Evergrey

[MindRuler]

The Masterplan
Taperecorder intro like on The Shocking Truth for obvious reasons. Synths fading in and then the chugging guitar. Proggy riff with nice drum fills right before the first verse with the palm muted riffs. The chorus sung by Tom and Carina is catchy as hell and one of their best (so far)
After a nice bridge we get a cool Maiden riff and the chorus again. Instrumental section time with juicy guitar solo. Chorus and then repeated with another solo, this time abit messy but effecive. Great opener! 10/10

Rulers Of The Mind
Yup! And this is where I got my username from.
Nice doomy keyboard intro followed by the typical Evergrey chuggy guitars. Short solo before the heavy riffed verse. I like Toms emotional vocals here. Short instrumental section before the second verse where the bass lines are just awesome! Tom screaming Claaay is awesome. Then we get the softer chorus. Next follows a desolated piano, some electronic sounding drums and Toms taperecorded voice again. And then an amazing guitar solo with some twin guitar sounds, the piano and gothic sounding Carina choir. While they keep singing Tom is singing a little bridge theme before a known riff leads back to the great chorus. 9/10

Watching the Skies
Heavy riffs with eerie synths introducing this 3d song. Short first verse, great drumming and faster part. Less catchy chorus but I love the synth riff right after it. The second verse and then a slow heavy part with aggressive sounding Tom and then a proggy keyboard solo before bursting into the chorus again. And then folks: right after the keyboards and faster drums we get one of my favourite instrumental sections of any Evergrey song which makes it among my favourites. A doomy Paradise Lostish guitar solo and softer slow part follows and the song ends in a fade out. 10/10

State of Paralysis
@MrKnickerbocker is right about this little interlude sounding a bit like Dream Theater. Great emotional vocals of Tom here. This song is like an intro to the next one, something they also did on The Dark Discovery. 8/10

The Encounter
Very proggy intro! The verses aren´t that strong but boy when those Maiden riffs introducing the chorus the song turns into great territory. Then we get a bridge and a great solo! Softer part before bursting into the bombastic finale with shredding guitar solo! 8/10

Mark of the Triangle
Nice intro, then the song gets faster and heavier before calming down in the verse again with emphasis on Tom and the piano. The chorus is heavy again, not very catchy but it works here as part of the story. The bridge is beautiful, chugging guitars enter the second part and we get a decent guitar solo before going into chug fest again. After a tasteful shred we have the chorus again and a longer tasty guitar solo.
Then the calming down, some recorded voices again with soothing synths on the background before followed by twice the chorus and fade out again. 10/10

Dark Waters
Doomy intro, chuggy guitars creeping in the verse and the Carina´s choir chorus has a Nightwish vibe. I love the fast keyboard lines in the chorus. Spooky bridge followed by verse and chorus and a cool Maiden riff!
After verse and chorus again we get a piano interlude which seems to bring the song into another direction. Then we get a great long guitar solo, and the song transitions into the next one. 8/10

Different Worlds
Spooky intro, emotional singing Tom in the verses, awesome piano in the chorus! Gotta love Toms desperate whispering too near the end of the song.
Great weeping guitar solo too! 10/10

Misled
Piano and heavy guitars go hand in hand on the closing track of this almost perfect album.
I love the building towards a climax from verse to the fast heavy part before the chorus which isn´t that catchy to be honest.
I love the chuggy guitars in the second verse.
We get Carina´s Aaah´s and the chorus again before the proggy keyboard part! Amazing instrumental section with a cutting guitar solo.
Some nice bass fills, chuggy guitars, silent part and chorus once again. 10/10

 

[Vaenyr]

Loving the reviews pouring in! Mine will come at some point tomorrow. But I'm happy that people can finally see where @MindRuler 's name comes from

 

[MindRuler]

Evergrey Top 10 after 3 albums:
As predicted: no Dark Discovery song survived!
Pure 50/50 mix of Solitude Dominance Tragedy and In Search Of Truth. But watch out for Recreation Day next week! It will hurt to see some songs leave this Top 10 forever....

1. Solitude Within
2. Nosferatu
3. She Speaks To The Dead
4. The Masterplan
5. Watching The Skies
6. Mark Of The Triangle
7. Different Worlds
8. Misled
9. The Shocking Truth
10. Damnation

 

[The_7th_one]

in less of 3 years the band has evolved amazingly. Each album is better than the previous one.
Tom starts to develop his own vocal performance in this album. And among the rest of the band are taking shape the blueprint of Evergrey.
Highlights for me : Masterplan, The Encounter, Mark of the Triangle, Misled and Different Worlds.

 

[Vaenyr]

Remember The Shocking Truth from the previous album? Now we get an entire album exploring the concept. Funnily enough this isn't the only time this happens with Evergrey. In Search Of Truth is easily their proggiest album, so if you've been wondering why they are usually considered a prog metal band, this is the answer. Future albums still have their prog moments, but not to the degree and in the frequency heard here. The production and performances are once again great and in the vein of the predecessor. Not sure if it's just my copy and remasters fixed it, but for whatever reasons this album is quite a bit quieter than all the others in their discography. I might have to look for a different version at some point.

The Masterplan
The song starts with samples, but since we're dealing with an actual concept (or themed) album this time around it makes sense. They mostly work pretty well throughout.
There's not much to say about this song that hasn't been said before. The riffs are crushing and a-plenty, the chorus is catchy and made the song an immediate classic (it's a live favorite as well). The proggy elements are fantastic and keep you on your toes. The synth work is much more elaborate compared to the previous two albums. The guitar work is stellar as always.
I'm not the biggest fan of how the instrumental section transitions back to the final chorus, which is a bit too jarring and seemingly random. The live version changes all that by featuring an extended audience participation part, similar to what Maiden do with Running Free live.
Also, love hearing Carina so prominently in the chorus. Easy 9/10.

MindRuler Rulers Of The Mind
Not gonna lie, the intro synth sounds like it's straight out of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSOne lol
I adore the gallops in the first verse, giving me Iced Earth vibes (fuck Jon tho ). This album in general has a lot more phrygian than the previous ones, probably to underscore the dark theme. The chorus takes out a lot of the intensity and goes for a more melodic and softer approach.
Not gonna lie, I completely forgot the middle electronic/atmospheric section exists. They skipped that in the live version (for many of the songs on the first 5 albums I mostly listen to the live versions) and I prefer that. Tom's lines here are found throughout the album and it works when listening to the song in the context of the album, but if I only want to hear the song itself I'd rather go for the live version; much better pacing imo. The guitar work throughout the track is phenomenal though.
I get some of the criticisms for Tom's lyric writing, but I just adore his voice. The man could sing the menu of a pizzeria and I'd get goosebumps. He delivers some really good performances here. Sorry for constantly referring to the live album (I'd say to wait listening to that one until we've heard the first five albums) but it's pretty cool that some of the harmonies are sung by Henrik. Some context: He's the Adrian Smith of the band, including a more elaborate solo-ing style compared to Tom's shredding, and a hiatus from the band for some years and a celebrated return, but more on that in a few albums. Got a bit side-tracked here, another 9/10.

Watching The Skies
Just like the previous reviews mentioned, this album is filled to the brim with amazing riffs and this song continues that trend. I like the interplay of guitars and synths like the section directly after the first chorus. The phrygian dominant part with Tom's distorted vocals right before the instrumental section is awesome and it catches you off-guard, since we'd been expecting the pre-chorus and chorus to return. But no, the boys had a different, much more exciting idea instead. We finally get a synth solo! (Those will become more frequent later in their discography as well) The transition to the solo is super fun. Once we're done with all that we get the pre-chorus/chorus combo.
And then, for some extra-progginess, we get some odd-time meter fun, this time in 7/8. I adore the sound of the lead guitar in the section starting around 4:42. Next, nothing flashy, but still super cool: The riff transitions into a 7/4 rhythm, changing the tempo and feel of the entire thing, allowing Tom to take over for a bit and kinda name dropping the album's title and the previous album's The Shocking Truth.
The fade-out is unnecessary (seriously, what's up with that?) but the song overall is strong and also pretty different compared to what we've heard from the band up to this point.
It doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous two songs for me and I'm kinda wondering if the fact that this wasn't on their live album plays a role. For many of the songs the live version is the definitive one for me, adding details or sometimes outright changing arrangements for the better. Who knows how this song would've turned out in a live setting? Anyway, I'm rambling again, apologies. This one gets an 8/10.

State Of Paralysis
Hey, remember how the first album had As Light Is Our Darkness and Beyond Salvation as two separate tracks that were clearly linked? This happens again with this one and the upcoming song. This time around we get a pensive and moody piano ballad and even this track dabbles quite a bit in phrygian. The wonky English is pretty obvious when the only thing to pay attention to are the piano and Tom's voice, but who cares? Listen to the man singing the chorus! It's a great track in the context of the album, but not one I'd listen to that often on its own. So, I think a 6/10 is fair.

The Encounter
I heard you love guitar work and crushing riffs? Tom and Henrik got you covered with an onslaught for the first minute of the song. Once the vocals kick in the tempo decreases, but no worries, they know that mid-tempo doesn't it cut it for a number like that, so we up the speed again while a blistering lead guitar joins the fray. Then, the reprise of the previous song's chorus, just as they did on the debut.
I like how the rhythm guitars drop out for the post-chorus part, creating some sonic space. A little vocal bridge with some really neat melodic choices in the vocals and the guitars as well. Henrik get's a chance to show off his solo-ing style. Later we'll get songs where both Tom and Henrik play solos and after a while you can pretty easily tell them apart, kinda like guessing who of the amigos plays which solo on a Maiden song; curious to see how people will feel about those parts when we get there. 10/10.

Mark Of The Triangle
I'll keep this short. Another one of my favorites! I love the slow lead guitar work throughout the song. The rapid harp synth in the chorus riff is pure hype. The way the rhythm guitars take over the harp break for the solo is awesome. The samples in the instrumental section work well. Carina's and Tom's vocals in the chorus are fucking epic. The only negative is the unnecessary fade out, but thankfully the live version exists, which is even better than the studio version! 10/10, but only because I can't give more points.

Dark Waters
A very different and dare I say experimental track for the band at this stage of their career. Once again we get phrygian, dark, brooding and moody verses and a lighter, softer and more melodic chorus. I really enjoy the choir section, though the wonky English kinda harms that part. When it's Tom by himself giving it his all it's endearing; when we have a choir of people doing it it's a bit cheesy and reminds me of some European power metal bands lol
I like the little clean riff played by the guitars on the chorus, which later gets adapted to a distorted guitar riff, only to return to the clean version for the ending of the song.

We need to talk some more about the lyrics though:

She stares at me
At least I perceive her as a she
And she speaks to me I can hear her
Her lips doesn't move

This part is genuinely hilarious to me. Yeah, I guess her lips doesn't move Tom lol. I'm curious though, maybe some of our Swedish members can give me some more information on this. As far as I know, a large part of the Swedish population is fluent in English and especially compared to other countries they seem to be pretty fucking great at it. If you listen to Tom speaking in interviews, he's great as well. Yet despite that, we find errors like that constantly in Evergrey's discography, even to this day. Not only that, I've seen stuff like that in other bands from Sweden as well. Bands from other countries tend to make other mistakes or outright translate something wrong or mispronounce it, while Evergrey and other Swedish bands tend to make these third person singular/plural mistakes. Is there something in the Swedish language that could explain that? I'm fascinating by languages and linguistics, so this is pretty interesting to me and I'd be curious to know if there's an explanation beyond "Tom fucked up".

Back to the song though. The 5/4 part prior to the final chorus is awesome and I adore the sound of the lead guitar. Turns out a great production can truly elevate the material, who da thunk it? The previous one-two punch is a hard act to follow and while I still like this one quite a bit, it's obviously not in the same tier as the predecessors. 7/10.

Different Worlds
And here's the album's sorta kinda ballad. The unorthodox structure of the verse, with its stop-and-go kinda feeling, focusing entirely on Tom's vocals is equally jarring and captivating. The first chorus sees Tom singing in the lower octave. Later he'll take the higher octaves to add some much needed intensity. I like how the acoustic guitars that enter with the first chorus continue on in the next verse.
The spoken word passage is almost painful to listen to, which is kind of the whole point, considering what our main character has to endure and go through. The band enters again with a lovely lead guitar playing a slow lead, mirrored by the rhythm guitars.
Tom is clearly the center piece of this song, with the guitars mostly taking a back seat, so your enjoyment of the song largely depends on how you feel about his vocals. As I've said before, I love them, so this one gets an 8/10. Super consistent album if we ignore State Of Paralysis which is more of an interlude if anything and even then it is still a nice song.

Misled
And we've reached the conclusion of the story line. Turns out our dude wasn't abducted by aliens; he was experimented on by human scientists. Doesn't make any of the trauma he went through and the stuff he endured any less painful for him, which is what I like about the album. Not a big fan of alien abduction stories, because they can be pretty cheesy. Not that this album is immune to cheese, but I enjoy the way it mostly focuses on the thoughts and feelings of someone going through these things (or believing that he's going through them), instead of focusing too much on the aliens and supernatural events. But enough about that, we got another amazing track to talk about!

Kinda interesting to be listening to the studio version after hearing the live one (with Henrik's harmonies) for so long. I like how the verse starts out soft and picks up the pace, before we get some additional vocals by Carina. And then the band says fuck it and goes crazy for a riff having some fun, before returning back to the intro riff for the chorus. The next verse switches things up again. The proggy instrumental section after the second chorus is fantastic. The song throws riff and surprise after surprise at you. We get the synth driving the song, we get a rather simple solo, we even get the bass with a chorus effect taking center stage for a bit. Then some variations on the chorus and the third Evergrey album is finished. This is another 9/10.

We're in the middle of one of the most popular periods of the band, at least for most fans, and I'm curious to see how the opinions and reviews will turn out once we move forward.

My current ranking of Evergrey songs:
1. Solitude Within
2. Mark Of The Triangle
3. When Darkness Falls
4. The Encounter
5. Closed Eyes
6. Rulers Of The Mind
7. The Corey Curse
8. The Masterplan
9. She Speaks To The Dead
10. Misled

 

[MindRuler]

Great review and nice to see 50% of ISOT in your Top 10!

 

[Vaenyr]

Well, it is a phenomenal album after all
The next album and The Inner Circle in particular will shake my top 10 up quite a bit though.

 

[MindRuler]

@Diesel 11

 

[MindRuler]

Recreation Day (2003)

Evergrey´s fourth one is less prog and more metal than their previous album. The production isn´t as crystal clear as on the 2 previous records but it fits the dark themes. Let´s check out the songs!

The Great Deceiver
Evergrey and opening tracks is like a match made in heaven. This song is no exception! Heavy guitar riffing, keyboards mixed lower but it works here! After a quite heavy verse and chorus we get an instrumental break after the second verse with the typical chuggy guitars and a male choir.
Next is the chorus and again a slow instrumental break with haunting synths and the chuggy guitars. Chorus again and a juicy melodic solo. Great opener! 9/10

End Of Your Days
The intro has abit In Search Of Truth vibes but ends up in heavier territories. This song has a catchier and quite diverse chorus. Dream Theater like synths and then another break with amazing vocals by Tom and chuggy guitars. And then...oh my gosh! Amazing guitar solo with a little Maiden vibe. Double bass drum and chorus time again. One of my favourites of the album! 10/10

As I Lie Here Bleeding
Fantastic intro with synth-organ, guitar and super catchy verse. Guitars get heavier in the second part of the verse. Chorus isn´t as catchy as the verse but I don´t mind this at all. Interesting break with tempo changes and the chorus. Great guitar solo and another right afterwards. Allready 3 great songs in a row! 9/10

Recreation Day
Djenty intro followed by a softer sounding verse and: BAM! Super catchy and emotional chorus! More instrumentation in the second verse and again the chorus. Double bass drum and instrumental section with fast drumming, Chuggy guitars and shredding guitar solo. Quiet instrumental part with piano and then guitar. Drums and bass building up towards the recreation of the chorus. Synths in the outro do the soothing after this experience. One of their very best ever! 10/10

Visions
Super heavy intro with guitars and drums in the main role. Can they get more metal than this?
Heavy verse, softer but supercool chorus.
After the verse we get an instrumental section with a long and fantastic weeping guitarsolo!
Chorus on repeat...and then chugging near the end of the song which ends in a fade out for the guitars but the synths keep on playing. Very cool. 9/10

I´m Sorry
Evergrey´s cover of the 1996 Dilba popsong.
Actually they stay close to the original song but in a way they make it like it was their own song too. At first I didn´t even know this was a cover because it sounded so much like them. Nicely done! 8/10

Blinded
In the past they used this song alot as opener of their gigs. It's a highly energetic song with anthemic chorus. Great but not amazing. 8/10

Fragments
Spooky sounding intro but it turns quite fast into Evergrey by numbers. I like the background synths in the verse! Heavy little bridge that flows into the chorus where we hear the male choir again. Short guitar solo before the second verse and the bridge and a screaming Tom. Then some Deep Purplish sounding part and the chorus again. 8/10

Madness Caught Another Victim
A more experimental song for Evergrey.
The intro sounds abit like a grunge ballad and is very atypical for them. Acoustic guitars in the verse. The grungy acoustic guitar riff from the intro returns in the chorus. Never liked this one tbh but I´d give it a fair 6/10.

Your Darkest Hour
Feel free to question me!
But this is one of their best songs.
Great emotional chorus and amazing transitions in this one. 10/10

Unforgivable
No holy water can save him now!
I wonder if Evergrey allready knew what to write about on their next album. Great pompous album closer! 8/10

My version (limited digibook CD) has the Trilogy Of The Damned bonustrack which is an awesome medley of three previous Evergrey songs. It features an epic scream of Tom and Gilmour worshipping solo. Check it out on YT!

Recreated Evergrey Top 10:
1. Solitude Within
2. Recreation Day
3. Nosferatu
4. End Of Your Days
5. She Speaks To The Dead
6. The Masterplan
7. Your Darkest Hour
8. Watching The Skies
9. Mark Of The Triangle
10. Different Worlds

 

[The_7th_one]

Great album Each album is better than the previous one. Great Riffs, shredding soloing, interludes and femme vocals. The low points are I'm sorry and Maddness caught another victim. They could replace them for Trilogy of the Damned, very good song. The album cover is awful.

Highlights: The Great Deceiver, End of your days, As I lie here bleeding, Recreation Day, Blinded Fragments and Your darkest Hour + Trilogy of the damned as bonus track

 

[MindRuler]

Great album Each album is better than the previous one. Great Riffs, shredding soloing, interludes and femme vocals. The low points are I'm sorry and Maddness caught another victim. They could replace them for Trilogy of the Damned, very good song. The album cover is awful.

Highlights: The Great Deceiver, End of your days, As I lie here bleeding, Recreation Day, Blinded Fragments and Your darkest Hour + Trilogy of the damned as bonus track

And I forgot to mention it was the first appearance of keyboard player Rikard Zander!

 

[The_7th_one]

And I forgot to mention it was the first appearance of keyboard player Rikard Zander!

He wrote or co-wrote Recreation Day and Your darkest hour

 

[Vaenyr]

Working on my review, will post it tomorrow probably. I won't have access to my computer for a few days so I'll have to do it via my phone, which is always a bit of a hassle as far as formatting goes.

 

[Vaenyr]

As promised, my review!

After their proggiest record we get a successor that mostly dials those elements back and focuses more on straightforward heavy/power metal with darker atmospheres. The performances and the songwriting are still great, the production unfortunately a clear step back. No idea what happened, but the guitars are quite thin.

A couple of more general things before going into the individual reviews.

While Evergrey isn't necessarily known for having great album covers (there are a couple great ones), this one is one of the weaker ones. Not only is it visually messy, but I really don't need a composite image of crying toddlers on my metal albums lol

The second thing is about the title. Native speakers please correct me, but the word "recreation" is usually used for talking about enjoying your hobbies and activities, right? Like, recreational activities or an RV. Here it is obviously meant in the sense of re-create, or rather reincarnate. Would like to see what people thought when they first saw the title, maybe I'm overthinking things.

The Great Deceiver
This song immediately starts blasting in the first seconds with a blazing lead guitar pummeling away. The low additional vocals in the first verse are kinda weird, but not enough to distract from the rest of the song. The chorus, especially Tom's vocals, is amazing.

The keyboards are present throughout the song (and most of the record for that matter) but they are incorporated very well, always enhancing the riffs and sections instead of feeling like a gimmick.

The chanted choir sounds a bit funny, thanks to the repetition of some of the "ah" syllables, but I like the general vibe of that part. The half time feel is a welcome change of pace as well. That said, the second half time chugging riff after the second chorus feels a bit much. We just had a part that slowed the pace, we don't need to immediately go back there, especially with the riff itself being quite uninspired. At least we get the phenomenal opening lead again towards the end, this time with a few more variations and solos thrown in. The end is pretty abrupt though.

Despite a couple of criticisms a great start to the album, easy 9/10.

End Of Your Days
Just because the prog elements took a back seat doesn't mean that the guitar work got worse. The opening riff is super fun, slightly held back by the tame production. The guitars really needed a bit more of a bite here.

I like the use or vocal harmonies, both Tom's and Carina's, throughout the song.

The chorus while already pretty catchy in this version really shines in the live version. Can't wait until we finally get to that.
We also finally get a synth solo, something that'll become more of a staple later.

This transitions into a pretty cool variation of the verse, before changing keys and leading into a hypnotizing bridge, which in turn leads into a slow guitar solo. The little "so here we are" by the backing vocals is a nice touch, before reprising the chorus. I wish the gang vocals heard towards the end here were more present on the album, the other choruses of this song would've benefited from the sound (another reason I prefer the live version).

So far very strong album, despite going into a different direction than the predecessor. Another 9/10.

As I Lie Here Bleeding
My favorite song on the album. The opening riff following the organ synth is incredibly fun to play on the guitar and it is a shame that the live version doesn't included that. Instead we get a slow buildup of harp synth, tribal tom rhythms and a guitar solo (and lower tuned guitars). Honestly not sure which version I prefer.

I like how the vocals at the end of the verse flow straight into the chorus. I also enjoy the variety of riffs throughout the song, where the other verses are completely separate to the first one.
The back to back solos after the second chorus are another highlight of the song.

Don't wanna ramble too much, 10/10.

Recreation Day
Goddamn, the intro with the lowest tuned guitars we've heard on an Evergrey album so far is crushingly heavy. The song continues to a very different direction afterwards though. The verses strip everything down, while the chorus is almost anthemic.

The best part is the section right after the second chorus, with some interesting choices in the chord progression and the melody writing. The heavy use of the natural 6th going to the flat 6th is simply a really cool sound.

We get a change of pace and a short piano interlude, before continuing with a slow solo on top. Back to the chorus and then the outro. Overall a nice song but not quite as strong as the previous tracks for me, 8/10.

Visions
What if Evergrey wrote The Clairvoyant? Or at least a similar topic for the lyrics, well here's the answer to that. The song keeps switching tempos and time signatures to great effect. The "where I can't run" part is pure hype and I like how Tom sounds there.

Right afterwards the tempo slows to a crushing 4/4 riff, before changing to a 6/8 one for the chorus, with its almost hypnotic vocals and synth.

The transition to the solo feels almost random, but considering the subject matter that might be intentional. I really enjoy the lick towards the end that gets repeated and becomes progressively faster.

Unfortunately the song loses steam after the final chorus, with over a minute of repeating the same riff, fading it out to leave the synth layers repeating the same idea. I like the song overall but the ending is a bit of a missed opportunity. I was waiting for one or two more cool ideas to push the song into the next tier, but those never came, so I'll settle on a 7/10.

I'm Sorry
Gotta say, I dislike when bands put cover songs into the regular tracklist of an album. The cover itself is pretty good and does sound like Evergrey (though you could figure out that it is a cover by noticing how the verses share the same melodies and phrasings, something Evergrey usually doesn't do lol).

We don't get any particularly creative riffs or sections here, but it's still fun to get a rather straightforward song once in a while. I guess it's another 7/10.

Blinded
Here are the riffs I was looking for! Evergrey and phrygian dominant are always a winning combo. The use of synths in this song is particularly effective imo and really helps with the song's atmosphere. If I'm not mistaken this song was either a single or got a music video, which makes sense with how catchy the chorus is.

The little bridge between the second verse and the pre-chorus has Tom flexing his higher range for a moment and I love how his voice sounds. While he never had a moment like Bruce, LaBrie or Matt Heafy whose voice got shot, ruptured his vocal chords, and blew out his voice respectively, Tom realized that smoking and drinking was affecting his way of singing and he had to adjust later because he couldn't sing the Recreation Day songs in their original tuning anymore.

Enough fun facts though. We get another reprise of the intro, before getting a short moody solo straight into a chugging riff made for live performances (hint hint, it's on the live album and it's really fun).

This song has another abrupt ending that, just like the opening track, sounds super weird due to the album's production. Instead of sounding like the band coming to a stop it sounds as if someone simply turned down the volume very fast lol. Gotta let the reverb decay a bit. Anyway, nitpicking aside, 8/10.

Fragments
Synths + open string lead guitar = awesome.

Same synths with a variation of the riff with driving palm muted 12/8 guitars = even more awesome.

It's almost a shame once this section is over and the verse goes in a different direction. I'm usually not the biggest fan of mid-tempo stompers, something that I'll have a lot to talk about on later albums.

This album features a lot of variety on the choruses, with this song featuring a very unique one compared to what came before. Though "I am weak and bothered" isn't a winning lyric, I'm afraid; probably something got lost in translation here.

Hearing Tom scream "the chains I'm in won't break" is great and the prominent hammond organ synth in the following riff is a fantastic bit of variety. But then we get over 2 minutes of the chorus being repeated and fading out. It's frustrating because I know that they are capable of writing great music, instead it feels like they forgot to finish the song. Great ideas here and there, with some disappointing missteps leave us with a rather low 6/10.

Madness Caught Another Victim
Another one of my favorites, thanks to the stellar guitar work. Tell someone that a metal song is just acoustic guitar and vocals and I think few would expect the chorus riff to go so hard.

The modal interchange in the verses is a ton of fun as well. Tom's voice shines, both his lower range and his higher one. The final chorus in particular is awesome. Not much else to say, 9/10.

Your Darkest Hour
This one is frustrating to me again. I adore most of the song but a few choices lead to point deductions.

There's a lot to like: the opening riff sets the mood nicely; the verse slows down a bit to create some space for the vocals, but we get the intro riff again right after; the pre-chorus has the guitars drop out entirely and a lovely piano line taking over; the chorus is super catchy even though it's rather simple; special shoutout to the synth line throughout that part; the second verse is a cool variation on the first one and we even get a pretty proggy riff for this album's standards!

So, what's my issue with the song? The incredibly drawn out slow section after the second chorus. Like, I don't mind the piano, it sounds nice. But the drums with this super slow pulse and the bass and snare drums drowning in reverb is just unnecessary. Might seem like a small detail, but it just saps all energy away for me. At least we get a few vocalizations by Carina I guess, that's always nice. But like some other songs on the album I wish there would've been a couple more interesting riffs, because we immediately return to the chorus riff afterwards and repeat it (including another freaking fade-out) until the end.

Might seem overly negative, but I'm a fan of the song for the most part. It's just a bit shy of greatness, so it gets an 8/10.

Unforgivable
Damn, the gutural bass in the intro is fucking awesome. We get the harp synth for the verse and I have the feeling whenever they bust that synth out we are in for a treat. I like how the verse keeps building intensity for it to explode in the crushing chorus. Lovely harmonies in the vocals and the guitars and special shoutout to the tom grooves by the drummer during that part.

I love how the second verse changes the instrumentation to really build on the theme of the lyrics. It really feels like a complete song, where every detail was thought of, instead of just cobbling something together and slapping some lyrics on. The backing vocals mimicking church choirs are a neat addition as well.

The section with Tom and Carina belting is phenomenal.

The only real downside is that we get another song where the ending consists of the final chorus (or a stripped down variation of it) repeating for a literal minute and fading out. Where they short on time and had to meet a deadline or something? Anyway, a great ending to a pretty strong record with a 9/10. Funnily enough I thought my scores would be a bit lower before going through the album, but I forgot how many great details are found throughout.
Also, remember how we had The Shocking Truth on the second album whose topic got expanded into the entire third album? The same thing will happen on the next album with the theme of this song.

(Trilogy Of The Damned
This is just a bonus track so I won't spend much time on it. I actually only want to point out Tom's impressive high scream around the 4:27 mark. That's not something he does or that we hear from him and it sounds awesome. Might be his highest belted note, but I'm not 100% sure about that. No scores on that.)

My current ranking of Evergrey songs:
1. Solitude Within
2. Mark Of The Triangle
3. As I Lie Here Bleeding
4. When Darkness Falls
5. The Encounter
6. Madness Caught Another Victim
7. Closed Eyes
8. Rulers Of The Mind
9. The Corey Curse
10. Unforgivable

 

[The_7th_one]

but I really don't need a composite image of crying toddlers on my metal albums lol

 

[The_7th_one]

The second thing is about the title. Native speakers please correct me, but the word "recreation" is usually used for talking about enjoying your hobbies and activities, right? Like, recreational activities or an RV. Here it is obviously meant in the sense of re-create, or rather reincarnate. Would like to see what people thought when they first saw the title, maybe I'm overthinking things.

Maybe that's the reason of the crying toddlers in the album cover No recreation day. LOL

 

[MindRuler]

6. Madness Caught Another Victim

Didn´t see that one coming

 

[MindRuler]

I really don't need a composite image of crying toddlers on my metal albums lol

 

[Vaenyr]

Didn´t see that one coming

For whatever reason that song really clicked with me and it's one of the tracks I revisit very often

 

[MindRuler]

The Inner Circle (2004)

Only a year after Recreation Day, Evergrey released their 5th album: a concept album about child abuse in a religious sect. This album is the last in the "Classic Evergrey"- style, the next couple of albums are more experimental and show a change in style through the years. Stay tuned for the song review and big changes in the song Top 10!