept record? We've got three songs in a row strung together now and it certainly feels like one, though reading the ESL lyrics I can't truly tell. Anyway, here we are at the centerpiece of the album and the longest song. It starts off very nicely and moody, though Tom's vocals are mixed way too low. It's not a perfect vocal performance, but his passion is super endearing. When the heaviness kicks in I'm finally hearing why people classify Evergrey as "progessive", as the riffing and random transitions are proggy as hell. I don't think any of it really works for me, but the wackiness is fun.

At the halfway point, we take a melodic guitar break and it sounds Maiden-as-all-get-out! The bass, the arpeggios, the hi-hat work...very nice. The heavy riff that follows is killer and I wish they played with that section a bit longer instead of returning to the sub-par chorus. The lyrics are starting to show their weaknesses here, for sure. Overall, a bit of a mess with some cool sections within. Another long fadeout knocks down my enjoyment, as well.

Trust and Betrayal
This one starts with a pretty thrashy riff before transitioning (far too quickly) into a typical stomping verse. The pre-chorus has a cool riff and an underlying solo that feels like maybe a tad too much? The chorus is once again not very memorable and feels very, very 90s. The spoken word sample bit, again, is drastically too loud. I like the way the mood changes with the octave chord bridge, the solo, and the random appearance of chanting. A lot of cool ingredients are thrown in here, but the song is only half-baked.

Shadowed
Ah, a cello! The sample works best here, contained as a story element without being drowned in noise. Unfortunately, the verse starts way too quickly. There's a really cool riff before the pre-chorus that just disappears - but it's the best thing here! I greatly dislike the double-time pre-chorus. I don't think it works at all. This chorus sounds like the chorus of the first two tracks (same vocal play), though I do love the syncopated power chord walk downs. The bridge contains a bunch of cool riffs, but again: none of it is developed. They do stick on that twisty riff for a little bit, at least. Another song that lacks refinement but has cool parts. It's just wildly hacked together.

When The River Calls
A really nice, riffy intro and a lead bass fill! I like the way this one flows. Keys and vocals are mixed poorly, though. The chorus is simple and catchy (and sounds like three other choruses). This song feels the most natural of anything on the record. Musically, it works as a whole piece and not just a collection of riffs. The bridge, as always, is fucking phenomenal. I love the bass (and wish it were louder). Great solos, great riffs. The brief female vocal and Tom yelling work surprisingly well, it's great to hear them let a soulful section breathe. And that bass is going off back there! I love it. This is easily the best track here and the closest The Dark Discovery gets to a perfect song. It would be a 10/10 if it didn't have another fucking fade out!

For Every Tear That Falls
And now: the piano ballad. I appreciate the ambition, but these guys just aren't ready for a straight ballad yet. Tom's voice is pretty rough in some of the vocal runs, the lyrics are quite silly, and the female vocals aren't incorporated very well. The musical change about halfway through really, really doesn't work. This one's a no go for me, dawg.

To Hope Is To Fear
Riffing, riffing, riffing. A competent start with a nice main riff, but the verses lose me. I don't like the panned, effected shouts and the single note cello patch sounds very cheap. The chorus exists. I actually think the bridge is probably the weakest on the album, especially with the ridiculously loud kids bedtime piano line. I'm also not entirely sure the piano section is playing complimentary notes to the guitars? The delayed clean guitar line is kind of cool, but...I don't know. Ending your debut album with probably its most pedestrian track is certainly a choice.

Overall, when going song by song, I'd probably lower this one to a 5.5-6/10
 
Dark Discovery
The title track opens with a nice guitar riff accompanied by keyboards and Toms emotional vocals. Great chorus!This is like blueprint Evergrey and certainly the highlight of the album so far. Instrumental section with double bass drum, spoken sample which flows into a haunting sounding choir and chuggy guitar riff.
Brilliant song!
As Light Is Our Darkness
This acoustic balladesque song can be seen as a prelude to Beyond Salvation.
We hear a very emotional Tom, I really believe him when he sings to take his soooooul.
Beyond Salvation
And the song continues.
Great Maidenish weeping guitar riffs before the chorus. The keyboards in the verses are awesome and again the instrumental section right before the solo. Some great riffs and then a guitar solo. Next follows a nice midtempo headbang part. The song ends with music fade out and a sample of rolling thunder.
 
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Closed Eyes
Tom is lost in woods of neverending trees.
To live in fear is not to live at all is a great message.
Certainly the most proggy song on the record.
I love the clean guitars accompanied by the distorted ones. Guest star Andy Laroque plays a great Fates Warning sounding solo. That's the band, not the Maiden song.
Trust And Betrayal
Thrashy riffs open this eerie creepy song.
Not the most accessible song on the album but after some time it slays! Nice instrumental bridges and a spoken sample again. Instrumental midtempo part with a sharp sounding solo and chanting monks at the end.
Shadowed
My least favourite song on the album, it feels like we heard all of the riffs and vocal lines earlier on the album. Quite forgettable track.
When The River Calls
Nice opening riff! The keyboard on the verses is heavenly and the chorus is catchy as hell!
Verse, chorus and awesome guitar solo, Carina comes in with her powerful voice.
For Every Tear That Falls
Piano ballad time. Tom and Carina sound great together and it sounds all abit too friendly until it gets abit more dark around 2:30 !
Apparently there´s even a video made for this song, check it out on YT.
To Hope Is To Fear
Proggy messy intro riff, slow section in the verses. Interesting instrumental bridge before transition into the chorus.
Nice chuggy guitars and the proggy ones lead us into the second verse and then the chorus.
The biggest complaint I have are the dissonant sounding synths of Will Chandra. This was the only Evergrey album he played on and then he seemed to vanish into obscurity...
 
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Diesel 11 said:
I liked a lot of elements here, I’m definitely gonna go back and give it another couple listens.
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Great! This album took me many listen times before appreciating what it is: a good debut. Nothing more but certainly nothing less. Remember it all goes better on the next albums! There's allready alot of improvement on all levels (production, songwriting, atmosphere) on the sophomore album. I´m happy you took the time after your Sabbath adventure to dive into Evergrey! :)
 
Closed Eyes
This is easily my favorite song on the album. I love the atmospheric intro with the acoustic guitars. Tom's passionate "I must to maintain!" never fails to make me smile; it's equally goofy and endearing. Love the time changes found in the song, especially the switch to 12/8 for the choruses.
The prominent bass, flanked by almost dreamy acoustic guitars, for the next verse work really well. One of the parts that seems to be enhanced by the album's production. Lovely interlude with some clean guitars, some tasteful leads and prominent bass. Musically one of the coolest parts of the album. We get another riff before going to another chorus. The song ends with some chromatically descending guitar and bass lines which aren't heard on the rest of the album, so another detail I really appreciate in this song. Some of the phrases are delivered quite wonky, but that's just part of the charm at this point. Do not like the fade out, but what can you do? Still the first 10/10 for me.

Trust And Betrayal
This one's a bit weird for me. There are definitely nice parts, but it is also the first song where it really becomes apparent that most vocal lines were written by guitarist and not someone with a lot of experience singing. The riffs are mostly great, while the chorus in particular almost sounds kinda improvised or underwritten. It makes sense, since Tom also saw himself as a guitarist, not a vocalist at that point; it took him a while until he was comfortable seeing himself as a singer as well.
Fun fact: The spoken word samples heard here returned later and were used for the intro track to their first live album.
The chanting is a neat experiment that adds some variety to the song and gives the song something unique.
It's an okay song, not my favorite by any means but it's also not one I revisit often. For the sake of not inflating the score to early I'll go with a rather low 5/10.
Shadowed
Would be curious to hear how this song would sound nowadays with some modern synths and samples. The tempo changes between verse, pre-chorus and chorus are kinda... random? Feels like they threw dice or just had too many ideas and put them all in the same song. Definitely catches you off-guard the first time, but you get used to it I guess heh. Interesting that the pre-chorus is skipped the second time around.
Hearing the riffs in the instrumental sections I'm wondering how a completely instrumental track by them would've turned out.
This is a weird one, because I'm having a fun time listening to it, but as soon as it's over I've forgotten about it again. Many cool details in there, but a bit all over the place as well. Gonna go with a 6/10.
When The River Calls
The intro riff always catches me off-guard because I'm expecting a different drum rhythm with a slightly different pulse. The verse is fantastic and kinda reminds me of Bruce's River Of No Return. Always loved how the chorus has a couple of extra beats in every repetition. While I get the "dipping at the end" criticism for Tom's vocals on this album, I think he delivered some great performances on this track in particular. He'll evolve quite a bit over the next few albums, but the potential was there all along.
We get some pinch harmonics and whammy bar shenanigans for the guitar solo, which doesn't happen a lot on the album, so that's fun. We also get the first appearance of Carina, though in a rather limited fashion. The fade out is unfortunate and unnecessary but it is what it is.
Really strong track, 9/10.
For Every Tear That Falls
And another staple: The ballad, often in co-operation with guest vocalists, in this case Tom's then partner Carina. There are some lovely vocal melodies here that sound more well thought out and planned than the vocal lines of the more guitar heavy songs. Yeah, the lyrics, and I guess the entire song, are a bit cheesy. Special shout out to the live version which features much more powerful vocals by both of them. Carina, despite being a pretty proficient singer comes across as if she's holding back too much in the studio version.
I like the reprise of the first verse towards the end, this time with the metal instruments backing Tom instead of the piano. They'll get much better at writing ballads in the near future, but this is a good first outing I suppose, 7/10.
To Hope Is To Fear
I actually like the panned vocals in the intro. The cheap cello synth is a bit much, but we quickly move on to some great riffs. The line "I hope death finds me with the proper god in mind" is badass. The vocal lines of the chorus are weak, but the lead guitar for that part really shines.
Yeah, the piano is a bit of a weird choice for this segment. Another moment where I would've loved a live or more recent version to see how this song would've turned out with a better production. I can mostly appreciate what they were going for, though the piano plays more and more notes outside the scale, which at first sounds pretty cool and deliberate, but ends up sounding like the keyboard player ran out of ideas or something. The clean guitar outro isn't doing anything for me unfortunately. So, a lot of potential found here, but not used to its full potential. 6/10.

My current ranking of Evergrey songs:
1. Closed Eyes
2. When The River Calls
3. Dark Discovery
4. Blackened Dawn
5. December 26th
6. Beyond Salvation
7. For Every Tear That Falls
8. Shadowed
9. As Light Is Our Darkness
10. To Hope Is To Fear
(11. Trust And Betrayal )

I'm honestly not sure if I would've fallen in love with this band if I only heard the debut and wasn't already familiar with later songs and albums. It's a decent debut, there are many cool ideas and a lot of the classic Evergrey ingredients are already present to varying degrees. I'm looking forward to reviewing the next album though, which is a step up in every way and includes one of my overall favorite songs of the band.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Closed Eyes
...is this a concept record? We've got three songs in a row strung together now and it certainly feels like one, though reading the ESL lyrics I can't truly tell.
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About that, as far as I know this one isn't a concept album. Evergrey have a bunch of albums that either follow a proper concept with a (mostly) unified story, like their third album In Search Of Truth, but they also have a bunch of records with unifying themes that don't tell a single story but all songs follow similar ideas, like The Atlantic where every song has a nautical theme in some way (or uses water for its imagery).
 
Noisy and amateurish production. The singer tries to sound like Phil Anselmo, John Bush or even Eddie Veder here. Some of the songs until Closed Eyes are songs that makes you buy the deluxe edition to find the instrumental version LOL
I have to say I enjoy much more of the last part of the album because I think they sound to Evergrey instead of the Pantera neighbors but every song has a cool guitar work.

Highlights: Closed Eyes, When the River Calls, For Every Tear That Falls and To Hope is Fear.
 
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